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77–683 PDF 2012

HGH TESTING IN THE NFL: IS THE SCIENCE 

READY? 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT 

AND GOVERNMENT REFORM 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

DECEMBER 12, 2012 

Serial No. 112–192 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.fdsys.gov 

http://www.house.gov/reform 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California, Chairman 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

JOHN L. MICA, Florida 

TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania 

MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio 

PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina 

JIM JORDAN, Ohio 

JASON CHAFFETZ, Utah 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

TIM WALBERG, Michigan 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

JUSTIN AMASH, Michigan 

ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York 

PAUL A. GOSAR, Arizona 

RAU ́ L R. LABRADOR, Idaho 

PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

JOE WALSH, Illinois 

TREY GOWDY, South Carolina 

DENNIS A. ROSS, Florida 

BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas 

MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania 

VACANCY 

ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland, Ranking 

Minority Member 

EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York 

CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York 

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of 

Columbia 

DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio 

JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts 

WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri 

STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts 

JIM COOPER, Tennessee 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

MIKE QUIGLEY, Illinois 

DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois 

BRUCE L. BRALEY, Iowa 

PETER WELCH, Vermont 

JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky 

CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut 

JACKIE SPEIER, California 

LAWRENCE J. BRADY, Staff Director 

JOHN D. CUADERES, Deputy Staff Director 

ROBERT BORDEN, General Counsel 

LINDA A. GOOD, Chief Clerk 

DAVID RAPALLO, Minority Staff Director 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on December 12, 2012 ...................................................................... 1 

WITNESSES 

Mr. Lawrence A. Tabak, DDS,Ph.D., Principal Deputy Director, National 

Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 5 

Written Statement ............................................................................................ 8 

Mr. Larry Bowers, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 15 

Written Statement ............................................................................................ 17 

Mr. Richard M. Butkus, NFL Hall of Fame Member, I Play Clean 

(IPlayclean.org) 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 23 

Linn Goldberg, M.D., FACSM, Head, Division of Health Promotion and Sports 

Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 23 

Written Statement ............................................................................................ 26 

Mr. Michael Gimbel, Director, Powered By Me, University of Maryland St. 

Joseph Medical Center 

Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 35 

Written Statement ............................................................................................ 37 

APPENDIX 

The Honorable Darrell Issa, a Member of Congress from the State of California, Hearing Preview Statement .................................................................... 58 

Endocrine Reviews ................................................................................................... 59 

The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings, a Member of Congress from the State 

of Maryland, Opening Statement ....................................................................... 92 

Letter to The Honorable Jason Chaffetz, a Member of Congress from the 

State of Utah from Basic Research ..................................................................... 94 

Letter to Darrell E. Issa from the U.S. Olympic Committee ............................... 96 

The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, a Member of Congress from the State 

of Virginia, written statement ............................................................................ 98 

Mr. Donald M. Hooton, Taylor Hooton Foundation, written statement ............. 100 

Mr. Travis T. Tygary, United States Anti-Doping Agency, letter on Human 

Growth Hormone .................................................................................................. 102 

Letter to Dr. Larry D. Bowers from Dr. Gmeiner, President World Association 

of Anti-Doping Scientists ..................................................................................... 104 

Letter to Senator John McCain from Mr. David Howman, Director General, 

World Anti-Doping Agency .................................................................................. 112 

Mr. Dennis W. Gay, CEO, Basic Research, written statement to Congressman 

Jason Chaffetz ...................................................................................................... 115 

Letter to Rep. Jason Chaffetz from Steve and Melyn Campbell, Limitless 

Worldwide ............................................................................................................. 118 

(1) 

HGH TESTING IN THE NFL: IS THE SCIENCE 

READY? 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM, Washington, D.C. 

The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:05 a.m., in Room 

2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Darrell E. Issa [chairman of the committee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives Issa, Jordan, Chaffetz, Walberg, Gosar, 

DesJarlais, Gowdy, Farenthold, Cummings, Towns, Maloney, 

Tierney, Clay, Connolly, Quigley, and Speier. 

Also Present: Representative Lummis. 

Staff Present: Alexia Ardolina, Assistant Clerk; Alexa Armstrong, 

Staff Assistant; Will L. Boyington, Staff Assistant; Molly Boyl, Parliamentarian; Lawrence J. Brady, Staff Director; Sharon Casey, 

Senior Assistant Clerk; Steve Castor, Chief Counsel, Investigations; 

John Cuaderes, Deputy Staff Director; Carlton Davis, Counsel; 

Adam P. Fromm, Director of Member Services and Committee Operations; Linda Good, Chief Clerk; Frederick Hill, Director of Communications and Senior Policy Advisor; Michael R. Kiko, Staff Assistant; Mark D. Marin, Director of Oversight; John Ohly, Professional Staff Member; Ashok M. Pinto, Deputy Chief Counsel, Investigations; Mary Pritchau, Professional Staff Member; Scott 

Schmidt, Deputy Director of Digital Strategy and Press Secretary; 

Jonathan J. Skladany, Counsel; Rebecca Watkins, Deputy Director 

of Communications; Jaron Bourke, Minority Director of Administration; Beverly Britton Fraser, Minority Counsel; Ashley Etienne, 

Minority Director of Communications; Jennifer Hoffman, Minority 

Press Secretary; Carla Hultberg, Minority Chief Clerk; Adam 

Koshkin, Minority Research Assistant; Elisa LaNier, Minority Deputy Clerk; Lucinda Lessley, Minority Policy Director; Dave Rapallo, 

Minority Staff Director; Rory Sheehan, Minority New Media Press 

Secretary; and Donald Sherman, Minority Counsel. 

Chairman ISSA. The committee will come to order. 

The Oversight Committee exists to secure two fundamental principles. First, Americans have a right to know that the money 

Washington takes from them is well-spent. And, second, Americans 

deserve an efficient, effective government that works for them. Our 

duty on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee is to 

protect these rights. 

Our solemn responsibility is to hold government accountable to 

taxpayers because taxpayers have a right to know what they get 

from their government. It is our job to work tirelessly in partnerVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:53 Jan 18, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\APRIL~1.KIN\DOCUME~1\77683.TXT APRIL
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ship with citizen watchdogs to deliver the facts to the American 

people and bring genuine reform to the Federal bureaucracy. 

Our committee’s resources are limited, but in one area we have 

focused for more than 6 years, and that is taking drugs and dangerous substances out of professional sports. We do so on a bipartisan reason—bipartisan basis, and we do so because, in fact, what 

professional sports do is what collegiate sports do and it is what 

children aspire to do. We cannot take professional sports in isolation because ultimately it trickles down to the youngest. 

When we began our work on a bipartisan basis on steroids in 

baseball, steroids had become common at the high school level. 

Today I believe it is dramatically reduced but not eliminated. 

On their own, with some push from Congress, the National Football League signed a historic union agreement that banned human 

growth hormone from professional football. They did so with a time 

limit that would have, in fact, put it in play last season. We are 

now finishing this season, and no such implementation has occurred. 

This committee, under Ranking Member Cummings and myself, 

has met on multiple occasions with the parties, encouraged them 

to work out their differences, and supported each of their agreements to try to bring the contract into compliance. 

We are here today because, in fact, it hasn’t happened, because 

America is watching, and because both the ranking member and 

myself are personally concerned that the injuries, particularly head 

injuries, that continue to plague professional sports—professional 

football and all football played at all levels in no small part is 

based on the strength of the players hitting each other. Human 

growth hormones can, in fact—and we will hear testimony to this 

extent—be a part of this. It is a tough sport when played honestly 

by people of good, solid training and physical conditioning; we need 

not make it tougher or more dangerous by the use of banned substances. 

This committee is here today to hear from the parties who can, 

in fact, help us with the science and from one well-known player 

who knows the science personally, as it impacted on him time and 

time again. 

It is our hope that this hearing will move the parties closer together or at least have the American people clearly understand 

that, in fact, it needs to happen, that much of the science has been 

not just done but redone in support of it happening, and that if we 

are to have the kind of clean game that Americans love, this has 

to be an element of the testing. 

So, with that, I want to thank all of our witnesses, but I particularly want to thank the ranking member. This has been one of 

those examples in which there has not only been bipartisan behavior but there has been completely nonpartisan behavior. Never 

have we had a closer tie than the ranking member and I have on 

this issue, and I want to thank him for his leadership, and yield. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your 

words. And I agree with you totally. 

I want to make sure that the league understands this, that our 

players understand this, that the union understands this: There is 

no daylight, in the words of the chairman, between his position and 

3 

mine. This is a bipartisan effort, and I am very delighted that it 

is because I think it is so very important. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to all of our witnesses for 

being here. 

Today’s hearing is not only about the NFL, it is not only about 

human growth hormone; this hearing is about millions of young 

people throughout this country in high school and college who look 

up to professional athletes and the lengths to which these young 

people go to emulate their role models. 

Let me tell you about some of the young people in my district 40 

miles away from here in Baltimore, many of whom come from very 

challenging backgrounds and from very difficult home situations. 

They have dreams about making it as lawyers, engineers, teachers, 

and maybe even a Congressman. I have seen their smiling faces at 

graduation. I see them at the bus stops at 6 o’clock in the morning 

trying to get to practice. I see them coming home late from practice. They tell me about burning the late hours doing homework, 

dead tired. They are dedicated, they are smart, and they have 

amazing potential. 

But that word, ‘‘potential,’’ is a very significant word. I have 

often said that our children are the living messages we send to a 

future we will never see. The question is whether we will send 

them there with diabetes, will we send them there with heart disease, will we send them there with mental problems. 

Some of these young people dream about becoming ballplayers 

and succeeding beyond their wildest expectations. And when they 

see a freshman become the Heisman Trophy winner, they feel that 

is within reach. 

When I meet these young people, I share the same advice my 

parents gave me; that is, there are no shortcuts in life. If they want 

to become a successful entrepreneur, a best-selling author, or a Pro 

Bowl linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, they have to put in the 

work to reach their goals. 

But when they see their role models in sports using illegal drugs 

to try to get an edge and when they see the professional leagues 

looking the other way, refusing to test and going easy on abusers, 

they start thinking they need to use these substances just to compete. 

