WASHINGTON — Two congressmen and the NFL say after a meeting with the players union that testing for human growth hormone will begin shortly, but the union is less committal.
Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told reporters Friday that the sides agreed to begin testing "immediately." He added that what to do with the test results will be dealt with in the coming weeks.
But NFLPA spokesman George Atallah, speaking a few minutes later, said testing will begin after a fair and safe system is in place. He said players will do that "as fast as possible."
The latest collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players includes a provision to begin testing players for HGH — contingent on the union agreeing to the testing methods. The NFLPA has asked for more scientific data to prove the most popular test is reliable.