Steroid crackdown

last updated 8 January 2015

Scottsdale, Ariz.

Major League Baseball players have agreed for the first time to submit to year-round steroid tests, under a new drug policy aimed at salvaging the sport’s reputation. Sen. John McCain threatened last year to get Congress to impose the tests, after leaked grand jury testimony showed superstar sluggers Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, and Gary Sheffield admitting to having used the performance-enhancing drugs. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said last week that, under the new policy, players who tested positive would be suspended immediately. “It’s a step in the right direction,” said Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sean Casey. “Either you play clean or you don’t play.”