Striking Back at Drug Testing

Troy Phillips did for the Dallas Star-Telegram today. (Thanks to Geoff Shackelford for the find.) And he correctly cites that more guys on Tour probably have a problem with alcohol than illicit drugs. While I disagree that drug testing is a bad idea, the column is pretty fun and edgy. He alludes to my rationale (which is generic, not unique):

Maybe it started when baseball, cycling and track and field scandals, as well as national drug surveys indicating widespread steroid use among high school athletes, became a high-profile issues in sports.

I think this pushed the issue more than anything. Tiger calling for drug testing got the ball rolling for golf, but it was the Mitchell Report, Floyd Landis, and every track star on Earth doping that made the Tour do it. They had to prove that they were clean. In all honesty, I think that the Tour will largely prove clean - especially since you can't accurately test for HGH. You might find a few guys on Beta blockers, but the Tour gave so much forewarning that only an idiot would get caught. It will make the Tour look good, and then drug testing will go away.