HGH Testing: NFL, Union Have Differing Takes

After Friday's high-profile mix of sports and politics, HGH testing in pro football didn't seem closer to reality.

"We're not guaranteeing any outcomes except there was an agreement to begin testing immediately," Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told reporters after the meeting. "The other aspects of what you do with the tests will be resolved over the next many weeks, and we've agreed on a bipartisan basis to have the committee play a role if necessary" to bring the sides together again.

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the committee, said he felt the two sides benefited from being called in. "Because I think they had their own disputes, and it seemed like they just could not move quite past a certain point," he said.

He stressed that the lawmakers wanted action now: "Not get there next year — we were clear that the ball has to move down the field immediately."

But the NFL Players Association didn't seem inclined to move off its previous position: That it wants questions answered before moving ahead with a blood-testing program.

"We believe that we have to report back to our players, make sure that the protocol and the testing protocols are safe," union spokesman George Atallah said, standing in the same spot as the lawmakers shortly after their news conference. "Once we feel that way, which we hope will be as soon as possible — obviously the chairman and Congressman Cummings can help us facilitate that — we'll be in a position to start testing as soon as possible."

Asked if the union agreed to testing this season, he responded, "We will begin implementing testing as fast as possible."

Later, he tweeted, "The challenge for us as a league and a sport is to ensure that we have a clean game, but a fair system."

The latest collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players includes a provision to begin testing players for HGH — contingent on the union agreeing to the testing methods. The NFLPA has asked for more scientific data to prove the most popular test is reliable.

Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth, who attended the meeting, said the union has a responsibility to players to make sure the test is accurate, so "we can look them in the eye and say this is a safe and fair process."

If the issue isn't resolved shortly, both sides can expect a quick return visit to Capitol Hill. Issa said he wants another meeting in 30 days to review progress, but if testing doesn't start soon, he'll ask for a quicker follow-up, perhaps in two weeks.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saw things the way the lawmakers did, saying that Issa was clear he wanted testing to begin within the next two weeks.

Did the players agree to that?

"Everyone around the table agreed to that," the commissioner said. He added that the league could have testing in place within seven to 10 days.

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N.F.L. Union Not Ready to Allow Blood Testing for H.G.H.

After a private meeting in Washington with officials from the league, the union, the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the two members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the league and two members of the committee said an agreement had been reached to begin H.G.H. testing imminently. But the union said that was not the case.

A program for blood testing for H.G.H. was agreed upon, in concept, in the recently completed collective bargaining agreement. But the league and the union have been at an impasse since the union determined that it wanted to independently examine the accuracy of the test, which has been used by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2004. With the N.F.L. season in its sixth week, Representatives Darrell Issa, Republican of California, and Elijah E. Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, called Friday’s meeting to pressure the league and the union to reach a testing agreement.

“We’re not guaranteeing any outcomes except there was an agreement to begin testing immediately,” Issa, the chairman of the House committee, told reporters after the meeting. “The other aspects of what you do with the tests will be resolved over the next many weeks, and we’ve agreed on a bipartisan basis to have the committee play a role if necessary” to bring the sides together again.

N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell said it was clear that Issa wanted testing to start in the next two weeks.

“Everyone around the table agreed to that,” Goodell said.

According to people briefed on the meeting, a proposal was raised to begin the collection of blood samples within 10 days and store them until an agreement is reached over the technical aspects of the tests. Union officials remained noncommittal about a time frame, saying they still wanted to see the information they have been seeking from doping officials about the thresholds established for a positive test. The union said it would not allow testing to begin until it reviewed the information.

Issa and Cummings told the sides that if blood collection did not begin within two weeks they would bring them back for another meeting.

The committee can compel the sides to appear at a public hearing. Otherwise, the league and the union will meet with committee members again in a month, with the expectation that all outstanding issues on testing will have been resolved.

According to people in the meeting, Issa said he would try to help the union obtain the scientific information it wanted and have it studied independently. The World Anti-Doping Agency has declined to make public information about the population studies used to establish the threshold for a positive H.G.H. test. Even if Issa were successful in getting the information, it seems unlikely that full testing could start within a week. And if the union does not get the information, it is steadfast that it will not allow testing to begin.