And so that there will be no confusion, I must credit Commissioner Goodell for his efforts, not only with regard to protecting 

players, but he has also been one who has been pushing to make 

sure that this happens. And he said that to the chairman and I, 

and I want to make sure that is clear, that he has been very adamant about this. 

These young people, they start thinking and they have high expectations, and they are reaching. 

HGH is a dangerous drug with both short-term and long-term 

risks. Let me read just a few of the negative health effects of HGH: 

hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, bone spurs, spinal stenosis, disfigurement, and cardiac dysfunction. These come directly from a 

scientific journal article published in April of this year. 

Mr. Chairman, I ask that this study be placed into the record. 

Chairman ISSA. Without objection, so ordered. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Thank you very much. 

4 

There is no serious dispute in the scientific community that the 

test to detect HGH abuse is effective. This test, which has been in 

place for the past decade, is actually designed to be conservative 

in order to avoid false positives. As one of our witnesses will testify 

today, you are more likely to get struck by lightning than to get 

a false positive on an HGH test. 

There is also no dispute that on August 4th, as the chairman has 

said, 2011, more than a year ago, the NFL Players Association entered into a contract to begin testing NFL players for HGH, quote, 

‘‘by the first week of the 2011 regular season.’’ As we all know, that 

season passed without any HGH testing, and now the 2012 season 

will also pass without it. 

Despite their commitment, lawyers for the Players Association 

now say they do not trust the HGH test. Although it has been used 

for years on Olympic athletes, Major League Baseball players, and 

a host of other athletes, they argue that the NFL players are somehow different. They claim that their bodies are not the same as 

wrestlers, runners, weightlifters, and thousands of other athletes 

who are tested regularly. They say they need more time to study 

this issue before doing what they agreed to do. 

To me, it seems obvious that the Players Association is simply 

running out the clock. Although they agreed to the HGH testing, 

they are now trying to back out of the contract. Well, today we will 

have the opportunity to hear directly from medical experts, and we 

will examine the claims of the Players Association under the bright 

light of science. 

Finally, let me address one point that has been raised, which is 

why Congress is getting involved in this issue. I am sure the chairman agrees with me that this dispute should be resolved by the 

NFL and the Players Association. We wish it could be or would be. 

They have a contract, and they should honor it. But when they 

refuse to do so, that sends exactly the wrong message to the kids 

we have sworn to protect, and that is when it becomes our business. 

Finally, on a personal level, I have worked on this issue for most 

of my life in public service. I have helped with the formation of a 

group in Baltimore in 2007 called Powered By Me that has reached 

more than 30,000 young athletes, coaches, and parents, warning 

them about the dangers of these substances. The group’s director, 

Mike Gimbel, has spearheaded efforts to prevent young athletes 

from being brainwashed by the mantra of, quote, ‘‘winning at all 

costs.’’ I am very thankful he is testifying today. 

And, again, Mr. Chairman, I cannot tell you how grateful I am 

to you for the cooperation that we have had on this issue, and I 

am looking forward to moving forward. 

And another thing that keeps coming up, Mr. Chairman, and you 

may address this later on, people just—I keep being asked the 

question, well, why are you just having the experts here today? 

Why don’t you have the NFL and the players? And I have told people, and you can expound on this later I guess, that this may be 

very well the first of several hearings and that we wanted to get 

the science out and the effect that it is having on our young people. 

And with that, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for your courtesy, and I yield back. 

5 

Chairman ISSA. I thank the gentleman. 

Chairman ISSA. I might note, I am not recognizing the only football player here on the dais, but that was only because my understanding is they threw a flag anytime he was hit during his—— 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Now, point of clarification. I was a placekicker, 

not an actual football player. 

Chairman ISSA. All the more reason not to recognize him. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Thank you. We will go win the game at the end, 

but—— 

Chairman ISSA. And since we are being very bipartisan, I want 

to remind the ranking member that we share the Baltimore Ravens 

since I was born and raised in Cleveland. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. That was cold. 

Chairman ISSA. It was cold. You can keep Modell, though. 

We now welcome our witnesses: Mr. Dick Butkus, an NFL Hall 

of Famer who leads the organization I Play Clean, which encourages student athletes to play sports without performance-enhancing drugs. 

Welcome. 

Dr. Larry Bowers is the chief science officer of the U.S. AntiDoping Agency, very important to today’s hearing. 

Dr. Larry Tabak is the deputy director of the National Institutes 

of Health and an expert in this field. 

Mr. Mike Gimbel is director of Powered By Me at St. Joseph 

Medical Center. 

And Dr. Linn Goldberg is head of the Division of Health Performance and Sports Medicine and director of the Human Performance 

Laboratory at the Oregon Health and Science University. 

Pursuant to our committee rules and because we absolutely want 

people to know that we treat everyone equally, would you please 

all rise to take the oath and raise your rights hands? 

This is the photo moment you have all waited for. 

Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you are 

about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 

the truth? 

Please be seated. 

Let the record reflect that all witnesses answered in the affirmative. 

As the ranking member said, today really is about the science 

and a lead-in to what will, if necessary, be a series of hearings 

until in fact this issue is resolved. 

So there is a full panel. I would ask that since your entire opening statements will be placed in the record, that if you run short 

of time, as the former chairman used to say, you know, it is green, 

we know that means go; yellow, that means go real fast through 

the intersection; and stop means don’t run it anymore. So if you 

will come as close to that 5 minutes as possible, we would appreciate it. 

Dr. Tabak? 

STATEMENT OF LAWRENCE A. TABAK, DDS, PH.D. 

Dr. TABAK. Good morning, Chairman Issa, Ranking Member—— 

6 

Chairman ISSA. Oh, the other thing is that these microphones, 

in order not to get people behind you into the conversation, you 

have to get them as close as possible. Thank you. 

Dr. TABAK. Well, again, good morning, Chairman Issa, Ranking 

Member Cummings, and distinguished members of the committee. 

I am here today to describe our understanding of the state of the 

science pertaining to the nonmedical use of recombinant human 

growth hormone, which I will refer to as HGH, including its adverse effects, and to discuss the prevailing method for detecting illicit use of recombinant HGH in professional sports. 

HGH is a natural product of the pituitary gland with essential 

roles in human development. Much of our current understanding 

about the physiological and psychological effects of HGH on the 

human body comes from decades of studying and treating patients 

suffering from growth hormone disorders. NIH has a long history 

of supporting breakthrough research to understand and treat the 

often devastating effects of deficient or excessive function of the 

growth hormone system. 

Human growth hormone therapies became a mainstay of modern 

medicine, particularly after development in 1985 of a safe and reliable source of recombinant HGH, a synthetic protein produced by 

DNA technology that has a sequence identical to that of the primary pituitary-derived HGH. 

HGH can stimulate tissue growth, linear growth, and metabolism. It promotes fat loss and increases lean body mass. The FDA 

has approved recombinant HGH for a number of clinical indications 

associated with growth hormone deficiency in both adults and children. In patients with growth hormone deficiency, recombinant 

HGH administration improves aspects of exercise capacity, and 

some studies have suggested that it improves mood. 

Given the well-documented ability of recombinant HGH to spur 

tissue buildup and burn fat, some athletes began abusing recombinant HGH in an attempt to enhance their performance. 

Further increasing the appeal for competitive athletes is the fact 

that it also stimulates the production of another hormone, insulinlike growth factor-1, that inhibits breakdown of proteins. There are 

claims that inhibiting protein breakdown can help prevent some of 

the muscle and tendon damage that results from the chronic abuse 

of anabolic steroids. This effect is unproven, but it may explain 

why recombinant HGH is often used in combination with anabolic 

steroids at high doses for several months, a phenomenon that is 

bound to complicate our understanding of any potential consequences of the nonmedical use of recombinant HGH. 

Studies performed to date have found little or no evidence that 

increased lean body mass that can result from using unnaturally 

high doses of recombinant HGH have any effects on boosting 

strength, power, or aerobic capacity in healthy individuals. Nonmedical use of recombinant HGH might actually decrease performance by increasing exercise-induced buildup of lactic acid in muscles, which promotes muscular fatigue, cramps, and soreness. 

Based on well-documented evidence of the side effects of recombinant HGH administration to adults with growth hormone deficiency, athletes who abuse recombinant HGH are putting themselves at serious risk. 

7 

Although much of what we know about the adverse effects associated with high-dose recombinant HGH abuse is derived from individual case reports, anecdotal evidence or therapeutic records, what 

we know about the biology of recombinant HGH, and the long clinical history of treating patients with it points to a worrisome list 

of possible adverse consequences, including development of some of 

the features of acromegaly, as well as risks for developing hypoglycemia, diabetes, cardiomyopathy, drug-induced hepatitis, renal 

failure, soft tissue edema, joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and 

increased fatigue. 

The available information suggests that athletes who dose themselves with recombinant HGH are taking serious risks with their 

health and may not realize that there is no scientific evidence that 

the practice will improve their performance or resilience in competition. 

Knowledge of the potentially adverse health consequences associated with recombinant HGH abuse has prompted efforts to develop 

and deploy a sensitive, reliable method for testing of the illicit use. 

The development of a test provided some formidable challenges, 

but these technical obstacles have been overcome with the development of several testing approaches. 

And I see the time is up, and I will stop at this point. 

Chairman ISSA. Thank you. And thanks for being such a good 

steward of time. 

[Prepared statement of Dr. Tabak follows:] 

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Chairman ISSA. Dr. Bowers? 

STATEMENT OF LARRY BOWERS, PH.D. 

Mr. BOWERS. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the 

committee. My name is Dr. Larry Bowers. I am the chief science 

officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. I would like to thank you 

for this opportunity to testify about the science behind growth hormone testing. 

I have been involved in the development of tests for the abuse 

of growth hormone since 1999. I was the director of the Athletic 

Drug Testing and Toxicology Laboratory at Indiana University, at 

the time one of only two International Olympic Committee testing 

laboratories in the U.S. 

USADA has been recognized by Congress as the independent national anti-doping agency for Olympic, Paralympic, and Pan American sport in the United States. USADA’s mission is to protect and 

preserve the health of athletes, the integrity of competition, and 

the wellbeing of sports through the elimination of doping. Since its 

inception, USADA has been an advocate for clean athletes. 

