Carolina Panthers speak out in favor of drug testing

Three stars of the Carolina Panthers — quarterback Cam Newton, wide receiver Steve Smith, and tight end Greg Olsen — all spoke out on Saturday in favor of HGH testing in football. The three all expressed a similar sentiment — if you haven’t done anything wrong, then you have nothing to hide — and each said that the drug tests would be good for the league

First, Newton weighed in (quotations from the Associated Press via Yahoo! Sports): “Whatever the NFL decides to do I’m all for it, whether HGH testing or any testing. I’ll be prepared to do the test.”

Olsen alluded to the recent PED controversy in baseball: ”I don’t think we want to go down the road that baseball’s got themselves in, trying to play catch-up.”

Finally, Steve Smith, one of the smallest players in the NFL, shared his thoughts: “I understand making the game cleaner. If guys have things to hide, that’s their personal problem. As for me, with the drug use in my family, I don’t like needles. I don’t like pills. I don’t like any of those aspects.”

While Olsen and Smith both expressed some concern over when the tests would be administered (Smith was especially worried about having blood drawn before a difficult practice), it is a good sign for the NFL that some of the league’s star players support HGH testing.

[Source: AP via Yahoo! Sports]