Roger Goodell: NFL Close To Agreement To Test For HGH

Roger Goodell says the NFL is close to testing for HGH, or human growth hormone, a performance-enhancing drug that has been the center of many scandals of late.

The NFL commissioner said he has been working with the players’ union on an agreement to test for HGH, ESPN reported.

Goodell made the announcement at his annual state of the NFL news conference on Friday. During the announcement he noted that the testing could be in place in time for the 2013 season.

The league and players’ union had actually reached an agreement on testing two years ago in the latest collective bargaining agreement, though the exact mechanism for testing had not been determined.

The move for the NFL to test for HGH represents a strong action against what has become one of the highest-profile of performance-enhancing drugs. In recent years many players across sports — though focused strongly on Major League Baseball — have tested positive for HGH.

The drug also made headlines this week when the Miami New Times uncovered a South Florida supplier of performance-enhancing drugs that was distributing them to many high-profile athletes, including Alex Rodriguez.

For Roger Goodell and the NFL, implemeunting HGH testing also continues a trend toward greater player safety. The prevalence of concussions in the league became a big story in the media, and the NFL has made strives toward better protecting players by putting in place new rules outlawing dangerous hits and requiring players who test positive for concussions to sit out a determined amount of time before they can return.