When Congress approved the medical use of growth hormone, the 

law expressly stated that it was only to be distributed for conditions specifically authorized by the Secretary of Health and Human 

Services, making potentially dangerous off-label uses, such as performance enhancement, illegal. 

The isoform growth hormone test has been developed by well-respected researchers in the growth hormone research community. It 

is a blood test that has been used to detect the prohibited use of 

growth hormone on a limited basis since 2004 and on a worldwide 

basis since 2008. 

The test measures the ratio of the form of growth hormone found 

in recombinant or synthetic products to other forms of growth hormone that are naturally released by the pituitary gland. The ratio 

is independent of the amount of growth hormone in the blood. You 

are just as likely to have a ratio of 0.8 at low concentrations of 

growth hormone as you are to have a ratio of 0.8 at high concentrations of growth hormone. When you take recombinant synthetic 

growth hormone, the ratio increases dramatically. 

The method has been the subject of four peer-reviewed publications, has been the subject of numerous conferences and working 

group meetings that have involved growth hormone experts. 

WADA has been given the responsibility for harmonizing and improving tests by the World Anti-Doping Code and the UNESCO 

Convention, which was approved by Congress. A very conservative 

threshold or decision limit was established for this isoform test. 

The chances of an athlete who has not used synthetic growth hormone testing positive are comparable to the chance that that same 

athlete has of being struck by lightning during his or her lifetime. 

Mr. Chairman, the conservative nature of the threshold has been 

borne out by nearly 13,000 growth hormone isoform tests that have 

been performed globally. There have been 11 positive tests, and 8 

of those individuals admitted use. The remaining three cases are 

in various stages of arbitration and appeal at this time. 

In addition, Major League Baseball has conducted approximately 

1,700 growth hormone isoform tests in its minor league players 

16 

during the season and for the major league players during spring 

training. One minor league player tested positive and admitted 

growth hormone use. Since 2008, USADA has conducted 1,387 

growth hormone isoform tests. Of these tests, 99 percent were well 

below the decision limit that has been established. 

It has been suggested by the NFL Players Association that NFL 

players are sufficiently different from other elite athletes with regard to size and ethnicity that an additional population study be 

done. Mr. Chairman, in my scientific opinion, an additional population study is unnecessary because each of the concerns that have 

been expressed have already been raised and answered by the 

growth hormone experts. 

Does the current test take the size of athletes into account? Yes. 

And it was determined that the size of an individual has no relation to the ratio of growth hormone isoforms measured by the test. 

Does the test accurately take into account growth hormone 

isoform ratio differences that may be attributed to an athlete’s race 

or ethnicity? Yes. And the conservative approach that I described 

reflects that consideration. 

Does the test take into consideration the effect of strenuous exercise on growth hormone isoforms? Yes. To the extent growth hormone isoform ratios are affected by exercise, it has been determined that it is minor and it disappears within 30 minutes of the 

end of exercise. 

In conclusion, I would like to point out that the only people who 

are still questioning the methodology and validity of the growth 

hormone isoform test are lawyers, not scientists. The test has been 

not only put into use in Olympic sport but in Major League Baseball as well. The experts who work in the growth hormone field 

every day, both inside and outside of the anti-doping community, 

have universally accepted and recognized that the isoform test is 

scientifically reliable and appropriate for the detection of growth 

hormone abuse in sport. 

Once again, I would like to express my thanks and my appreciation to the committee for having me here to testify. 

Chairman ISSA. Thank you. 

[Prepared statement of Mr. Bowers follows:] 

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Chairman ISSA. Mr. Butkus? 

STATEMENT OF RICHARD M. BUTKUS 

Mr. BUTKUS. Thank you, Representatives Issa and Cummings 

and members of the committee. I appreciate you holding this hearing on HGH testing. 

First, I applaud the NFL and players for taking a bold and decisive position on HGH in their 10-year agreement. Now let’s get on 

with it. The HGH testing process has proven to be reliable. It is 

time to send a clear message that performance-enhancing drugs 

have no place in sports, especially the NFL. 

Now, as a sports enthusiast, I know you need both a great offense and a great defense to win. The defense is tough league testing and continued crackdown on drug suppliers. The offense is education and practical guidance. 

For the last 7 years, my son Matt and I have been playing offense. We have reached out to thousands of active teens across the 

country, encouraging them to play clean. That means eating well, 

training hard, and playing with attitude, instead of using performance-enhancing drugs. 

Now, we have made some progress, but our work is far from 

over. Today, we have about 400,000 teens who report that they 

have experimented with performance-enhancing drugs, many in 

middle school, and one-third are young women. We also discovered 

that five of six teens have never received education about performance-enhancing drugs or their consequences. But once teens hear 

that they are illegal, mess up your body development, and ruin 

their chances to play at the next level, they make smart decisions. 

Now, the work is to equip teenage athletes and their parents and 

coaches with programs making it easier to train and eat well. We 

need to make it easier to do the right thing. Plus, every year we 

have another million or so teen athletes who need to be educated, 

along with their parents and coaches. 

None of our work on offense will matter unless we have a strong 

defense. The NFL and player agreement on HGH is a great playbook. Now let’s get on the field and execute. The wellbeing of our 

Nation’s most active youth is riding on it, and they are paying attention to what happens in the NFL. 

Thank you. 

Chairman ISSA. Thank you. 

Chairman ISSA. Dr. Goldberg? 

STATEMENT OF LINN GOLDBERG, M.D., F.A.C.S.M 

Dr. GOLDBERG. Mr. Chairman and committee members, thank 

you for inviting me to this hearing. I am a practicing physician and 

professor of medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University. 

I have been researching how to prevent performance-enhancing 

drug use among young athletes since 1987. 

My team of researchers found reasons young men and women 

use drugs, like growth hormone or steroids, are not the same and, 

thus, require different approaches. So we developed two NIDA-supported high school programs entitled ATLAS for males and ATHENA for high school females. Both have reduced the use of anabolic 

24 

steroids, illicit drugs, and alcohol, and have received national and 

international recognition for effectiveness. 

I was a principal investigator of the NIDA-sponsored SATURN 

study assessing the effectiveness of drug testing for high school 

athletes. Because other experts can testify anabolic steroids to the 

accuracy of the newer growth hormone tests, I will focus my testimony on younger athletes’ drug use and the potential messages a 

robust HGH program in professional sports might send to our 

youth. 

More than 55 percent of high school students participate in 

school-sponsored sports, and both male and female athletes report 

using performance-enhancing drugs. There are no reliable estimates as to the prevalence of human growth hormone use among 

adolescents. Also, the potential harmful effects of high doses of 

HGH are not known, although the disease may mimic the disease—excuse me—the intake may mimic the disease acromegaly, 

where excess growth hormone is produced by a pituitary tumor. 

Furthermore, it is not yet not clear that human growth hormone 

by itself is an athletic enhancer. However, many athletes believe it 

works and use it alone in combination with anabolic steroids or 

other drugs. 

If the NFL has a reliable, robust testing program for HGH and 

the analysis is accurate, testing could make professional football 

fairer, if not healthier. However, the message to young athletes 

may not only show that the NFL does not tolerate drug use, but 

other messages may be present as well: one, that HGH actually enhances athletic performance; and, two, there is a need to test elite 

athletes because so many are users. Teens don’t always respond to 

adult messages as they are intended. 

The CDC estimates that over one-half million high school students report steroid use. This means that there are more high 

school steroid users than the total number of athletes in the NFL, 

Major League Baseball, the NBA, and NHL combined multiplied by 

100. Thus, the most profound performance-enhancing drug problem, by numbers of users, is among high school students, not the 

pros. 

While drug testing may weed out users in professional sports, for 

young athletes it is critical to prevent drug use. In our own study 

of student athlete drug testing, there was no deterrent effect. So 

if drug testing in an athlete’s own school does not deter his or her 

use, why would testing in professional sports deter high school 

drug use? 

The way to reduce performance-enhancing drug use by young 

athletes is to implement programs proven to work. Recognizing 

this, the NFL is doing just that. The NFL Youth Football Fund has 

sponsored ATLAS and ATHENA to over 40,000 young athletes 

throughout the United States. Moreover, the NFL has provided 

funds to both the Taylor Hooton and Efrain Marrero Foundations 

to better inform students and parents about these drugs. 

It is important to stress that Congress passed the Anabolic Steroid Control Act in 2004, authorizing $15 million per year for 6 

years to enable DHHS to distribute science-based education programs in elementary and secondary schools to prevent steroid use. 

25 

Although funds were authorized, Congress did not appropriate 

funding. 

Consequently, in 2009, the NFL, MLB, USADA, USOC, and the 

National Federation of State High Schools sent a joint letter to all 

Members of Congress requesting appropriation of funds to educate 

children about steroids. However, not one penny was appropriated. 

Instead, there have been multiple high-profile hearings on 

steroids and prominent steroid court cases, costing the government 

tens of millions of dollars, in failed attempts to convict just two 

Major League Baseball players. Additionally, according to the GAO, 

well over $1 billion was wasted on the Federal antidrug campaign, 

where greater campaign exposure appeared to make things worse. 

Drug testing may be needed in an effort to keep professional 

sports more drug-free and fair, but testing elite athletes will not 

prevent drug use among teens. If Congress thinks adolescent use 

of performance-enhancing drugs is a problem, then do something 

about it. The notion that HGH testing in professional sports will 

trickle down to young athletes, causing them to be drug-free, without strong science-based education is not only naive, it may send 

a message that you need to use drugs to succeed. 

Programs that actually work are available. Because Congress approved but did not appropriate funds, we would like to give our 

ATLAS and ATHENA programs back to the Federal Government 

so schools can use them for free. 

Thank you. 

[Prepared statement of Dr. Goldberg follows:] 

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Chairman ISSA. Mr. Gimbel? 

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL GIMBEL 

Mr. GIMBEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for inviting 

us, Congressman Cummings. My name is Mike Gimbel. I am director of the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center Powered By Me antidrug athlete program. We have been around for 5 

years. 

More than that, I come from a different place here today. I am 

also a recovering addict, being clean 40 years. I am also a competitive marathon runner. I am proud to say I have run the Boston 

Marathon 8 years out of the last 10. I work with kids every day. 

