During the labor dispute, which simmered for months before the lockout started, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith included the active lobbying of Congress within the union’s arsenal. It ultimately didn’t work; despite some very mild saber-rattling before the lockout started, Congress stayed out of the situation.
Now that the two sides have agreed to HGH testing as part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement but can’t agree on how to do it, Congress has gotten involved. And while the NFL promptly accepted a bipartisan invitation to meet with members of the House of Representatives regarding the situation, the NFLPA has to date said nothing.
NFLPA spokesman George Atallah declined comment Thursday to Jarrett Bell of USA Today. PFT sent George an email earlier this morning, and we’re waiting to hear from him.
The disagreement regarding the testing protocol exists at a time when Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, a member of the NFLPA Executive Committee, has told NBC SportsTalk that he believes only one to two percent of the league is using HGH.
And that begs this question: If the number is so small, why did the NFLPA agree to HGH testing?
