Blog.

I’ll admit it: I’m not a big sports fan. In fact, I rarely watch sports except for the occasional March Madness college basketball tournament on TV. But when a famous sports star hits the front pages of the newspaper, I take notice. Earlier this month, Mark McGuire admitted what most of us had suspected all along: he took steroids and Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Mark McGuire joins a long line of other baseball stars who have admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs: Jose Canseco and Jason Giambi, among others.

But I’m not interested in those guys.

I’m interested in Doug Barron and his case against PGA Tour.

Who’s Doug Barron?

Apparently, many people did not even know who Doug Barron was until November 2009 when PGA Tour alleged that Doug had failed a drug test.

When I heard of the possibility that golfers took steroids or performance enhancing substances to improve their golfing game, I was surprised. But apparently, Doug didn’t fail the drug test because he took steroids or Human Growth Hormone to gain an unfair advantage over other players. Doug failed because he took beta blockers to treat a heart condition and synthetic testosterone because he suffers from hypogonadism. Consequently, PGA Tour suspended Doug for a year.

I thought this was fascinating because it intersects disability law with sports. It raises important questions about anti-doping policies that punish players for taking controlled substances to treat their disability.

Hypogonadism, generally known as “low testosterone,” is a medical condition that can affect men and women. Symptoms of hypogonadism in men may include poor libido, fatigue, muscle atrophy, infertility, depression, and other medical issues. A normal testosterone count is 300-350 nanograms per deciliters of blood. But according to this CNN report and this Golf magazine article, Doug’s testosterone count is 78 nanograms. The synthetic testosterone that Doug was taking was intended to increase his unnaturally low testosterone count to normal ranges.

In addition to hypogonadism, Doug also has mitral valve prolapse. To treat this condition, Doug was prescribed beta blockers, which is also used to treat hypertension, angina, and glaucoma, among others.

The PGA Tour’s stance is that synthetic testosterone and beta blockers have been used to enhance performance and are known to be used for such purposes. It’s true. The scientific literature is replete with evidence that synthetic testosterone and beta blockers enhance sports performance; and there are thousands of athletes who take these types of performance enhancing drugs to gain a competitive advantage. But that wasn’t Doug’s purpose, was it?

I find this an interesting case because it makes me wonder about the anti-doping policies that are in force at middle schools and high schools around the country. If a student with a disability takes medication to treat a condition or disease and subsequently fails a random drug test for “performance enhancement,” what result? Should schools and local sports clubs make exceptions for students who take medications to treat their conditions?

Considering that Doug doesn’t have Tiger Woods’ physique and didn’t make nearly as much (he allegedly made nothing in 2009), Marty Henwood doesn’t think Doug is a cheater. Steve Ellen of CBSSports.com argues that Doug has a legitimate disability and should be exempted from PGA Tour’s anti-doping policy. Robert S. Whitehead, the CEO of Slate Pharmaceutical, Inc., defends Doug and said that PGA Tour’s actions was “dopey.” Even Harvard medical expert, Dr. Abraham Morgentaler, criticizes PGA Tour and calls the suspension “unreasonable, unfair, and discriminatory.”

PGA gives its side of the story here. Doug gives his side of the story here.

As of this writing, Doug’s case against PGA Tour is still pending.

Should Doug be punished for his use of synthetic testosterone or beta blockers? Should Doug be listed under the same category as Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco? What’s your stance?