World Anti-Doping Agency President Richard Pound has accused US Major League Baseball (MLB) of adopting a half-baked doping policy which insults the intelligence of the US public.

In an article contributed to The New York Times, Pound said it was a disgrace that baseball authorities and players had to be dragged before a US Congress hearing.

“Baseball has been dragged, kicking and screaming, into adopting a half-baked policy that is both illusory and insulting to the intelligence of the American public,” he wrote.

"Only congressional pressure forced baseball, reluctantly, into agreeing to determine if there was, in fact, a drug 'problem'."

Pound said the 10-day suspension for cheaters caught for the first time was part of a smoke screen that was “insulting and, worse, dangerous as matter of public health and integrity.”

He said baseball had not addressed the issue of stimulants or provided effective tests for other substances such as human growth hormones.

“The integrity of the game and of its players will continue to decline,” he said. “People may continue to watch freak shows for a while, but they will not want their children to have to become chemical stockpiles to play their national sport.”

(Shenzhen Daily March 23, 2005)