Aug. 4, 2011 – NFL to Become First Major American Sports League to Conduct Blood Tests

NFL players ratified a new, 10-year collective bargaining agreement Thursday [Aug. 4, 2011], hours after it was finalized, and the contract allows the NFL to become the first major U.S. professional sports league to use blood testing for human growth hormone…

Players eventually would be subject to random testing for HGH, in addition to annual checks — as is the case for all banned substances in the league’s drug-testing program — only after the union is confident in the way the testing and appeals process will work.