Before any of you start submitting “this ain’t about football” comments regarding this item about a British rugby player, think again.
Terry Newton is the first athlete to test positive for Human Growth Hormone, a huge step in a process that eventually could reduce dramatically the use of a substance that Buccaneers fullback Earnest Graham predicts 30 percent of all NFL players is taking.
“It is the world-first analytical positive for HGH, a substance that has previously gone undetected because it leaves the system fairly quickly after administration,” United Kingdom Anti-Doping chief executive Andy Parkinson said, according to Robert Millward of the Associated Press.
“There has been a feeling that you can take growth hormone with impunity, but this shows this is no longer the case,” Parkinson said. “Now there is a test, so our message to athletes is to think twice about using it.”
It doesn’t mean that NFL players will be tested for HGH soon, but the day is coming. Until it arrives, however, plenty of guys will continue to use it, without consequence.