comprehend the reaction of two of the organisations involved.

Bermuda Football Association leapt to the defence of a drugs-testing policy which has reportedly snared several of its senior national team players -- either because they failed the test or refused to take it.

And Bermuda's Council for Drug Free Sport were equally at pains to point out that only the proper procedure had been followed.

Why either found it necessary to justify that policy is something of a mystery.

Few have condemned either the testing procedure or the national governing bodies of those sports which embrace the policy. On the contrary, they have widespread public support.

Rather than hiding behind long-winded, mostly irrelevant press statements, both the BFA and the BCDFS might have served the public better by offering clarification on the issue as it related to the national soccer squad.

If players were tested before the recent two-match series against Cayman Islands, how many failed and how many were guilty of what those in authority prefer to call "policy infractions''? Thanks to some prodding from the media, this newspaper in particular, it has since been learned that those infractions included refusal to take the test or refusal to return to provide a second urine sample.

Why this information couldn't have been provided initially again is something we fail to understand.

The need for a certain degree of confidentiality is understandable -- at least until any case is proven. But the public -- and that includes the fans and the sponsors -- have a right to know if there is a serious problem within the national team set-up.

What is perhaps surprising so far is that nobody, neither in Government, the Opposition, the BFA or the BCDFS has issued a word in condemnation of the players involved in this controversy.

Instead, we've had to listen to the ubiquitous Walton Brown who appears on our TV screens as a self-proclaimed expert seemingly whenever any issue hits the headlines, whether it be Independence, politics-related, or in this instance drugs.

Brown's contention that soccer players should not be subject to testing for social drugs such as marijuana as they are not performance-enhancing borders on the absurd.

Firstly, performance-enhancing or not, marijuana appears on the banned list of drugs circulated by the International Olympic Committee. Therefore, those testing positive can expect automatic suspension from international competition -- hardly what coach Clyde Best needs as he prepares for next year's Olympic and World Cup qualifiers.

Secondly, and just as significantly, marijuana is in most cases performance-damaging. Do we really want our national team players representing us against overseas opposition knowing they've spent the previous night smoking "weed''? What is perhaps most disappointing in this entire catalogue of events is the realisation that there are certain players out there who still put drugs before national pride.

There can only be one logical reason why anybody on the brink of representing their country -- the highest honour bestowed on any sports person -- refuses a drug test. And that's that they are afraid of failing.

And that's a sad indictment on the sport and the player.

ADRIAN ROBSON DRUGS DGS