Blood Testing of Athletes

blood sampleUrine testing has become a familiar part of the sports landscape, but less so blood testing.  However, the development of a blood test for human growth hormone has the potential to make blood testing of athletes more common.  Matt Mitten considers legal aspects of such testing in a  new paper on SSRN entitled “Legal Issues Arising Out of Blood Testing for Human Growth Hormone.”  Here is the abstract:

To date, no U.S. or foreign court or arbitral tribunal has directly considered whether mandatory blood testing of athletes for banned performance-enhancing substances, including synthetic human growth hormone (rhGH), violates any internationally or nationally recognized individual rights to privacy or bodily integrity. To determine how this issue is likely to be resolved in litigation or arbitration, this article reviews the developing U.S. law and private international law established by arbitration awards regarding the legality of drug testing at the various levels of athletic competition as well as the compelled taking and testing of a person’s blood outside the context of athletics.

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