NFL Responds To NFLPA Claim on HGH Testing
By Josh Sanchez
NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith told NFLPA-certified contract advisors in an email on Friday that the NFL could have had blood testing for HGH before Major League Baseball if the league would follow some guidelines and procedures that were laid out from the MLB.
Of course, the NFL has responded to those claims and they are putting the blame back on the NFLPA.
“This is a continuation of the union’s strategy to delay, deny, and distract,” senior V.P. Adolpho Birch said in a statement. “The facts are that we have already agreed to third-party arbitration, have always required that violations be supported with full and accurate documentation, and have always supported comprehensive player appeal rights.
“What is missing from the MLB agreement is a population study. Apparently, baseball players know that the test for HGH is reliable, valid, and scientifically sound. If the NFLPA had adopted the same position as the MLB players, we would already be well on our way to eliminating the threat of HGH from our game.”
Well, there’s that.
Blood testing in the NFL is something that needs to happen at some point in the future. With the MLB already conducting the tests, the NFL should act quickly and get on the ball. The blood testing was agreed on in August of 2011 in the new CBA, so the two sides need to figure out how to get it done.