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STEROID
12-08-2011, 07:50 PM
Deal Could Lead to H.G.H. Test
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: December 7, 2011

The N.B.A.’s new collective bargaining agreement opens the door to blood testing for human growth hormone — provided that the league and the players union can agree on the reliability of the test.

Major League Baseball became the first major professional sports league in North America to approve testing for H.G.H. when its owners and players signed off on a new labor deal last month. The N.B.A. could become the second, but hurdles remain.

Mike Bass, a spokesman for the N.B.A., said Wednesday that the union and the league have agreed to H.G.H. testing “subject to the test being validated by a neutral committee of experts.” A draft of the new collective bargaining agreement that the players union sent to its members for ratification is a little more cautious in its wording, referring to the “possibility” of a test being introduced.

The union said the test would be implemented if the experts “determine that the tests would be scientifically reliable.”

The concern over reliability echoes the problems the N.F.L. has encountered in trying to introduce H.G.H. testing for its players. Last summer, the N.F.L. and its players union included H.G.H. testing in a new labor deal, leaving details to be worked out later.

Since then, the union has balked, citing reservations about the test. The issue remains stalemated. The baseball players union is not asking for more studies.

The new N.B.A. deal will also establish off-season testing for steroids for the first time. (NYT)