{"id":369050,"date":"2011-04-05T00:26:20","date_gmt":"2011-04-05T00:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/05\/goodell-wants-hgh-testing-in-labor-deal-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-05T00:26:20","modified_gmt":"2011-04-05T00:26:20","slug":"goodell-wants-hgh-testing-in-labor-deal-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/05\/goodell-wants-hgh-testing-in-labor-deal-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodell wants HGH testing in labor deal (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

WOODLAWN, Md. (AP)\u2014One of the hundreds of high school students attending
\nan assembly Monday about the dangers of performance-enhancing substances wanted
\nNFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to answer this question:<\/p>\n

Why is there more drug use in baseball than football?<\/p>\n

Goodell began his response this way: \u201cI\u2019m not sure that\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n

While making sure to emphasize that he believes the NFL\u2019s drug-testing
\nprogram is a strong one, Goodell acknowledged that it can be improved, and said
\nthe league will insist that its next labor deal with players\u2014whenever there is
\none\u2014includes testing for human growth hormone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d be naive to think that people aren\u2019t trying to cheat the system. But
\nwe have to have the best testing program to be able to offset that,\u201d Goodell
\ntold reporters after joining Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, to speak
\nto area students at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made it clear to the kids in the room today that the integrity of the
\nNFL is critical, and we need to make sure we\u2019re doing everything possible to
\nhave the best drug program in sports,\u201d Goodell said. \u201cMaking changes to our
\nprogram is critical and we have done that over the years. We need to do more,
\nincluding the inclusion of HGH testing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preventing athletes from using HGH is a key target in the anti-doping
\nmovement. The substance is hard to detect, and athletes are believed to choose
\nHGH for a variety of benefits, whether they be real or only perceived\u2014
\nincluding increasing speed and improving vision.<\/p>\n

HGH use is prohibited by the NFL, but the league\u2019s old collective bargaining
\nagreement did not have testing for it. Goodell thinks players \u201crecognize the
\nimportance of\u201d adding HGH tests.<\/p>\n

The NFL Players Association has opposed blood tests in the past but did say
\nlast summer it would be open to hearing a proposal from the league during CBA
\ntalks. Goodell said Monday that HGH was \u201cpart of a broader proposal on where we
\ngo with our drug program.\u201d<\/p>\n

NFLPA spokesman George Atallah declined to comment Monday.<\/p>\n

CBA negotiations broke off March 11, and the old deal expired. The NFLPA
\nsaid it would no longer function as a union, and a group of players filed a
\nclass-action antitrust lawsuit in federal court in Minnesota. The owners then
\nlocked out the players. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday on the players\u2019
\nrequest for a preliminary injunction to lift the lockout.<\/p>\n

Some former NFL players also sued, and the cases were consolidated Monday.<\/p>\n

The retirees said that loss of NFL revenue from an extended lockout would
\njeopardize their retirement plans and other benefits subsidized by the league.
\nIn court documents filed Monday in Minnesota, attorneys for the NFL argued the
\nretirees don\u2019t have standing to ask that the lockout be blocked, because they
\naren\u2019t current employees and aren\u2019t being locked out.<\/p>\n

Goodell wouldn\u2019t say whether he\u2019s optimistic about what will happen in
\ncourt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to present our case, and the judge will make their decision,\u201d
\nhe said.<\/p>\n

Asked whether owners have decided under what rules the league would operate
\nif the injunction is granted, Goodell said: \u201cWe\u2019re prepared for every outcome.
\nI can promise you that. And we don\u2019t believe this is an issue that should be
\ndecided in court. This is an issue that should be decided at the bargaining
\ntable. We have to get back to that bargaining table, no matter what the outcome
\nof litigation is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and
\nGovernment Reform, said he talked briefly to Goodell about the NFL lockout.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe players and the owners have got to understand that this is bigger than
\nthem, and that we\u2019ve got a lot of folks who are spending their hard-earned
\ndollars to come and watch football games, and many of them struggle for those
\ndollars, and there are a lot of people out work,\u201d Cummings said. \u201cI would hope
\nthat Congress would not have to get involved in this. \u2026 That is not something
\nI would advocate for. We have enough problems we\u2019re dealing with, as it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

More:
\nGoodell wants HGH testing in labor deal (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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