NFL seeks to upgrade steroid testing policy

A test to determine use of human growth hormone appears to be the next major step in drug testing in sports, and the NFL is willing to take that step once an accurate test is developed, according to a report in Wednesday's New York Times.

Until then, the NFL will seek to raise its steroid-testing standards to that of the International Olympic Committee, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the newspaper.

The NFL Players Association and the league are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, and any action would require approval from the union. Aiello said a new NFL policy would recommend a change in the ratio between testosterone and epitestosterone from 6-1 to 4-1.

It's not known how many more players would test positive under this change and efforts to reach the NFLPA drug administrator were unsuccessful.

"I'm not sure how much more we can do with our steroid policy," said Oakland Raiders fullback Rob Konrad, a longtime union representative. "It's already the most comprehensive testing in professional sports. If you're doing steroids now, you've got some kind of death wish because I doubt very much there are many players taking steroids now in the NFL." Yet, according to a "60 Minutes Wednesday" report, three Carolina Panthers players received steroids from a South Carolina doctor weeks before their 2004 Super Bowl appearance against the Patriots. Punter Todd Sauerbrun, center Jeff Mitchell, and offensive tackle Todd Steussie all filled prescriptions for a testosterone cream, while Sauerbrun also bought syringes and the injectable steroid Stanozolol, which is banned by the NFL and considered hard to detect.

The prescriptions were all signed by Dr. James Shortt, currently under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration for prescribing steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

Shortt told The Charlotte Observer in Wednesday's editions that he only became aware of banned substances by sports organizations after he watched the congressional hearings on steroid use in baseball. Shortt admitted prescribing Stanozolol, but stopped doing so after finding out it was banned.

Shortt told the newspaper that he prescribed steroids for what he thought were proper medical conditions. "Do I consider healing and repair and regeneration and recovery, and working at optimal function, a legitimate medical function? Yes," he said.

Player agent Brad Blank said he sees the players having no problems with the enhanced testing, feeling "players don't like people who cheat. I think they're happy about anything testing that catches the cheaters. I have never had a problem with testing because testing is good for their health, and the players agree with that."

Blank said he represented players he thought took steroids in the late 1970s and '80s, before testing was adopted by the NFL, though he said he'd be shocked if there were players on steroids now, other than the ones who test positive and have to serve a four-game suspension for first-time offenders.

Recently, New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett said he took steroids during his playing career, most of which was with the Buffalo Bills (from 1979-85). Haslett implicated the Pittsburgh Steelers as starting the steroid frenzy at the time when there was no testing in the league. (The

NFL started testing for steroids in 1987.) It took baseball almost 16 years to adopt a steroid policy that has recently come under attack by members of Congress after revelations by former slugger Jose Canseco that he took steroids and helped others (whom he named) take them.

While NFL teams say steroid testing is expensive, the cost would be much higher for blood tests that could detect HGH. The drug is undetectable in urine tests.

Konrad wonders how such a test would be administered.

"I don't think you can have players giving up blood once a week," Konrad said. "I think if it was part of a physical during training camp, that might be manageable, but given the issues at training camp with hydration and heat indexes that are amazingly high, I'm not sure you can take a lot of blood out of players. But if it's the next step and if it's an issue that the league and it's players feel we need to address, I feel we will."

Konrad said that at a recent Players Association meeting in Hawaii, the steroid issue was not addressed.

"I think the players have a done a lot in this area," Konrad said. "We want the playing field level and I think we feel that's happened."