The agreement in place since August, which said testing would begin this season, stipulated that the union had to agree to procedures for testing, and the union has raised concerns about whether the established ratio for a positive human growth hormone test is appropriate for professional football players.

The union’s leader, DeMaurice Smith, did not attend the meeting because, the committee was told, he was traveling abroad.

George Atallah, a spokesman for the union, said: “Chairman Issa’s and Congressman Cummings’ involvement is an important step to helping us agree to a fair, safe and transparent test and testing protocol. We will continue to work with both the chairman and committee staff to implement a safe test.”

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N.F.L. Roundup: N.F.L. Representatives to Meet With Congress on Blood Testing

In addition to Goodell, the league’s top lawyer, Jeffrey Pash, and Adolpho Birch, who oversees its drug testing program, are expected to attend the meeting. DeMaurice Smith is not expected to attend because, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was told, he is traveling overseas.

The union will be represented by, among others, the Ravens’ Domonique Foxworth, who was a key player in the labor negotiations. But according to a person briefed on the committee’s thinking, they are disappointed that Smith is not available. Also expected to attend are members of the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

The purpose of the meeting is to allow both sides to explain their positions on testing to Representatives Darrell Issa, a Republican from California and the committee chairman, and Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, the committee’s ranking Democrat. And the committee members are likely to ask the union what specific questions the union wants answered to allow testing, or if there are other issues making the players reluctant.

While the parties agreed to start testing for human growth hormone as part of the collective bargaining agreement completed in August, testing has not begun because the union says it needs more information about the blood tests used by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Those tests, which are used on Olympics athletes, among others, determine the ratio of human growth hormone in the blood and compare it with the naturally occurring ratio. The union spokesman George Atallah said the union’s primary concern was how WADA established the baseline ratio for its tests and whether the ratio was appropriate to use for N.F.L. players.

WADA officials have said the ratio remains the same in nearly every person it has studied. The union says it wants WADA to turn over the population study that led to the establishment of the threshold ratio; WADA has declined, saying that plenty of information about how the test works is available and that it fears the release of more sensitive information could help athletes figure out how to cheat.

Atallah said he remained confident that there would be H.G.H. testing in the N.F.L. “soonish” and that he could imagine a separate population study on N.F.L. players being conducted. But he said the union had not had formal discussions with the league about creating such a population study.

HAPPY WITH FINE Saints safety Roman Harper was fined $15,000 by the league for a late hit on Panthers receiver Steve Smith. Smith slowed and celebrated before crossing the goal line Sunday. Harper said the fine was worth it to make a point to his teammates and Smith. (AP)

MENDENHALL RETURNING Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall will start on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars after missing a game because of a hamstring injury.Mendenhall, who had 1,273 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns last season, was a full participant in practice for Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Thursday. (AP)

TO TEBOW’S DEFENSE Denver Broncos safety Rahim Moore has a message for all those who think quarterback Tim Tebow is not ready for the N.F.L.: maybe the N.F.L. isn’t ready for Tebow. “They drafted him here for a reason — to win games. And he’s going to make it happen, trust me,” Moore said. “People who dislike him, people who don’t think he’s the man, that he can’t do it, he is going to prove them wrong. He’s going to lead us to the promised land.” After a bye this Sunday, the Broncos play next on Oct. 23 against the Dolphins in Miami. Tebow, who replaced Kyle Orton at halftime last Sunday in a losing effort against the San Diego Chargers, will take over the starting role for Denverer. (AP)

OUT OF HIS BOOT On Monday of last week, Nick Barnett was wobbling around the Buffalo Bills’ facility with his right foot in protective boot. By Sunday, the boot was off and Barnett was playing a key role in helping Buffalo (4-1) continue its surprising start, with two interceptions in a 31-24 victory over Philadelphia. “To go out and do what he did for us on Sunday is amazing,” fellow linebacker Shawne Merriman said. (AP)

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The Fifth Down: Goodell, Union to Meet with Congress on H.G.H. Testing

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