The NFL will begin HGH testing during the 2013 training camps. Players will be required to give blood samples during physicals to create a league-wide population study, USA Today Sports reports.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) emailed its members and informed them of the blood sample requirement. While it's unlikely players face any punishment this season, the blood sample collection is intended to create a population study to help determine what is a "normal" level of HGH in a player.
"I don't think it's a big issue," Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz told reporters. "The testing is just to establish baselines. We agreed to testing in the CBA and this is the first step in that process."
Some experts, however, are concerned the population study is just another stall tactic by the NFLPA.
"There's an assumption here that they're (NFL players) somehow unique. Therefore, their HGH level would be different. I don't know why they came up with that, where they came up with that," said Dr. Gary Wadler, an international sports doping expert and clinical associate professor of medicine at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.
He added: "It's just an opportunity to delay. I think that delay is detrimental to the sport."
Dr. Wadler is referring to when the NFLPA said its players could have higher natural HGH levels than the general population. The union also disagreed with league-recommended testing procedures, which were approved by the World Anti-Doping League (WADA).
Anti-doping experts have dismissed the NFLPA's claim as baseless.
Negotiations between the NFL and the Players Association will continue before the testing is officially implemented. Issues such as testing procedures and discipline for players found with high HGH levels remain unresolved.
An NFLPA email to its players addressed the disagreement between the league and union:
"The current stalemate regarding HGH testing and the League office is about whether the NFL, and others working with them, can force the Players to accept an unfair testing and discipline protocol when the collective bargaining process requires mutual agreement by both the Players and the NFL."
