The NBA announced Thursday that it will begin random HGH blood testing next season.
Every player is subject to three random, unannounced tests every season, starting in training camp in the fall.
Steroid use in the NBA hasn’t gotten the attention it has in Major League Baseball or the National Football League, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem.
In 2011, Derrick Rose was quoted by ESPN The Magazine that performance enhancing drugs were a big problem in the league.
Rose was one of several professional athletes asked the following question by ESPN the Magazine for its May 16 issue: If 1 equals ‘What are PEDs (Performance Enhancing Drugs)’? and 10 equals ‘Everybody’s Juicing’ … How big of an issue is illegal enhancing in your sport? In response, Rose said, Seven. It’s huge, and I think we need a level playing field, where nobody has that advantage over the next person.
Rose then issued a statement denying he ever made that comment.
“Regarding the quote attributed to me in ESPN The Magazine, I do not recall making the statement nor do I recall the question being asked,” Rose said. “If that was my response to any question, I clearly misunderstood what was asked of me.
“But, let me be clear, I do not believe there is a performance enhancing drug problem in the NBA.”
“If there was [a drug problem] … we get tested four times so it would definitely show up or something. There’s definitely not a drug problem in the NBA.”
The new drug testing policy will result in a 20-game suspension for a first violation and a 45-game ban for a second violation. A third violation would result in dismissal.
The league hasn’t previously mandated blood testing.
