WASHINGTON - US Olympic Committee officials and leaders of the four most important US professional sport leagues are talking to federal agencies about cooperating in anti-doping methods, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The newspaper reported that while the size or manner of information sharing remains in the formative stages, trading information between sports and federal agencies might provide leads to law-enforcement officials and catch more dope cheats.
"You have, for the first time, a collaboration on an entirely new level," US Olympic Committee spokesman Darryl Seibel told the newspaper.
"This is a national issue that requires a response such as this. The first two meetings have been very productive and they reflect the seriousness of this issue."
Concern over steroids, human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing banned substances has risen in recent years with the BALCO scandal tainting US athletics and baseball and a new scandal uncovering internet drug purchasers.
A March meeting at the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters was attended by Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, and officials from the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball, the Post reported, citing unnamed participants.
US Justice Department and US Customs officials, high school and collegiate sports governing bodies and representatives from the players unions of the four major sports leagues also attended the gathering, the newspaper reported.
"We had representatives at the highest levels and key entities at the table to deal with this," Scott Burns, the White House drug control office deputy director for state and local affairs, told the newspaper.
"I give the leagues great credit for not only initiating this discussion but also reaching out to the right people and agreeing to sit down and have really frank and candid conversations."
Burns said the participants have agreed to meet again, but have not set a date for their next gathering.
"I hear more about HGH and steroids and athletes than I do about crack cocaine," Burns told the Post.
"This is the first step in changing the way we look at this problem in the United States."
US lawmakers have threatened to impose World Anti-Doping Agency-styled anti-doping rules upon US sports leagues unless they better policed their sports, but have never made good their threat even though the self-policing by the leagues has met with mixed results.
A prime example is playing out daily in baseball, where Barry Bonds is only 10 home runs shy of matching Hank Aaron for the all-time US homer mark but does so under a cloud of steroid accusations.
While Bonds has denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs, his trainer was among five men convicted in the BALCO doping scandal.
There was also no steroid testing in the major leagues during much of Bonds career, including 2001 when Bonds set a one-season record with 73 homers.
In addition, former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski has said he provided steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs to dozens of major league players.
In a plea deal, he agreed to cooperate with a commission looking into doping in baseball that is being led by former US Senator George Mitchell.
That panel was formed by Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig in the wake of a book detailing Bonds` drug history that was published last year - a book that has drawn no lawsuits attacking its accuracy.
05/15/2007 17:20 GMT