David Stern Expects HGH Testing in NBA Next Season
By Josh Sanchez
The NBA may not face as many questions about performance enhancing drugs as Major League Baseball or the NFL, but that won’t stop the league from getting stricter drug testing.
With the MLB preparing to test for human growth hormone in season and the NFL working on a way to test for HGH, NBA commissioner David Stern says that he expects the league to start testing for HGH as soon as next season.
Stern was speaking to WCCO in Minnesota during a radio interview and he made it clear that he would like testing before he leaves the game.
“We watch what’s going on in baseball, we watch the negotiations that are going in with football, and it is my expectation that by next season will be doing blood testing for HGH,” Stern said. “Our players have been terrific. they lead this in some ways, saying, ‘ We do not want to have anything less than the best.’ That’s been the way it’s been since 1983.
“If I say I don’t have a concern, everyone says I’m a Pollyanna. I don’t have any reason to know one way or another. My guess is and my hope is that it’s not widely used in the NBA.”
It is possible that the NBA’s PED problem is not as great as the other major sports, but it is a wise move to get ahead of the curve and install drug testing to erase any doubts.