Major league baseball has banned THG

[Perfection]

THG banned by baseball


 NEW YORK (AP) -- Major league baseball has banned THG, the recently unmasked steroid at the centre of the case against the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.

 The health policy advisory committee of management and the players' association unanimously determined last Thursday that THG builds muscle mass and should be added to baseball's list of banned substances.

 Baseball's decision was revealed to The Associated Press on Wednesday by Rob Manfred, executive vice-president for labour relations in the commissioner's office, and Gene Orza, the union's chief operating officer.

 The Food and Drug Administration ruled Oct. 28 that THG, which stands for tetrahydrogestrinone, is an illegal drug that lacks federal permission for sale in the United States.

 Because baseball and other sports did not know about THG before last October, drug testing was unable to detect it.

 Barry Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, was among four men indicted last month on charges of illegally supplying performance-enhancing drugs from BALCO. All four pleaded innocent.

 Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield were among the athletes called to testify before a grand jury. All have denied using illegal steroids.

 Anabolic steroids are synthetic versions of the male hormone testosterone. Some are approved by FDA for prescription-only sale to treat certain diseases.

 Baseball commissioner Bud Selig told a Congressional committee last week that he hopes to have a tougher testing plan than the one called for in baseball's labour contract.

 The plan has drawn some criticism. Players with major league contracts are tested only twice in a one-week period each year, and penalties -- no suspension until the second offence -- are far weaker than those called for in Olympic sports.

 The day before the hearing, Selig sent a letter to the union asking to discuss the drug agreement. The players' association has not yet responded.

 Selig is powerless to act unilaterally because drug testing is covered by collective bargaining. While the major league baseball constitution gives Selig broad power to act in the "best interests of baseball," in the labour contract he agreed the commissioner will take no action to "negate rights of players."