U.S. Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) said Friday (Jan. 14) that the proposed agreement between major league baseball and the players union is not strict enough to curb steroid use. She said the plan should follow the guidelines on steroids used by the Olympic Games.

"For instance," she said in a news release, "the first positive test for steroids in Olympic sports results in a two-year ban, and the second positive test leads to a lifetime ban. But under the MLB plan, the first positive test results in a 10-day suspension and for four violations, a player would only be suspended for a year."

Feinstein also said she was "concerned" that the plan makes no provision for testing for amphetamines.

"In my view, anything short of the rigorous testing protocol used for the Olympic Games falls short of what is needed in a sport where steroids have been rampantly misused,
she added. "There simply is no room for steroids in our national pastime, especially when professional baseball’s integrity and credibility are at stake.” 

—Donald H. Harrison