"I think if I were a professional golfer, I'd be interested in the outcome because what happens to the next guy that takes an over-the-counter drug that is on the list of banned substances?"
Lawrence Buser and Dan Wolken in the Memphis Commercial Appeal offer some tantalizing bits on the Doug Barron v. PGA Tour case.
Barron's attorney, Arthur Horne III, said the PGA Tour refused to acknowledge in the initial press release that the substances Barron tested positive for were medications prescribed by his doctor.
Barron has been taking the beta blocker propranol since 1987 for a condition known as mitral valve prolapse and the PGA knew that when it tested Barron in June of this year, the suit says.
Without the medication, the suit continues, Barron experiences a racing heartbeat, pains and jolts in his chest, although his doctors have been weaning him off the medication as mandated by the PGA last October. Under the direction of his cardiologist, Barron said, he had reduced his intake from 160 mg per day to 40 mg at the time of the test.
"They wanted him off the drug completely, and his physician was weaning him off at the pace he saw fit," Horne said.
And add this to the inevitable players-union chatter...
Barron said he sued because there is no players union in golf to help him through an appeals process.
"One of the reasons Doug wanted to pursue this was on the principle for all the other guys that come behind him that find themselves in this situation because this is a trail run," Horne said. "I think if I were a professional golfer, I'd be interested in the outcome because what happens to the next guy that takes an over-the-counter drug that is on the list of banned substances?"
Friday, November 13, 2009 at 09:50 AM
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Reader Comments (10)
This really looks bad for the PGA Tour's heavy hand, shame on PGA Tour, shame.
Do you think we could make room on the ship for this lawyer ? Do they teach classes on talking BS like this or does it just come naturally ?
"I think if I were a professional golfer, I'd be interested in the outcome because what happens to the next guy that takes an over-the-counter drug that is on the list of banned substances?"
Again - this goes against the facts. Barron wasn't taking over the counter medications - he was under a doctor's care...but Barron didn't bother to tell the Tour offices. Again - not the Tour's fault.
At what point do you start saying that the players are big boys and should be taking care of their own responsibilities ?
ok, court, why don't you go see the PGA Tour GC when you need medical attention, good luck.
Good for Doug Barron...fuck Tim Finchem.
That beta blockers are on the banned substance list is odd in the first place. That a drug testing program doesn't have an easy out for someone with a legitimate reason for use of certain agents prescribed literally billions of times a year is also odd to me.
Guys taking anabolic steroids for "testosterone deficiency" is a different, in my opinion.
Dr K - I'm not a cardiologist...are there drugs other than beta blockers which can prevent tachycardia/SVT in patients with MVP?