After three years of negotiations, the NFL and NFLPA "finally reached an agreement" yesterday to test players for HGH, a move "widely regarded as a positive development in an otherwise harrowing start" to the '14 season, according to Sam Farmer of the L.A. TIMES. The new testing policy for PEDs, including HGH, "could begin as soon as the end of the month." The deal has an "immediate impact on three standout players," including Broncos WR Wes Welker, Cowboys CB Orlando Scandrick and Rams WR Stedman Bailey -- all of whom had been "suspended for four games -- are now eligible to return in half the time and will be available for this weekend's games." Those three "benefit from a rules change in which players who test positive for banned stimulants in the off-season will no longer be suspended but will be referred to the league's substance-abuse program." Players who test positive for banned stimulants during the season will "continue to receive four-game suspensions." A third-party arbitrator will "hear appeals of positive tests under the new agreement, and those cases will be handled in a more expeditious way." The league and union are "working on changes to the substance-abuse policy, which could shorten the penalty" on Browns WR Josh Gordon, who is serving a full-season suspension (L.A. TIMES, 9/18). CBSSPORTS.com's Will Brinson noted a first violation of the substance abuse policy will include a suspension "up to six games depending on the nature of the violation." A second violation will "result in a 10-game suspension," while a third violation will "result in a two-year minimum banishment" (CBSSPORTS.com, 9/17).
PLAYERS HAPPY WITH DEAL: Ravens DE and union rep Chris Canty said, "It will be something that will be fair for all the players in the league. We're excited to be able to incorporate HGH testing and really set the standard for all levels of football. We just want to fall in line with a lot of testing policies from major sports leagues and make sure we're providing the best opportunities for fair competition in sports" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 9/17). Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey, another player rep, added, "It works out for both sides. The policy helps out the whole NFL." Pouncey: "It's the right thing to do. I think we'll see fewer guys getting in trouble, and that's the right thing" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 9/18).
MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS: ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said HGH testing "is a very important thing," and the league "wins because it gets HGH testing." But ESPN's Michael Wilbon said, "I don't know that it changes anything of consequence in the NFL" ("PTI," ESPN, 9/17). Columnist Kevin Blackistone said it is "confusing why some players are coming back immediately and others are just having their suspensions reduced." The Boston Globe's Bob Ryan: "You don't change things in the middle of a season" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 9/17).
WEEDING OUT THE PROBLEM: In Cleveland, Bill Livingston writes Gordon "deserves little sympathy from fans he disappointed or teammates he let down, despite the debatable third positive test for marijuana." But this marijuana "monomania is, frankly, ludicrous, given the troubles of the NFL these days." Livingston: "Broken bodies on the field, broken minds, beaten wives and girlfriends off it and battered children at home -- yet the NFL is cracking down on marijuana?" Although HGH will "finally be tested under the NFL's new drug policy, the league still hasn't gotten the marijuana testing right." The minimum for a positive result in the NFL "will be 35 nanograms." It was a "ridiculous 15 ng's on Gordon's disputed third positive." The Armed Forces and MLB "minimum for a positive result is 50 ng's" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 9/18).
