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The NFL will start to collect blood samples for human growth hormone testing in the coming days, Commissioner Roger Goodell said at the conclusion of a meeting on Capitol Hill on Friday.
“Testing should begin within two weeks,” Goodell said. “That was the chairman’s instructions. Everybody around the table agreed.”
The NFL, the league’s players union and officials from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency were called into a closed door meeting by the leadership of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform after the NFL Players Association blocked implementation of the test. Both the NFL and NFLPA had agreed in principal to begin testing for HGH — a performance-enhancing drug that can build lean muscle mass and aid in recovery — as part of the new collective bargain agreement.
While the collection of blood samples could begin soon, there is still not an agreement on both sides on what to do with the results.
“We are not guaranteeing any outcome other then there was an agreement to begin testing immediately,” Reform Committee chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said. “The other aspects on what to do with the tests will be resolved over the next many weeks.”
All sides agreed to meet back with House officials within the next month, sooner if the NFL and NFLPA aren’t close to a final agreement on how to handle the results.
While Issa, the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Goodell said nearly all the issues were resolved, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said the union would have to report back to the players to ensure the testing protocols are agreeable.
“Once we feel that way, we’ll be in a position to start testing as soon as possible,” Atallah said.
Source: Fox Sports
“Testing should begin within two weeks,” Goodell said. “That was the chairman’s instructions. Everybody around the table agreed.”
The NFL, the league’s players union and officials from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency were called into a closed door meeting by the leadership of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform after the NFL Players Association blocked implementation of the test. Both the NFL and NFLPA had agreed in principal to begin testing for HGH — a performance-enhancing drug that can build lean muscle mass and aid in recovery — as part of the new collective bargain agreement.
While the collection of blood samples could begin soon, there is still not an agreement on both sides on what to do with the results.
“We are not guaranteeing any outcome other then there was an agreement to begin testing immediately,” Reform Committee chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said. “The other aspects on what to do with the tests will be resolved over the next many weeks.”
All sides agreed to meet back with House officials within the next month, sooner if the NFL and NFLPA aren’t close to a final agreement on how to handle the results.
While Issa, the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Goodell said nearly all the issues were resolved, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said the union would have to report back to the players to ensure the testing protocols are agreeable.
“Once we feel that way, we’ll be in a position to start testing as soon as possible,” Atallah said.
Source: Fox Sports