the moral reasoning of student athletes and athletic training students

of what the supplement actually contains. For example, an athlete takes a powder form of
creatine to help enhance his performance. Creatine is not a banned substance. However,
sometime during the manufacturing process this batch of creatine has been contaminated with
small amounts of anabolic steroid which is a dangerous banned substance. Because of the lack of
regulation and accountability there is no way to determine which supplements are pure and
which have been contaminated and naivety is not an acceptable defense after a positive drug test.
According to one source, an anti-doping laboratory that tested 640 non-hormonal supplements,
found low levels of anabolic steroids in 94 of the products (Honour, 2004). Educational
programs continue to lecture to the potential dangers of doping and there is no doubt that many
have heard the warnings. But, despite the words, athletes are still willing to take the risk, to try
anything for the competitive edge.
Drug Testing
Most major sporting events and governing bodies in sport now have some sort of drug
testing policy for all athletes although some policies are more effective than others. Because
health concerns underlie many of the anti-doping rules and legislation, policies have been put
into place to test athletes for these banned substances. After the formation of WADA, The
United States established the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) which has helped establish
drug testing policies and procedures for most professional leagues as well as the National
Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). Specific NCAA policies indicate that student athletes
at every institution within its three divisions (DI, DII and DIII) are subject to drug testing and
can be randomly selected by the NCAA. Since 1968, the number of drugs for which
organizations are compelled to test has increased from 20 to 150, (Honour, 2004 p. 143) and
testing is getting more difficult with the innovative designer drugs.
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