I love sports, I love working with kids, and I hate what drugs are 

doing to these kids. 

We are addicted in our society. We have an addiction to winning—winning at all cost. The kids I work with tell me that they 

will do anything to win. That means play injured, that means 

cheat, and it means take drugs. Because the goal, the addiction is 

to win, and we have an obsession in our Nation to win. 

And these children are starting at an early age, following the 

same pattern of addiction that we see with other drugs. We have 

9-, 10-year-old kids who are drinking gallons of energy drinks in 

order to get an edge. Kids when they are 12 or 13 will spend thousands of dollars on unregulated supplements—muscle supplements, 

diet supplements—in order to get bigger and stronger and faster. 

And then when they get to high school, where it is really competitive and winning is really important, they go to the hard stuff. And 

that is when they start looking for HGH, anabolic steroids, anything they can get their hands on because they have to win. 

And we have enablers—coaches, parents—who support this, who 

watch this, who need to get involved. And we are in denial, as we 

are with other addictions, because we love winners. The message 

to our kids is that you have to win. 

Now, we have seen with other addictions that we have to have 

an attack that is three-pronged of education and treatment and enforcement. The education you have heard; there are programs out 

there that work. What we haven’t talked much about is treatment. 

People that use these supplements will get addicted, whether it is 

just psychologically or whether it is physically as well. We have to 

get them help. 

And, finally, in enforcement, what we have certainly found in 

other drug issues is that drug testing is important. Drug testing 

does two things: It helps to deter some athletes from using, and it 

also helps us identify those who are chronic users who then we can 

identify and get help. So testing is critical, not just for HGH but 

for any substance that we can identify that will help us make our 

sports and our athletes play safer and fairer and drug-free. That 

is the message. 

We look at the message that these kids get from their role models. We know that professional athletes are role models; they know 

that they are role models. Just in the last couple of weeks, we have 

watched tragedy after tragedy in the NFL. There are lots of other 

people who have died in car crashes, in domestic violence cases, 

and carry weapons, but it wasn’t on the news the way it was with 

36 

the NFL and professional sports. That is how powerful it is. That 

is the message that goes to our children. 

So we need to attack this the way we have attacked every other 

addiction because winning can’t be everything because there aren’t 

all winners all the time. Sometimes you lose. We have to teach 

that. 

What you heard up here with the panel, everyone agrees we have 

to work with parents, we have to work with coaches. And we have 

to send a new message, not a mixed message, but a new message 

that you play safe, you play fair, you play drug-free, you do the 

best you can, you use your God-given talents, and if you win, great, 

and if you lose, great. You tried; you did your best. And that is the 

message we need to send. 

We are proud of the work we have done. We certainly thank our 

Congressman Cummings, who has helped us and gave us guidance 

and support for 5 years. We have reached 30,000 kids, but there 

are a lot out there that we need to reach. And I think what Mr. 

Butkus said is true, that we just have to get to as many kids as 

possible. 

I want to thank you for inviting me and supporting our efforts. 

Thank you. 

Chairman ISSA. Thank you. 

[Prepared statement of Mr. Gimbel follows:] 

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Chairman ISSA. I now ask unanimous consent that the 

gentlelady from Wyoming be allowed to attend and participate in 

this hearing, Ms. Lummis. 

Without objection, so ordered. 

Mrs. LUMMIS. Thank you. 

Chairman ISSA. By the way, she will be joining the committee in 

the next Congress, so this may be the only time I have to wave her 

on. 

I will now recognize myself for a brief round of questions. 

First of all, Dr. Goldberg, I share with you your concern that we 

have to do all these other things. I hope today that we can all focus 

on this portion of it. It is not uncommon that Congress authorizes 

and then doesn’t appropriate. Hopefully, Mr. Butkus and others 

can illuminate us on an awful lot of things that the NFL—players, 

owners—are doing in which they are spending far greater money. 

And hopefully that makes up for the stinginess of Congress, which 

is not famous right now, but a trillion dollars of deficits from now 

it might become famous. 

Dr. Bowers, you have certainly looked at the decades of the testing of human growth hormones and other substances. And when 

people say it is like being struck by lightning, I want to make sure 

I understand. Is there a chance that we will get a false positive on 

the margin on a football player if we begin testing all of them? 

Mr. BOWERS. Well, no test is perfect, but, again, in 1,400 tests 

that we have done at USADA, there hasn’t been a single false-positive test. So the odds are extraordinarily low. 

Chairman ISSA. And my understanding of the contract is that 

there is an appeal process and union protection if, in fact, somebody claims to have a false positive. You have looked at other athletes and so on. Are the protections, in your opinion, sufficient if 

there is an accusation of a false positive? 

Mr. BOWERS. Yes. I think the adjudication process is the appropriate place to discuss a particular test result, and there is opportunity to deal with the issues there, yes. 

Chairman ISSA. Thank you. 

Mr. Butkus, a lot has changed since your time on the gridiron, 

but I suspect you are acutely aware of all of the physicians, trainers, people who administer both on and off the field in professional 

sports. 

In your opinion, is that well-regulated and, in fact, already, if 

you will, creating an environment in which there is tremendous enhancement of the players? 

And I ask this for a reason. This committee is also concerned 

about the injuries, both at the professional and collegiate level. 

Isn’t it true that, in fact, without human growth hormones, if we 

really eradicate it, and steroids, don’t we also have in the NFL 

probably the greatest level of legal enhancement that anyone could 

possibly imagine, whether it is fluids or it is the actual training or 

every other piece of science that is available but legal? 

Mr. BUTKUS. Well, I would hope so. I can only go back to the 

years when I was playing. You have to understand—— 

Chairman ISSA. Well, you were pretty enhanced. We have to 

know how. 

Mr. BUTKUS. Well, the thing inside my chest, I think it was. 

40 

But you would think that the owners and the NFL, with the 

money, the amount of money that they are paying today, would 

have the best doctors available for their people. Unfortunately, I 

don’t think that was true back in the sixties when I played because 

it was a lot of friendships. And I don’t know, I would go as far to 

say if I maybe went to a different doctor, I might have played a 

couple more years. 

So you have to understand what they are doing today. With all 

the advancements of nutrition and training techniques and everything else, you would think that each NFL team would make the— 

you know, would make the effort to get the best possible. I mean, 

you know, when I was playing, we could never go to another doctor. 

The people, the players today, they can go anywhere they want, 

any specialist they want, and, you know, they usually do. 

So I would think that to avoid injuries and everything else, they 

are going to happen, but if you train properly and eat well, like we 

tell the kids from I Play Clean, you can get just as much out of 

the sport as you can. 

Chairman ISSA. Well, now, Dr. Goldberg made an opening statement that I think is worth asking you to respond to. If, in fact, the 

NFL lives up to its contract, the players live up to their contract, 

do we send a powerful message, in your opinion, that could reduce 

or eliminate the pretense, if you will, at the college level and hopefully at the high school level for using these kinds of drugs, knowing that the testing will prevent it for sure when they get to the 

pros? 

Mr. BUTKUS. Well, absolutely. I mean, where have you been? The 

NFL is a very powerful group. I mean, I am in front of the public 

a lot this past couple years. And why would a kid come to me and 

ask for an autograph or talk about the Bears? I am 70 years old. 

You mean to tell me that my playing in the NFL doesn’t have an 

effect on the kids today? Come on. 

Chairman ISSA. Thank you. 

Mr. BUTKUS. What they do in the NFL by testing—and believe 

me, I believe a lot of them want it. Nobody wants to be playing and 

have that shadow hanging over, ‘‘Well, did he or didn’t he take the 

juice? Did he or didn’t he?’’ I think they all want—a majority of 

them want to do the testing. So why it is held up, I don’t know. 

Chairman ISSA. I might only make one comment, and you can respond. And I will give equal time to the ranking member. 

The value of graduating from high school as a star and going to 

college, if there is testing in the college for steroids and human 

growth hormone, and you get cut from the team because you can’t 

perform the next year the way you did before is pretty minimal, 

isn’t it? Basically, 1 year in college doesn’t get you there. And the 

same is true if you get to the pros and suddenly you are being tested and you can’t perform the way you did the year before. 

Could you comment a little bit on, essentially, the disincentive, 

if you know you are going to be tested at the next level, to even 

try to use it at the previous level to get that 1 year? 

Mr. BUTKUS. Well, I testified in Texas for high school testing, 

and a lot of the results were, ‘‘Well, you know, there was 100,000 

kids tested and only 2 turned up positive.’’ Well, it could have been 

41 

maybe more but because of the testing. So I believe it is good for 

high school kids to be tested. It is a deterrent, I would think. 

Now, I got to be educated, and that is what we try to do, is educate these kids that, listen, you know, you want to try this stuff? 

Like, you girls, you want to try this stuff and end up with a mustache and talking like a guy? Think about it. And the guys, do you 

want to play at the next level? Because you might get by here in 

high school, but they are going to nab you in college. Why would 

you risk that if this is your real goal? 

And so, again, I go back to educating them. I mean, who is to 

say if I was a player back then and I thought, well, this is going 

to give me an edge and everything else, that I wouldn’t do it? I 

mean, I hear about it all the time in different sports. They do it 

to have a great year. Lo and behold, it happens to be their last year 

of the contract, and then the next year they sign a big one, and 

they go right in the toilet as they get off of it. 

So I think it is a deterring factor for high schools. 

Chairman ISSA. I thank you. 

I now recognize the ranking member for his questions. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Butkus, I want to follow up on the chairman’s questions. 

First of all, I want to thank you. You said you are 70 years old? 

Mr. BUTKUS. Right. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. And there are so many things you could be 

doing, but you decided to touch the future. And I just want you to 

know I really—we all appreciate that. 

And that leads me to this. You know, in my district, the kids— 

I live in the inner city of Baltimore. And most of the kids in my 

neighborhood, they will never get to an NFL game. You know why? 

Can’t afford it. 

And when you hear about these players—and, I mean, more 

power to them—making millions upon millions of dollars, agree to 

take a test, agree now, and 2 years later no tests and complaining 

about the science—and you just heard the doctors, what they said 

about the science—you know, I mean, what do you think that sends 

to—I mean, and you are trying to convince kids not to go that 

route. But what message do you think that sends to those very kids 

that you are trying to help? 

