NBA players have agreed to offseason testing for performance enhancing drugs for the first time as part of the new labor deal that is being balloted. The NBA did not test players previously during its July-September offseason.

Billy Hunter, Players’ union executive director, sent a memo, obtained by The Associated Press, to players detailing changes to the labor deal and recommends they ratify the agreement.

Beginning in the 2012-13 season, players can be tested up to two times during the offseason for steroids and performance enhancing drugs according to the memo. The memo also disclosed that a majority of players would be tested no more than four times throughout an entire year, and that no tests may be given at the arena on the night of a game.

No matter what, NBA players will face additional testing if the deal is ratified.

The memo was not very much clear about testing for human growth hormone, saying only that a committee would be studying the “possibility of an HGH testing program.” NBA spokesman Mike Bass, however, insisted that both sides have agreed to HGH blood testing, subjected to the process being validated by a “neutral committee of experts.”

Tags: HGH testing, human growth hormone, Major League Baseball, NBA players, Performance enhancing drugs, steroids

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No testing protocol has been finalized by the NFL and the NFLPA even though testing for human growth hormone will start during the 2011 season.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell briefly addressed the situation and said, “If the population study was the only thing in the way from us reaching an agreement, we would have an agreement.”

“Let me put it that way.  We are prepared to do that if that resolves the issue.  I sent an e-mail to [NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith] before I left, and unfortunately, our meetings sort of crossed, but HGH was on that list and I expect by the end of the week I will be speaking to him about it again,” NFL Commissioner added.

Tags: HGH testing, human growth hormone, NFL, NFL players

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For the first time, NBA players have agreed to offseason testing for performance enhancing drugs as part of the new labor deal that is being balloted.

The NBA previously did not test players during its July-September offseason.

Beginning in the 2012-13 season, players can be tested up to two times during the offseason for steroids and performance enhancing drugs according to the memo.

Tags: HGH blood testing, HGH testing, HGH testing program, human growth hormone, Major League Baseball, NBA, NBA players, offseason testing, Performance enhancing drugs, steroids

Posted in Steroid Cycles, steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball, Steroids in Sports

The Major League Baseball may have come to an agreement with its players to test their blood for human growth hormone but the game will be expected to come to grips with its present testing before it touts itself as the leader in new drug testing, said BALCO founder Victor Conte.

Conte further remarked that MLB should be using a more sophisticated form of detecting testosterone or its HGH testing would not really make a difference as players often make use of small amounts of testosterone in conjunction with HGH.

“If MLB were to implement CIR testing, I believe they would possibly catch a significant number of players using testosterone,” Conte says.

Tags: anabolic steroids, BALCO, baseball, HGH testing, human growth hormone, Major League Baseball, MLB, steroids, testosterone, Testosterone gels, testosterone to epitestosterone ratio, Victor Conte

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The NFL has suspended Colts guard Jaimie Thomas after he was found violating the league’s substance policy.

Presently on injured reserve, Thomas violated the anabolic steroids and related substances policy.

From Yardbarker.com:

As the NFL and the NFLPA continue to make no progress on the question of whether HGH testing will be implemented, guys are still getting periodically caught for using other banned substances.

The latest?  Colts offensive lineman Jaimie Thomas has been suspended four games for violating the league’s steroids policy.

The NFL did not say what prohibited substance Thomas tested positive for.

Tags: anabolic steroids, HGH testing, Jaimie Thomas, NFL, steroids policy

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After the NFL and NFLPA not coming to a final agreement on HGH testing and the NFLPA already agreeing that players will submit to testing, the NFL has at its disposal several options for enforcing the language of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

One ore more of the options could be used at some point by the NFL.

The NFLPA has resisted HGH testing and argued that WADA’s “population study” of Olympics athletes may not translate to NFL players.

Tags: anabolic steroids, HGH testing, human growth hormone, NFL, NFLPA, steroids

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The NFLPA has made a proposal regarding an HGH testing protocol after a meeting with two members of Congress that resulted in an apparent commitment to commence the collection of blood samples for the purposes of HGH testing.

The proposal details are contained in an item posted at ProPlayerInsiders.com, an official licensee of the NFLPA.

However, the agreement creates the false impression that no agreement on HGH testing has been reached as the NFLPA had agreed only to eventually “discuss and develop” the procedures for testing.

Tags: HGH, HGH testing, NFL players, NFLPA

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The World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) is the independent body that monitors, controls and fights drug use in sport.

It has identified six different classes of prohibited substances: stimulants; narcotics; anabolic / androgenic steroids; diuretics; peptide hormones and other performance-enhancing drugs.

Currently, there are two methods available for steroid testing and only method used for HGH detection.

The first is through urine testing, which is by far the cheaper of the two. It is non-invasive, which means people with needle anxiety prefer this method of testing. It also has fewer complications compared to blood testing.

The second is blood screening. With this method, more banned substances can be detected and is proven to be sensitive compared to urine testing. Blood screening results are harder to “masked”.

HGH detection on the other hand, can only be done through blood screening.

A new kind of urine test is currently being developed by the George Mason University. It uses nanotechnology, which makes urine testing more sensitive. It can also detect HGH in urine for a longer period, up to two weeks time. However, it is still in the process of being approved by the World Anti-doping Agency.

Tags: blood screening, HGH testing, steroids testing, urine testing, WADA

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