NBA and NBPA to introduce HGH blood testing next season
When the NBA and the NBPA signed the latest collective bargaining agreement in 2011, there was an agreement between the two sides that they would eventually revisit the subject of blood testing for human growth hormone in players and agree to a process for implementing it that both sides found fair. That day has come on Thursday.
From the league’s press release on Thursday afternoon:
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association announced today that blood testing for Human Growth Hormone (HGH) will commence under the league’s anti-drug program, effective with the 2015-16 NBA season.
As part of the collective bargaining negotiations in 2011, the NBA and the Players Association agreed to a process for determining how HGH blood testing would be implemented in the NBA. With that process now completed, beginning with the start of 2015 NBA training camps, all NBA players will be subject to three random, unannounced HGH tests annually (two in-season, one off-season), and players will also be subject to reasonable cause testing for HGH.
If a player tests positive for HGH, he will be suspended 20 games for his first violation and 45 games for his second violation, and he will be dismissed and disqualified from the NBA for his third violation.
Performance-enhancing drugs have always been the elephant in the room in the NBA. They’ve never appeared as prevalent as they are in, say, baseball or cycling. A handful of players (Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and most recently Grizzlies guard Nick Calathes) have been suspended after testing positive for various types of steroids. Commissioner Adam Silver said that the NBA doesn’t have a steroid problem. On the other side, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has come out in favor of the NBA possibly allowing HGH use as long as players were transparent about it.
It will be fascinating to see how many players, if any, get caught under the new policy. The penalties are harsh — 20 games for a first offense, 45 games for a second, a lifetime ban for a third. If the league doesn’t have a PED problem, the new testing policy won’t do much. But if both the NBA and the players’ union want to make sure the league stays clean, it’s a huge step in the right direction.
Twenty is only 5 short of the number the NBA wanted for Jermaine's suspension via the Malice at the Palace. I wonder if Bron deflated to avoid implication. In the first decade of his career, his piss was probably 20% deer antler spray. _________________ GOAT MAGIC REEL SEDALE TRIBUTE EDDIE DONX!
Joined: 15 Sep 2012 Posts: 29258 Location: La La Land
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:30 pm Post subject:
non-player zealot wrote:
Twenty is only 5 short of the number the NBA wanted for Jermaine's suspension via the Malice at the Palace. I wonder if Bron deflated to avoid implication. In the first decade of his career, his piss was probably 20% deer antler spray.
_________________ "Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better”
Joined: 10 Jul 2009 Posts: 12125 Location: Bay Area
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:31 pm Post subject:
kikanga wrote:
non-player zealot wrote:
Twenty is only 5 short of the number the NBA wanted for Jermaine's suspension via the Malice at the Palace. I wonder if Bron deflated to avoid implication. In the first decade of his career, his piss was probably 20% deer antler spray.
He probably got it from Wade...
Not to get all conspiracy-nut on this site, but I always found it curious that an "LJ" was on the clientele-list for Biogenesis...just sayin'
Joined: 23 Jul 2004 Posts: 12898 Location: Los Angeles
Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:50 pm Post subject:
Basketball Fan wrote:
Reflexx wrote:
Injuries are going to go up.
How will we tell the difference? Look at the last two years
These guys have been downshifting off whatever they were on the last few years, readying themselves for this new testing. And it has not gone well. The injuries have been ridiculous! _________________ So glad we gave you your flowers while you were here, Kobe.
Joined: 29 Aug 2004 Posts: 11197 Location: The Other Perspective
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 5:02 am Post subject:
rwongega wrote:
LeBron's "diet" and recent slimming down? Result of early warning last offseason.
Agreed. _________________ "Chick lived and breathed Lakers basketball…but he was also fair and objective and called every game the way it was played."
-from Chick: His Unpublished Memoirs and the Memories of Those Who Knew Him
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 67578 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 9:37 am Post subject:
If LeBron was using and stopped he picked the right time, did it the right way. His game is just about where it was when and if he was using. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 18196 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 10:31 am Post subject:
rwongega wrote:
LeBron's "diet" and recent slimming down? Result of early warning last offseason.
The league couldn't just spring HGH testing on the players. I'm sure this has been part of discussions with the NBAPA for some time and both sides knew it was coming long before it was announced. The league is bowing to public pressure to mandate testing, but they don't want their biggest stars getting caught any more than the players do.
Lebron is probably suspect #1 for public curiosity about supplement abuse in the NBA. _________________ "Suck it up. Don't be a baby. Do your job." - Kobe Bryant
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 67578 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2015 10:36 am Post subject:
numero-ocho wrote:
rwongega wrote:
LeBron's "diet" and recent slimming down? Result of early warning last offseason.
The league couldn't just spring HGH testing on the players. I'm sure this has been part of discussions with the NBAPA for some time and both sides knew it was coming long before it was announced. The league is bowing to public pressure to mandate testing, but they don't want their biggest stars getting caught any more than the players do.
Lebron is probably suspect #1 for public curiosity about supplement abuse in the NBA.
IMO "probably" is a understatement. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Posts: 20510 Location: UCLA -> NY
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2015 1:20 am Post subject:
jodeke wrote:
numero-ocho wrote:
rwongega wrote:
LeBron's "diet" and recent slimming down? Result of early warning last offseason.
The league couldn't just spring HGH testing on the players. I'm sure this has been part of discussions with the NBAPA for some time and both sides knew it was coming long before it was announced. The league is bowing to public pressure to mandate testing, but they don't want their biggest stars getting caught any more than the players do.
Lebron is probably suspect #1 for public curiosity about supplement abuse in the NBA.
NBA isn't going to shoot itself in the foot by outing guys like Lebron. They'll probably find some low hanging fruit, i.e. Hedo Turk and Rashard Lewis.
A lot of "who is that again?" suspensions coming. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals
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