Norman calls golf's drug policy 'disgraceful'

Norman calls golf's drug policy 'disgraceful'










The Sports Xchange April 29, 2013 4:00 PMThe SportsXchange



Greg Norman told The Australian newspaper on Monday that golf's anti-drugs policies are "disgraceful" and that blood testing needs to be included.

"You only have to look at what happened to Vijay Singh just recently to know the drugs issue is there," Norman said.

Singh said in January that he had used deer antler spray, which is banned by the PGA Tour because it has a muscle-building hormone and can only be detected by blood tests.

Norman said he does not know how widespread the problem is.

"I have no idea because we only do urine analysis instead of blood testing," he said. "If you really want to be serious about it and find about what's really going on, we need to do blood testing. I think it's disgraceful, to tell you the truth. The golf associations have to get together and step it up."

Norman believes all sports should prioritize drug testing.

"Any sportsman or sportswoman who uses an outside agency to improve their skills is cheating," he said. "It sickens me. They're putting a black eye on their sport. If a sport gets itself clean, the corporate dollars will always be there because people will know it's a sport they can trust. The rest will take care of itself."