Mr. BUTKUS. Well, the message is that, like they have stated, it 

is in the hands of lawyers instead of scientists. 

I mean, I really believe that the majority of the players, if not 

all of them, welcome the test. I mean, I would, not because I—I 

wouldn’t take the stuff, but it is just that I want them to know that 

I am playing on an even field here. Because there are big rewards, 

like you say, with the money and endorsements and everything 

else. 

I mean, when I see a mother talking about her kid and I am trying to talk to the 10-year-old kid and the mother is saying, ‘‘Ask 

him how to be a pro, ask him what to eat,’’ and I turn to her and 

I say, ‘‘Ma’am, I don’t want to bust your bubble here, but little 

Johnny here has got about one chance in a million to make it. Why 

don’t you just let him play for fun?’’ ‘‘Oh, no, he is going to make 

it.’’ So you got to educate not only the kids, the players, the coaches, and the parents—whew, the parents, we all know that. 

42 

But getting back to your question, I think the majority of them 

want to be tested. They agreed to the agreement. So whatever the 

ramifications are that they are worried about, the reliability, I 

think these gentleman up here have, you know, certainly made it 

clear. Other than that, I don’t know. I really think they want to 

play on an even field. I know I would. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Gimbel, part of our goal here today is to ensure the health and safety of professional athletes while ensuring 

fairness and integrity in the game. But we are also concerned 

about the millions of young people that participate in middle 

school, high school, college athletics across the country. 

What message does it send to young athletes that play the sports 

when the NFL players don’t get tested? I mean, what do you—what 

does that say? 

Mr. GIMBEL. Well, I think we—— 

Mr. CUMMINGS. You talked about being addicted to winning. Are 

you—and from what you know and listening to the doctors, and I 

am sure you have done your own research on this, I mean, do you 

have doubts about the accuracy of the test? 

Mr. GIMBEL. No, I don’t have any doubts about the accuracy of 

the test. I think we have all done our homework to know about it. 

The same with other testing that is done. 

And I think the importance, you know, when Dick was saying 

about reaching parents and the attitude of parents who believe 

that every child is going to be a star, and the reality is that kids 

have lost the fun of playing sport because it is about winning. And 

that pressure starts so young that these kids are looking for an 

edge. The little skinny kid is looking for an edge because he has 

been told by his parents or the coach, You better bulk up. 

And then they look up at the colleges and they look up at the 

pros, and they see their role models, one, getting busted; you know, 

two, getting in trouble; you know, three, getting injured over and 

over. And they look at that, and, yeah, that has an impact, but 

they also look at the fact that their way of getting there might be 

through drugs because that is going to get them the scholarship, 

that is going to get them out of the ghetto, that is going to get 

them out of the neighborhood, that is going to get them their 

chance. 

And they are willing—and this is what they say—you know, if 

winning is everything, they will do anything to win. And that is the 

scary part. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Just one last question. 

Dr. Bowers, I keep going back to what you said about lightning 

and the chances of being—what did you say? The chances of an 

athlete who has not used synthetic growth hormone testing positive 

are comparable to the chance of that same athlete being struck by 

lightning. 

Mr. BOWERS. Correct. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. That is incredible. So what you are saying is, 

then—and I think you said 11 folks have been found—— 

Mr. BOWERS. That is correct. There have been 11 positive tests 

out of 13,000. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. And so, are there any other tests—I know there 

are two tests now—are there any other tests, Dr. Tabak or Dr. 

43 

Bowers, in the pipeline that could even be more accurate? Just curious. 

Mr. BOWERS. I wouldn’t make the distinction of accurate. All of 

the tests are accurate. 

The isoforms test that I described, the limitation of it is it has 

a very short detection window. Basically, 2 days after you take the 

drug, it is undetectable again. The other test that has been in development, the biomarkers test, probably detects the use of growth 

hormone out to 8 to 10 days afterwards. 

So the two tests are complementary. They are both accurate. 

They just test for different times after the person takes the drug. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ISSA. Thank you. 

We now recognize the ‘‘I wasn’t a player, just a placekicker’’ for 

5 minutes, Mr. Chaffetz. 

By the way, you haven’t looked at George Blanda at the end of 

his season. You are still always on the roster. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Well, the most important statistic for a kicker is 

we never lost a game by the margin of my missed kicks. Otherwise, 

I would be in Arizona or California at this point in my life. But it 

was a great experience, and it is a great sport and America loves 

it. And there are a lot of kids that look up to the people that engage. 

And to Mr. Butkus and the others that have gone through a lot 

of pain in playing the roughest—one of the roughest sports around, 

the public enjoys it, but we have to send the right message to the 

youth. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. So, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Cummings, 

and to the five members who are testifying here today, I appreciate 

your passion and your willingness to testify on this issue. The importance of this issue is that we as a country make sure that our 

youth, in particular, and others don’t go down the wrong direction. 

I do want to make sure, though, that we inform the public of the 

distinction between the synthetic recombinant human growth hormone injections that artificially raise growth hormone levels and 

keep them unnaturally elevated for periods of long time versus perhaps a dietary supplement that provides nutritional support to the 

pituitary to produce optimum youthful levels of natural HGH release that flows to the body’s natural rhythms. And I think the testimony here today does reflect in part the difference and the distinction between the synthetic recombinant human growth hormones and maybe some of the other more natural levels of HGS. 

In fact, I would ask unanimous consent, there is a company that 

is in my State of Utah that wants to make sure that we are distinguishing the differences. And I ask unanimous consent to insert 

into the record their letter. 

Chairman ISSA. Without objection, so ordered. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Thank you. 

Dr. Bowers, two things. One is, in your testimony, you said that 

an additional population study is needed. My understanding is that 

the Players Association and the NFL have agreed to do this population study. So I don’t think that that is necessarily applicable. My 

other part of it is a question. The tests that you are performing, 

44 

have those been peer-reviewed? By whom have they been peer reviewed? And how were they peer reviewed? 

Mr. BOWERS. So peer review takes a number of forms. One of the 

ways can be publication. And I mentioned that the test—there have 

been four publications about this test that are in the literature. 

That is one form of peer review. Another form of peer review is to 

get a group of scientific experts together around the table, present 

data, have them talk about it, and then go forward with their recommendations. And that also has been done with growth hormone 

over the last—like I said, since 1999, we started—— 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. But specific to the test that you are doing? 

Mr. BOWERS. Yes. All of those things have happened specific to 

the test that I have talked about. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. And have you given all of that to the NFL and 

to the Players Association? Do they have access to that? All of it? 

Mr. BOWERS. Yes, they do. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. My understanding is that perhaps they don’t. So, 

just as a point of clarification for the record, my understanding is 

you will provide all of that information that we just talked about 

to both the Players Association and to the NFL. 

Mr. BOWERS. We offered, USADA offered to go talk with the 

player representatives and show them all the data that USADA 

has, answer any questions that they have, and they never took us 

up on it. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Is there anything that you wouldn’t show them? 

Mr. BOWERS. That I have accessible? 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Uh-huh. 

Mr. BOWERS. No. 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Okay. All right. 

I thank you all, again. I appreciate this. I think it is an important topic. And I hope they continue to execute. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ISSA. Would the gentleman yield? 

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Sure. Sure. 

Chairman ISSA. I just want to sort of come back to what Mr. 

Cummings had started on. If you were to look below the current 

levels, the threshold, the very conservative threshold, is it likely 

that some of those who would not test positive are in fact doping? 

In other words, I want to understand, not only is it a lightning 

question, but isn’t it true that, in some cases, because it is such a 

short window, basically somebody dopes 3 days before, you are seeing it, but you are not considering it a false. Is that correct? 

Mr. BOWERS. That is correct. I mean, the threshold has been set 

intentionally very high. And when you do that, you are accepting 

a number of what would be false negatives. So the people are actually using it, but you are saying I am willing to exclude that just 

so we don’t get anyone having a false positive. 

Chairman ISSA. Just one follow up. It also means that, under the 

current testing, they could juice in the off off-season and get away 

with it. This is a relatively limited testing period in which they are 

really only being tested during the playing season, if you will. Isn’t 

that correct? In other words, it is not year-round testing. 

45 

Mr. BOWERS. Yeah. I am not totally familiar with what the NFL 

does. Certainly, for USADA, 90 percent of our growth hormone 

tests have been no notice, out of competition. 

Chairman ISSA. Right, your random tests. 

Mr. BOWERS. Right. 

Chairman ISSA. Though this one, as I understand it, is less aggressive. 

With that, we go to the gentleman from Missouri who was patiently not leaving the dais, Mr. Clay. 

Mr. CLAY. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. 

And thanks for conducting this hearing. Recently, the NFL Players Association raised questions about the science that underlies 

the HGH test, arguing that it should not be applied to NFL athletes. This HGH test has been used at the Olympics since 2004. 

Dr. Tabak, correct me if I am wrong, but WADA is recognized as 

a scientific leader in this field. Is that correct? 

Dr. TABAK. Yes, that is correct. 

Mr. CLAY. And despite the variations in size and body types that 

exist among NFL players, there are Olympic equivalents that span 

the full range. For example, six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Randy 

Moss is 6’4’’ and weighs 215 pounds. Gold medallist sprinter Usain 

Bolt stands at 6’5’’ and 210 pounds. In fact, the sports reporters in 

this room may remember that Bolt was flirting with the idea of trying out for the NFL. 

Mr. Butkus, I don’t know about you, but I don’t see any conceivable relevant difference between these two athletes. Do you? 

Mr. BUTKUS. Nope. Not really. 

Mr. CLAY. So what is it that the NFL players are talking about 

here? I mean, why are they saying there is a distinction or that 

they have—that size and body types are different? 

Mr. BUTKUS. I really don’t know. I am just saying that they are 

being represented by their union, and one false positive can mean 

a guy’s reputation. But again, like I say, I bet you the majority or 

all of them want to be tested. 

Mr. CLAY. Another example is 2012 weightlifting bronze medalist 

Ruslan Albegov, who at 6’4’’, 324 pounds, is roughly the same size 

as 11-time Pro Bowl lineman Larry Allen, who is 6’3’’, and 324 

pounds. Dr. Bowers, again, I don’t see any relevant difference between these two athletes. What do you think? 

