Texas legislature approves steroid testing for high school athletes

High school athletes in Texas could face mandatory random steroid testing starting this fall under legislation approved Monday and sent to the governor. If Gov. Rick Perry allows the bill to become law, the state could begin testing tens of thousands of students at the start of the coming football season.
Click here to read The Austin American-Statesman article.

EARLIER: High school athletes in San Antonio are bigger, stronger and faster these days, but it's not because of steroid use, local athletic directors and coaches say. They say steroid use isn't a widespread problem in San Antonio or the rest of the state, for that matter. Administrators are bracing for passage of a measure by Texas lawmakers that would call for thousands of high school athletes to face random tests for steroids.
Click here to read The San Antonio Express-News article.

The state of Texas might have the nation's largest high school testing program for steroids when football season begins this fall. Public school athletes throughout the state would face mandatory tests under a bill approved by the state Senate. The program would test at least 3 percent of students in extracurricular activities—about 22,000 in all—according to the bill, which passed 28 to 2. The bill now moves to the House. The bill could be a significant step in eradicating steroid use in a state that considers high school football a religion. Texas has about 733,000 athletes in about 1,300 public high schools.
Click here to read The Austin American-Statesman article.