The NBA is "in the process of figuring out the best way to implement HGH testing as part of its drug-testing program," according to Tim Bontemps of the N.Y. POST. NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver said, "We want to make sure, on behalf of our players, as well, that’s it’s done in the proper way, and that we understand what are the appropriate baselines for a natural substance, like HGH, so we can detect where there are aberrations. That is something we’re very focused on." Silver added that while the NBA has been "monitoring the Biogenesis case as it has developed over the past several months, the league isn’t aware of any involvement of its players with the clinic, contrary to a recent report." Bontemps notes while the NBA is "still in the process of implementing HGH testing, virtually all of its star players ... have been subjected to Olympic-level testing" as part of their participation in int'l competition. Although the implementation of HGH testing is "something that likely won’t be completed" until the NBPA has hired a new exec dir, Silver said that he has "heard nothing but agreement from the players on the need to ensure fairness for all" (N.Y. POST, 8/13).
POPULATION CONTROL: NFL.com's Albert Breer cited sources as saying that the NFL and NFLPA "formalized an agreement late last week on the protocol for a population study to serve as a precursor to full-blown" HGH testing. The sources added that there "hasn't yet been an agreement on when to start collecting." Reportedly, the NFL's position is that a "comprehensive agreement and closure on the entire drug policy should be reached before the population study begins, while the union is open to starting the process of collecting blood for the population study sooner" (NFL.com, 8/12). ESPN.com's John Clayton wrote of possible connections between NFL players and the Biogenesis clinic, "Surprisingly, the NFL hasn't been looking into it. Evidence hasn't been out there linking NFL players to Biogenesis. With all the leaked documents, you would think some football names would have surfaced, but so far they haven't. The NFL has to be monitoring the situation, and they sure need to be looking into it. It would be naïve to think some football players aren't involved" (ESPN.com, 8/11).
HOWARD STERN JUMPS IN ON MLB SITUATION: SiriusXM Satellite Radio's Howard Stern yesterday discussed the PED situation in MLB and said, "My theory is this: You can look at A-Rod and know he does juice and you can look at half the players in Major League Baseball and know they do juice. They've known A-Rod has done juice for years, but this is a way that management gets out of paying off contracts for talent. So all of a sudden when A-Rod isn't in his prime, they go, 'Mmmm, we owe him $30-50 million. You know who we'll blame it on? We'll blame it on steroids.'" Stern wants to blood test all MLB players and "take everyone out who's on juice or on some sort of something." Stern: "Half the guys would be gone. They won't do it. They need them. They're doing it to A-Rod so they don't have to pay him" ("The Howard Stern Show," SiriusXM Satellite Radio, 8/12).