Mr. BOWERS. I agree. And I can even add a little more to that. 

If I look at the top 1 percent, the highest growth hormone test results that we have seen, the three sports that were involved were 

bobsled, a driver; cycling; and three track and field sprinters. None 

of them are particularly big individuals. So the highest test isn’t 

correlated at all to body size. 

Mr. CLAY. Can you talk about the test for growth hormone in 

sport and the research that went into its development? 

Mr. BOWERS. I can. The search for a test for growth hormone 

abuse started back in 1996. It split into two different paths, one 

of which is the test we are discussing today, which is the isoforms 

test. And that test was based on the fact that when people were 

given growth hormone, this test could discriminate or classify people correctly into users and nonusers. 

46 

The other test, having recognized that a 2-day window was probably not going to be the best solution for us, the other test is a biomarkers test. And that basically is an indication of the effect of 

growth hormone on the body. And so since those effects last much 

longer than growth hormone is actually there, the window of detection is much broader. And those are the two tests that are currently under development. 

Mr. CLAY. And did the trials include a wide range of individuals 

with a wide range of body types? 

Mr. BOWERS. Yes, it did. 

Mr. CLAY. And has the test also gone through the peer-review 

process? And what were the results of that process? 

Mr. BOWERS. So as I mentioned, the isoforms test has had four 

publications related to the test itself. They are published in the 

peer-reviewed literature. The biomarkers test has had more than 

33 publications laying the background for the test. And again, 

those are all in the peer-reviewed literature. So quite a bit of research has been done over the last, what, 15 years. 

Mr. CLAY. Thank you so much. 

And Mr. Chairman, just yesterday, in fact, the committee received a letter from Scott Blackmun, the CEO of the U.S. Olympic 

Committee, stating, quote, ‘‘Given the stringent review process, the 

USOC has the utmost confidence in the WADA-approved testing 

methods to detect HGH.’’ And I ask unanimous consent to enter 

this letter into the record. 

Chairman ISSA. Without objection, so ordered. 

Chairman ISSA. I thank the gentleman. 

We now go to the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee, Dr. 

DesJarlais. 

Mr. DESJARLAIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you, gentlemen, for joining us today. I want to take this 

just in a little different direction than we have gotten to so far. As 

a practicing physician for 20 years before coming to Congress, I 

think that we are kind of overlooking, to some extent, the source 

of the problem here. And to my knowledge, HGH is not something 

you can go down to GNC and get. HGH is going to have to be prescribed by a physician. 

I know from my experience, and I have had patients come in who 

were undersized, off the growth chart at young ages when they are 

hitting puberty, and those discussions have occurred, whether it is 

appropriate to use this hormone. And generally, that is a problem 

that is referred to on to an endocrinologist. 

Now, I guess what is confusing to me here is why is this so readily accessible? And who are the doctors who are providing this for 

the wrong reasons? And why is the punishment not starting there? 

And then maybe we don’t have to worry as much about it. 

I know bad things will happen as long as there is bad people or 

bad players in the game. Can anyone enlighten me on what the 

punishment history has been for physicians prescribing HGH? 

Dr. Goldberg? 

Dr. GOLDBERG. Many of the kids who get both HGH or think 

they are getting HGH, or anabolic steroids, get them from the 

Internet. If you put in ‘‘buy HGH’’ or ‘‘buy steroids,’’ you can get 

many, many thousands and thousands of hits, and you can send 

47 

away for vials of steroids or human growth hormone. Whether they 

are, in reality, human growth hormone or steroids is questionable. 

And they have been looked at. Many of them are phony. But from 

Eastern Europe, you can get those. They are readily available. 

Mr. DESJARLAIS. That is without a doctor’s prescription, or do 

they just forge them? 

Dr. GOLDBERG. Oh, without a doctor’s prescription. 

Mr. DESJARLAIS. Okay. So there is a certain—yes, Mr. Gimbel? 

Mr. GIMBEL. The other issue here is the fact that many athletes, 

pro, college, certainly high school, are going to health food stores, 

GNC stores, buying tons of muscle supplements, which are not regulated. The FDA does not regulate that industry. 

In surveys that have been done randomly over the years, many 

of these products have had HGH and anabolic steroids in them. We 

just don’t know. You know, the fact is that these products are 

working, and they are working so well, my assessment, and many 

other professionals, is something is not right. And it needs to be 

regulated. 

So we have got a whole industry, from energy drinks up to what 

you buy in these stores or on the Internet, it is not regulated. So 

it is a real kind of a Russian roulette crapshoot when it comes to 

what these kids are buying, which they are probably getting more 

from the Internet and these stores than they are from their doctors. 

Mr. DESJARLAIS. Dr. Goldberg? 

Dr. GOLDBERG. Well, you can’t get HGH from a pill. You can get 

anabolic steroids. The IOC did a study of U.S. supplements; in 

2003, it was published that 18.6 percent of supplements, of 240 

supplements analyzed, had true anabolic steroids in them. Of 

course, that wasn’t on the label. But because they are not regulated, they can put those in to make them work. 

Mr. DESJARLAIS. Okay. And I know creatine has become a big 

problem as an over-the-counter supplement. I know I have a son, 

Mr. Butkus, who played linebacker and in his senior year this year 

was 140 pounds. As you said, he is not going to the next level. But 

as much as he and his other teammates wanted to continue to use 

creatine, I told them the perils of this, and yet, at halftime or all 

throughout the game, they are laying on the sideline getting their 

cramps stretched out, whether it is their calves or hamstrings. 

In college football, we see players routinely going into the locker 

room at halftime getting IV fluids. That is probably not something 

that was as common in your day. And this is because this dehydrates and causes these muscles to cramp. 

So it shows even as a physician and a father, I could not influence my own son from going off to GNC and taking this. So that 

is a big challenge. How do we do a better job? I know that you have 

been working on it. 

Mr. BUTKUS. I guess we just got to keep on pounding the pavement and educating them. The parents, I mean, I come across a 

Pop Warner coach, he comes up to me, and he says, you know 

what, I finally had to have a meeting with my parents of my 9- 

year-olds. 

I said, really? I said, about what? 

48 

He said, just before the game, the parents make them go back 

in the parking lot and they chug down energy drinks at 9 years old. 

I am saying, I am trying to reach high school kids. You mean to 

tell me I got to go to grammar school now? 

Or the case of telling that story to another Pop Warner coach 

that came by, and he said that is nothing, Dick. I actually caught 

a mother giving a 9-year-old a laxative so he could make his weight 

at 9 years old. 

Mr. DESJARLAIS. Wrestling that happens for sure. 

Just as a point of personal privilege, I have to tell you that I 

have gotten over my grudge against you. Growing up in South Dakota, I was an avid Viking fan. And I was not upset when you retired in 1973. But that has been 40 years ago, and I have gotten 

over it. 

Mr. BUTKUS. That is probably why you have been so successful. 

Thank you. 

Chairman ISSA. Forty years. That is all it takes? 

You notice I haven’t gotten over losing the Browns to Baltimore. 

But 40 years might do it. 

With that, we now go next to—wait a second. I want to make 

sure I get this just right—Mr. Quigley, who was here at the start. 

Mr. QUIGLEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I appreciate your having this hearing, and our panelists, to your 

participation. Those watching us know that the House has a long 

history of having hearings about performance-enhancing drugs in 

sports, some of them famous, some of them infamous. 

But what struck me in looking at this meeting was that it used 

to be that Major League Baseball was behind, right? Now it is the 

only major sport testing for HGH. So if the MLB association and 

the commissioner and the teams can agree on this, it makes no 

sense to me that the National Football League can’t as well. 

I just want to go in the weeds a little bit with anybody on the 

panel that wants to help. The way you take HGH is in a sequence, 

correct? So you are on this for a while, and then you are off this 

for a while? I would like a little nuance here, what that means in 

terms of why one of these two tests is preferred, given what you 

mentioned earlier about the fact that there is a gap where the test 

only lasts for a short period of time. 

Mr. BOWERS. Well, there is not a preference for one versus the 

other. They are complementary. So when we get them both validated, then we will use both of them. A good example was we had 

the biomarkers test used at the games in London this summer. 

And two athletes in the Paralympics in power lifting tested positive 

by the biomarkers test and did not test positive by the isoforms 

test. And the reason was they admitted to using growth hormone 

about 8 days before. 

Now, unfortunately, since the Olympic games, one of the companies that was supplying the kits that we were using for the biomarkers test has taken it off the market. And so until we can validate another procedure for that particular test, we can’t use it. 

Mr. QUIGLEY. And there was—is anyone doing the biomarkers 

test now at all? 

49 

Mr. BOWERS. The only lab that was approved to do it was the 

London lab for the Olympics. To the best of my knowledge, there 

are no other labs that have been approved to use that test. 

Mr. QUIGLEY. And again, back to what I mentioned before, and 

that is the sequence in which an athlete would take human growth 

hormone. There is a period in which they would go on, and there 

is a period in which they would naturally go off. How does that affect the timing of the testing? 

Mr. BOWERS. Well, again, both of the tests are really best used 

in what we call no-advance-notice, random or out-of-competition 

testing. So testing on game day, for example, doesn’t make a lot of 

sense to me. I would be doing my testing away from that, when 

people are training and at a time when they don’t know that they 

are going to be tested. That makes both tests most effective. 

Mr. QUIGLEY. But they take this for how long a period, and then 

how long are they off it, typically? 

Mr. BOWERS. The answer is, it depends. But they would take a 

cycle that might be every day for several weeks and then stop. So 

any time you got them during the period of time that they were 

taking it, the test would probably be positive. There are some athletes who we have been—that we have interviewed that stay they 

take it for weight loss. Those people use it slightly differently than 

what I just described, so it would be a little more difficult to find 

them if you were going to schedule a test in advance, for example. 

Mr. QUIGLEY. Again, but who advises these athletes? Who is out 

there that are these masterminds? How do they find the athletes 

or vice versa to get such—you have to admit at least some sophistication in understanding how to take this, if at all safely, safely, 

and then what sequence. 

