By Bradyn Rogers
Because collegiate Esports is in its infancy, it is currently facing a plethora of growing pains. One such issue is the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). Prominent PEDs in this field range from cannabinoids to stimulants. Specifically, the legality of stimulants like caffeine, Vyvanse, and Adderall is garnering increased attention. Alongside the issue of PEDs noticeably increasing, the paramount concern is over enforcement of PED usage. Two of the largest organizations in collegiate Esports, the National Association for Collegiate Esports (NACE) and the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC), seek to provide clarity for the entire space on these issues.
NACE and NECC serve as the two main leaders in collegiate Esports boasting 220 member institutions for the former and 530 member institutions for the latter. In the NECC, there are schools that have only Esports or gaming clubs and those that have a varsity program with a director and/or scholarships. Both groups compete against each other in this league despite not being held to the same standard or having similar availability of resources. In NACE however, the membership qualifications to compete are much stricter because they do not want to deal with inconsistencies in competition, attitude, accountability, and responsibility that often adjoin student-led clubs at times. NACE requires members to be a varsity program with a full-time staff member to oversee any competition and programs must compete in-person on campus for any and all competitions. On the other hand, student-led clubs are not able to put forth the resources to monitor each competition or even have a dedicated space to play from. The difference in expectations for holding students accountable from student-led clubs compared to varsity programs has made this issue difficult to find a solution for all of the relevant stakeholders.
The NECC Rulebook bans the use of the following online and at in-person events: “Stimulants, anabolic agents, alcohol and beta blockers, diuretics and other masking agents, narcotics, cannabinoids, peptide hormones growth factors, related substances, mimetics, hormone and metabolic modulators, and beta-2 agonists.” In the same vein regarding online and in-person competition NACE’s rules state: “The use of drugs or alcohol, legal or otherwise, may lead to disruptive behavior. Players believed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol may be suspended or disqualified from the Competition at the sole discretion of League Officials.” Consequently, both NACE and NECC have competition councils that come together to deal with PED issues that arise and to propose updates to current rules. If a new rule is proposed for NACE, the entire membership votes on it at their general assembly, the NACE Conference, in the summer in order to be put into effect the following semester. If a new rule is proposed for NECC, the competition council that brought about the proposal will work with the assigned staff to implement it into the next iteration of the rulebook that is released.
While both of these stances may serve as part of the correct way to deal with issues emerging from PEDs, enforcing them is another issue entirely. To date, there has been little to no enforcement of these rules that are documented; therefore, public knowledge and media coverage remains limited on the subject matter. As a result, many questions remain. How can you detect these infractions while players are playing from home? Should you subject players to random drug tests? Do you force participation with their cameras on? These questions and others deserve increased attention moving forward in the Esports domain.
One of the most common protocols in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) pertaining to PED usage is that if a drug test is positive, it will result in loss of eligibility and suspension from the sport. While that is the case for traditional collegiate sports, collegiate Esports are made up of smaller rosters and are often competing without substitutes due to roster composition. Subsequently, the consequences for suspending one player could lead to suspending the entire team. Furthermore, collegiate Esports does not maintain the same eligibility requirements as NCAA sanctioned sports. The only eligibility requirements are that players must have a 2.0 GPA and be a full-time student. For collegiate Esports, bans from regular season matches, postseason play, and the entire season should be considered when navigating eligibility issues. Allowing the team affected by this suspension of play to be able to register an emergency substitute could be a possible option that would alleviate the potential negative effects for an entire team.
In traditional sports and in collegiate Esports, the attitude around cheating is generally negative and people do not tend to forget or move on very easily. For example, MLB fans and players still give grief to the Houston Astros following their scandal in 2017, and the usage of PEDs in collegiate Esports has a similar negative effect on both spectators and players. Unlike traditional sports, collegiate Esports does not have a consistent governance structure. This lack of consistency in enforcing disciplinary actions for PEDs has the potential to create a hostile environment between the players, spectators, and the leagues which reinforces the notion of urgency in raising awareness on these issues.
Moreover, the use of a player “camera on” requirement may serve as a means of potential detection of PEDs through observable behavior otherwise visibly hidden. This strategy could also serve as a precursor in preventing other forms of cheating and may even improve an element of broadcasts conducted by the respective league. However, one concern with player cameras is performance issues that they may cause. Player cameras can take up bandwidth for those with troublesome internet connections or affect game performance by taking up a portion of computer resources.
Given the aforementioned context, updating the rules regarding the use and enforcement of PEDs for online competition must be a priority for either of these leagues going forward as they both pursue the frontrunner position in collegiate Esports. Currently, NACE is perceived to have the edge as the leader in collegiate Esports, but the NECC has made significant changes propelling them to a position considered a close second. The successful implementation of updated protocols that deal with PEDs will be vital to put them in the lead or to uphold NACE’s current position.
Bradyn Rogers is a Graduate Student at the University of North Alabama pursuing a Master’s of Science in Sport & Recreation Management.
