On the Loose Side
A NASCAR BLOG BY Kenny Bruce
Why should NASCAR announce substances in test results?
CONCORD, N.C. – OK, so I’ve been mulling it over, trying to understand why some folks say NASCAR needs to publicize the specific drug or drugs that got Jeremy Mayfield indefinitely suspended.
And I’ve got to be honest. I’m hitting a roadblock.
Some of the folks who think NASCAR should be the one to “come clean” are fellow media members, several others are licensed participants in the sport. I respect all of them. I just don’t agree with them.
What could possibly be gained by releasing the specific information? Mayfield’s career has already been damaged, and if it’s up to anyone to make additional information public knowledge, it should be Mayfield.
If he indeed was suspended for something as innocent as mixing prescription and over-the-counter medications, as he claims, what does he have to lose by releasing the specific names of those medications?
Mayfield, owner and driver of Mayfield Motorsports, is one of six licensed members of the NASCAR community to be suspended this year under the sanctioning body’s revised drug testing policy. It’s worth noting that there was no such public outcry when NASCAR announced that Paul Chodora, John Boyd, Richard Gray, Tony Martin and Ben Williams had been indefinitely suspended. Where was the outrage then? Where was the concern? No one, to my knowledge, demanded that NASCAR identify the specific substances in each of those cases.
NASCAR adopted the substance-abuse policy, the drivers and everyone else applying for a NASCAR license agreed to abide by it, and, according to the test results, Mayfield is just one of the latest to violate the policy.
As a result, NASCAR took action. Not because of rumors. Not because of innuendo.
NASCAR maintains the right to “publish the results of any test or tests conducted ....” Thus far, officials with the sanctioning body have declined to do so. I would think those who have been found in violation of the policy would be grateful for that.
Kenny Bruce
Kenny Bruce is a three-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association's George Cunningham Writer of the Year Award. He joined Street & Smith's Sports Group in 2001.
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Comments
5 responses to "Why should NASCAR announce substances in test results?". Post a Comment.
Worm Dirt said:
May 17, 2009 at 1:17 PMReminds me of a poem-----"First they came for the guy who sweeps the shop.... and I said NOTHING. Then they came for the shock-specialist...... and I remained SILENT. Then they locked up the engine-tuner....... and I did NOT protest. Then they came for the guy who uses that long awkward pole thing to hand a water-bottle to the driver through his window during a pit-stop..... and I did NOT speak out. And then they came for ME........ but there was NO ONE left to speak out for me." ----Klaus von Niemoller Junior- 1892
Ralph Dailey said:
May 18, 2009 at 9:15 AMI'm hitting a roadblock too. Any person who is drug tested is entitled to a written report of the test results. Why is it that NASCAR and this lab will only communicate the results verbally to Mayfield? Who is NASCAR protecting? Mayfield or themselves.
Joe White said:
May 18, 2009 at 10:15 AMMayfield has made his statement. He said he took only presctiption and over the counter meds. Nascar is the one that looks bad at this moment. You say Mayfields career is already damaged but I think if his story is correct it is far less damaging than if he used cocaine or herion. There is a scale on drug use even in the law. Some carry more sevier penalties than others. Jeremy's career could still have a flicker of hope depending on what he tested positive for.
Kenny Bruce said:
May 20, 2009 at 10:33 PMWD: That's an interesting analogy, and one I'd agree with were it not for the fact that a third party, in this case an independent lab, handled the test in question. Could they have made a mistake? Certainly. But I stand by my statement that Jeremy could have boosted his own defense by specifying what it was he took. Then again, I'm not in his shoes.
steadman_sam said:
May 23, 2009 at 10:44 PMYou know, MLB, the NFL, the NBA and NHL all, I believe, announce the results of players who are suspended for testing positive. In baseball, they not only tell you it was steroids, but they tell you what kind. You hear all the time about athletes testing positive for marijuana, cocaine, crack, etc. Why should NASCAR be any different? At least, in this case, it would set the records straight, now wouldn't it?