Mr. GIMBEL. Well, one of the things we found over the years is 

that there is a lot of money involved here. And there are lots of 

companies who are interested in getting to athletes and selling 

their products and teaching them how to do it. You may remember 

years ago, we were into this cycle with the Balco lab, where every 

time the government would ban a certain chemical in a steroid, 

they would go back and change it, because again, it is supply and 

demand. It was a market for the product. People were willing to 

pay. There is an underground. There are trainers. There are people 

who will teach athletes how to do things the wrong way. Because 

again, their goal is to play as long as they can, be as strong as they 

can, as fast as they can, recover from their injury. There is a lot 

of money at stake. So there are people that will teach them, we 

have found, whether it is a trainer, whether it is a coach. There 

are people that will teach the other side as much as we are trying 

to teach how to do it the right way. 

Mr. QUIGLEY. Thank you. 

Mr. Chairman, I also represent Wrigley Field. I actually look out 

over Wrigley Field from my house. And you didn’t have to be a fan 

of the Bears or the Vikings or the Packers or whomever to appreciate what Mr. Butkus did on that field to make this game great. 

And I thank all for participating. 

Chairman ISSA. I thank the gentleman. 

We now recognize the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. 

Gowdy. 

50 

Mr. GOWDY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Science, Mr. Chairman, is the reason some of us went to law 

school. So I am not going to be asking any questions rooted in 

science. 

Chairman ISSA. Though the gentleman is not that kind of lawyer. 

Mr. GOWDY. No, sir. I was not. And I am not any kind now. 

But I do want to ask some questions concerning reliability. Because if memory serves me correctly, you can be suspended from 

the NFL for certain criminal offenses. And I am wondering if there 

are any studies on the reliability of jury verdicts that the Players 

Association is insisting on before you can suspend someone for suffering a criminal conviction. 

Hearing no response, I think you can also be suspended, Mr. 

Butkus, for certain tackles or certain conduct on the field, which 

requires either Mr. Goodell or Mr. Tagliabue to ascertain someone’s 

intent, whether or not they had a malicious intent to injure, before 

you can be suspended. And I am wondering whether or not the 

Players Association is insisting on some test studying the reliability of ascertaining people’s malice or mental intent. 

Mr. BUTKUS. That wasn’t going on when I was playing. There 

were no rules. 

Mr. GOWDY. I am not aware of any test now where they have scientifically tested Mr. Goodell’s ability to ascertain people’s intent 

when they go to tackle someone. 

But here is the big issue to me. You can be suspended for trafficking in HGH. That would be a crime. So you could be suspended 

for that, right? What test would they use in court? If you can be 

suspended for the conviction, and that test is good enough for the 

Players Association, why can’t you be—that same test be good 

enough in this realm? Not all at once. Is there a different test you 

would use if there were a prosecution for an NFL player for trafficking in HGH? And we all agree they could be suspended for suffering that conviction, right? How is the test that would be used 

in court to determine whether or not it was HGH any different 

from the test that is being proposed now? 

Mr. BOWERS. Well, there is a slight difference, but I agree totally 

with your comments that, again, it is inconsistent, and it seems appropriate that you would do the test that you agreed to do. 

Mr. GOWDY. Well, Mr. Chairman, I think that there was a clause 

in the CBA over the next several weeks, the two parties would develop specific arrangements to implement HGH testing with the 

goal of beginning testing by the first week of the 2011 regular season. Has anyone been able to determine what the intent of the 

Players Association was when they agreed to that language? Was 

there a test they had in mind when they agreed to that? Is the 

chairman aware? Is there any test that they would find acceptable? 

Chairman ISSA. If the gentleman would yield? 

Mr. GOWDY. Yes, sir. 

Chairman ISSA. In the previous season, the ranking member and 

I had a proposed deal in which they would simply collect the samples so that when they agreed to this eventually, they would at 

least have a collection of essentially retroactive evidence. We had 

an agreement. They left. The agreement fell apart. They refused to 

have even a collection. So I guess I would have to tell the genVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:53 Jan 18, 2013 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\APRIL~1.KIN\DOCUME~1\77683.TXT APRIL
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tleman that one of our frustrations is they wouldn’t even agree to 

eventually have a test once they agreed to it. And that has been 

one of the frustrations is the ranking member and I personally met 

and thought we had an agreement; it then got reneged on by one 

side to, I think, the detriment of the players’ well being. 

Mr. GOWDY. Well, I will close with this, Mr. Chairman, because 

I just can’t unlock this conundrum. You pick your favorite player. 

Mine would happen to be a Dallas Cowboy. But pick your favorite 

player, can be suspended from the NFL if they suffered a conviction for trafficking in HGH, after a court case, after due process. 

If they are convicted, they could be suspended. How is the test that 

would be used to lead to that conviction different than what is 

being proposed in this setting? If it is good enough for that way to 

be suspended, why is it not good enough for this way? Is the 

science somehow different in a courtroom than it is outside the 

courtroom? 

Mr. BOWERS. Not that I am aware of, no. 

Mr. GOWDY. I would welcome the opportunity to ask the Players 

Association that question, but I won’t get it today, so I will yield 

back. 

Chairman ISSA. I thank the gentleman. I thank him for his insightful questions. 

With that, we go to the gentleman from the north of Virginia, 

Mr. Connolly. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And thank you to our panelists for being here today. 

Mr. Butkus, I want to assure you 70 is the new 40. 

Mr. BUTKUS. Cool. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Just like 60 or 62 is the new 30. Better be. 

And Mr. Butkus, maybe I can begin with you. You talked passionately about your awareness of the fact that, as an athlete, as 

a professional athlete, you are and have been a role model for a lot 

of young people. And you took that responsibility to heart. Among 

your colleagues, including those who are current players, is it your 

sense that most players understand that and take it seriously? 

Mr. BUTKUS. I would hope so, but I can’t say it is across the 

board. I would only say that, as far as I am concerned, football 

meant everything for me. And you know, it is sort of payback time. 

It is give back. And that is what we try to instill. We used the 

Butkus Award for the most outstanding in linebackers as a vehicle 

to play clean. Anybody that is eligible gets a letter from us, take 

the pledge that you will play clean. And that is all we can do. 

And, you know, we reach millions of kids. And that is just one 

of my ways of giving back. I don’t know. It has been tough, though. 

This is—I would pick one of the most difficult things because of 

what Mr. Gimbel was saying about this deal about winning. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Yeah. Because, you know, Mr. Cummings was 

talking about kids in his district in the Baltimore area, many of 

whom are low income, can’t afford to ever go to an NFL game, but 

they are very aware of NFL players as role models. And if they are 

taking drugs, the rest of us can say until we are blue in the face, 

just say no, stay clean, don’t do it, but if their role models are doing 

it, it kind of vitiates the whole point. 

Mr. BUTKUS. I believe so. 

52 

Mr. CONNOLLY. The title of this hearing is, ‘‘HGH Testing in the 

NFL: Is the Science Ready?’’ And I am glad we are having a hearing that empowers science. 

Dr. Goldberg, is the science ready? 

Dr. GOLDBERG. Well, that is really up to Dr. Bowers and the validity of the test. I mean, we look at sensitivity and specificity of 

testing, and this is a test, the way Larry describes it, is more like 

testing for alcohol. It is going to be very difficult to find positive 

tests. But when you find a positive test, it is probably a true positive. So that is what is important. 

If it is to weed out all users, because it is cycled on and off, much 

like anabolic steroids are, half the time when you test, you are not 

going to find it because—and then if you are testing only—how frequently you are testing will determine whether you are going to 

pick up anybody or very few people. So if an athlete feels it enhances their performance and that is the reason they are playing 

in the NFL or any other league, they will take that chance to use 

it if they think, as one athlete told me, I would rather be playing 

in the NFL than driving a truck in Idaho. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. If I understand your testimony correctly, Dr. 

Goldberg, I thought you said, or maybe it was another panelist earlier, that the incidence of false positives is next to nothing? 

Dr. GOLDBERG. That is what I think Larry said that. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Dr. Bowers? 

Mr. BOWERS. Yeah, that is correct. And as I said, there have 

been—worldwide, there have been 13,000 tests done. There have 

been 11 positives. Eight of the eleven admitted use. The other 

three, you know, it is in the lawyers’—— 

Mr. CONNOLLY. If I can, so if I am understanding your testimony 

and that of Dr. Goldberg, we don’t have a plethora of false 

positives, which would suggest the science of the testing is fairly 

accurate. But what we do have is an understatement of the use of 

HGH because of the regularity of testing, the randomness of it, the 

timing of it. So, as a matter of fact, those 13 positive, or whatever 

the number, probably significantly understate the widespread use 

of HGH. Is that right? 

Mr. BOWERS. I would agree with that, yes. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. You would agree with that. So the science isn’t 

so much the question. And you haven’t commented on that. Dr. 

Goldberg kind of passed that off to you, Dr. Bowers. Would you 

comment on the accuracy of the science? Are we ready? Is the 

science ready for this kind of testing in the NFL? 

Mr. BOWERS. Yes. I mean, we had a question before I think about 

the peer review of this. I can tell you I organized a meeting in 

2004. Of the 75 people that attended, 20 were growth hormone experts that had no association with sports. And based on the recommendation of that meeting in 2004, the test was implemented 

at the Olympics in Athens in 2004. So there definitely has been 

peer review. People have looked at this, discussed it, and have confidence in it. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Thank you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ISSA. I thank the gentleman. 

Would you yield for a second? 

53 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Of course. 

Chairman ISSA. I think the gentleman makes a great point, that 

this test, at best, will be a little bit like police out on the freeway 

with radar guns. The vast majority of people drive over the speed 

limit and do not encounter a policeman. But on occasions, they do. 

And the accuracy of the radar gun, sadly, is quite good. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. And Mr. Chairman, I will also add to that, if you 

are charged, it is not a defense in a court of law to say, well, everyone else was doing it, too. 

Chairman ISSA. Exactly. The gentleman is correct. 

Dr. GOLDBERG. Mr. Issa? Right here. Over here. 

Chairman ISSA. Oh, yes. Dr. Goldberg. I wasn’t looking at you. 

Dr. GOLDBERG. With that analogy, a very good analogy with the 

speed, and everyone else, as you know, will slow down when that 

person is caught on the side. 

Chairman ISSA. Nothing slows you down more than those flashing lights for the other guy. 

Dr. GOLDBERG. But then go down the road 3 more miles, and 

they are all speeding again. 

Chairman ISSA. The gentleman is correct. Of course, no one in 

this audience today is suggesting that police stop looking for speeders. 

And with that, we recognize the gentleman from Arizona, Dr. 

Gosar. 

Mr. GOSAR. Thank you, Chairman. 

Mr. Butkus, I would like you to look up at the monitor. We are 

going to look at a quote from London Fletcher, the middle linebacker for the Washington Redskins. ‘‘Hopefully, the NFL and the 

NFL Players Association will implement the new HGH test that 

has been endorsed by the international anti-doping officials.’’ 

Next slide. It shows another quote from free agent wide receiver 

Anthony Gonzalez. He seems to agree with London Fletcher. ‘‘It is 

a huge step for our league. And I know talking to other guys in 

the locker room, they are in favor of it, too. A lot of rules in the 

new CBA are safety-oriented, and this is as important, or more important, than anything else.’’ 

Let’s go to the next slide. It is a quote from Atlanta Falcons tackle Tyson Clabo. And he said, ‘‘If guys start getting busted, then, obviously, there was a need. And I don’t anticipate that there is going 

to be a large flux of guys getting caught because I don’t see it really being a huge problem. But there is really only one way to find 

out, and that is to start testing.’’ 

So, for you, my question is, it really sounds like many of the 

players are in favor of it. 

Mr. BUTKUS. Yeah. I haven’t taken a survey, but I would believe 

they are. 

Mr. GOSAR. And it seems to me that there is a Nike quote that 

really is applicable here, just do it. You know, if there is enough 

players, you know, you overrule your players rep, and you just do 

it. 

Mr. BUTKUS. Well, they have got a union, and they are representing their players in what they think is right. And in this 

case, you have a player representative from the Falcons saying that 

let’s move on with it, so let’s get the testing done. And another one 

54 

said that there might be a surprisingly few that will come up positive. So you are right. I don’t know the answer to that. Again, I 

would just think they would all—they all sound like they all want 

to play on an even playing field. 

Mr. GOSAR. And it seems to me like we ought to be having their 

voices heard. 

Mr. BUTKUS. Probably moreso than mine. 

Mr. GOSAR. And I give no quarter. In fact, I am going to take 

it another step. I applaud you for how you look at yourself as a role 

model, because I think there is a counterculture. And I think it is 

exemplified in a comment that came from Charles Barkley in regards to his aspect as a role model versus Karl Malone. And the 

dialogue was very intense but so articulate. You know, I disagree 

with a lot of pro ball players. You know, I am around enough of 

them to know that it is also about me, me, me. 

Mr. BUTKUS. True. And that goes along with what Mr. Gimbel 

has been saying, win, win, win, at any cost. I just, like I said before, football, I mean, since I was 9 years old, has been very good 

to me. So I am just—it is a way to pay it back. And as far as these 

other statements, I don’t go around trying to be a hero, but I don’t 

know what happens, but if people are going to listen to something 

positive that I may say or help kids with, then I got to take that 

obligation and do it. 

I mean, believe me, I don’t feel great sitting here doing this. I 

am a former player. But what we got to do is we got to think about 

the kids. And I realize that kids are looking up. I mean, to say that 

they are not is, geez, look at Fantasy Football. I mean, come on. 

What other event in the world stops—besides something tragic— 

than the Super Bowl. Come on. 

Mr. GOSAR. I agree. 

Mr. BUTKUS. You know? So I don’t know, I am just doing my little part. I appreciate what you are saying. 

Mr. GOSAR. And I would appreciate a lot more of the NFL players to take notice and pick up that role of leadership and personal 

accountability and personal responsibility to that role. 

I got one more question to Dr. Tabak and Dr. Bowers. Have we 

seen any other studies that kids that do HGH and some of these 

other enhancement drugs, are they much more prone to be doing 

illicit other drugs? 

Dr. TABAK. So, unfortunately, there are very few studies that 

speak to HGH, per se, amongst the young. But anecdotally, one-off 

case reports, there is a report of poly use, particularly with anabolic steroids. 

Mr. GOSAR. I think this would be one that we would really like 

to follow up on because of compulsive behaviors. There is some type 

of tracking that is here. 

Dr. Goldberg? 

Dr. GOLDBERG. Yeah. There is multiple studies showing that 

those who take performance-enhancing drugs are polysubstance 

users. There is not just a case report; this is all over the world literature. So if you are going to reduce performance-enhancing 

drugs, you have to try and reduce alcohol and other drugs as well. 

Mr. GOSAR. I just ask a point of personal privilege. I will say I 

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ern Wyoming. So we were really happy to see you retire. But thank 

you very much for the way you played and the way you hold your 

head very, very high. We appreciate that. Thank you. 

Chairman ISSA. God, you are rough. I thought DesJarlais held a 

grudge. 

We now go to the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Farenthold. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And Mr. Butkus, I would like to follow up on the line of questioning Dr. Gosar just completed. We heard the quotes that he 

brought out from various players. We have heard from this panel 

pretty much unanimously indicating that the use of HGH has some 

potential side effects. And we heard, and I think it is common 

sense, that we want our athletes to compete in a fair fashion, without chemically-induced advantages. So where is the resistance to 

this? Having been in the NFL and been looking at it from the outside for some years, why aren’t both sides saying, let’s just get this 

done, be over with it, and take this problem off the table? 

Mr. BUTKUS. I don’t know. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Anybody else on the panel? 

Mr. BUTKUS. I mean, I don’t know why. There must be some 

doubt as far as the reliability. But these gentlemen have proven, 

or at least they got documentation that it is reliable. I have no idea 

with why they wouldn’t go along with it. Again, I think it is the 

lawyers’ involvement. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Dr. Gimbel? 

Mr. GIMBEL. I think as we look at the bigger picture of substances that are being used by athletes, we talked earlier about the 

supplements that you can buy on the Internet, that you can buy 

in health food stores, that may or may not contain illegal substances. And I think a lot of athletes that I have talked with, who 

have gotten caught through drug tests, have said, all I did was go 

to GNC and buy some protein powder or some muscle product. I 

didn’t know that it had anabolic steroids or whatever broke the 

rule. 

And I think there is some concern that this is a bigger issue. And 

I think some athletes may be concerned that they are going to do 

the right thing but also get caught doing something that might be 

wrong. So I think, as we look at this, as I think the panel has been 

talking about, that the issue of unregulated supplements is a huge 

issue that needs to be addressed by the FDA. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. That is probably a can of worms that we don’t 

have time to get into today and is outside the scope of this hearing. 

I do want to take another step back. And I don’t want to diminish the negative impacts that these banned substances or any other 

substance has on our players after they retire or our youth as they 

are moving forward. But I would also be concerned as to what is 

the appropriate role of the Federal Government in here? I realize 

it is fun to have football greats like Mr. Butkus in to testify. It is 

an honor to be in the same room with somebody I admired growing 

up. But isn’t this something that might be better worked out—is 

there a way to work this out without the Federal Government 

being involved in it? And I will entertain comments from anybody 

on the panel. 

Mr. Gimbel? 

56 

Mr. GIMBEL. I would just like to say that several years ago, when 

the first steroid hearings were held, I think it opened up a dialogue 

and opened up to the American people about performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball at the time. And I think that 

was such an important role that this committee did because it gave 

us, who work with kids, a lot of leverage, a lot of knowledge. And 

it also woke up a lot of professional, college, high school athletes, 

not only about the dangers, but the consequences. So I think there 

is a definite role in doing what this committee has been doing, 

which is dialogue and awareness and educating the public. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Obviously, protecting our kids is absolutely 

critical. But I do hear from people when I am back home, you 

know, you are about to go off the fiscal cliff, what are you doing 

having a hearing on HGH? And so—— 

Mr. GIMBEL. Let me just finish and just add this, if the public 

was aware of the number of our kids who are taking some level of 

these performance-enhancing drugs, they would be demanding 

these hearings. Because if it were cocaine or heroin or anything 

else, they would be saying, why aren’t we doing something? 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. But haven’t we done our part by making illegal their use? Or are we just basically up here trying to educate 

the public? 

Mr. GIMBEL. I think that is a huge role. I think we are trying 

to clarify the questions and make it very clear what the role is of 

parents, of coaches, of the leagues, as well as the government of 

what we are supposed to do and what we can and can’t do, what 

we can control and what we can’t. 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I see my time has expired. I would like to 

thank you all for being here. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity. 

Chairman ISSA. I thank the gentleman. 

Would he yield for a moment? 

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I will. 

Chairman ISSA. Perhaps I can answer one of your constituents’ 

concerns before the ranking member does his closing. And that is 

that the one thing I get asked all the time is, can’t Congress do 

more than one thing at a time? And so, to a great extent, yes, there 

are leadership working on the cliff. There are committees working 

on what they are doing. And I think this committee, wasn’t even 

supposed to be in session this week, is trying to take full advantage 

of being here to do as many things as we can. And I might note 

that the gentleman has been incredibly helpful at looking at doing 

oversight on a lot of things that people may not have understood 

until we started finding out, for example, hydraulic fracturing was 

under attack, and so on. 

So I want to thank the gentleman for multitasking in his life as 

well. 

Mr. Gowdy, before we go to closing, did you want to do a second 

round for any reason? 

Mr. GOWDY. No, sir, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ISSA. Thank you. 

Then I would yield to the ranking member for his closing. 

Mr. CUMMINGS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Again, I want to thank all of you for being here today. 

57 

You know, one of the things that I say to my kids, I tell them, 

Mr. Butkus, I tell them, try to figure out what is the enemy of your 

destiny. What is the enemy of your destiny? And because I believe 

that if they try to figure out what might block them from getting 

to where they have got to go, that they will begin to change those 

things now so they can get to where they are trying to go. 

I would hate to think that the enemy of our young people’s destiny is them looking up to athletes who may be doing something 

improper, and then they try to emulate that, and the next thing 

you know, they find themselves in trouble. 

So a lot of people ask, why would the chairman and this committee look into these things? It is not that we want to be beating 

up on the league or anything like that. We do care about our children. And we have had our chance. And that is one of the things 

I admire about all of you all. We have had our chance. The question is, what chances are we blocking our children from having? 

And so your testimony has been very, very helpful. 

And hopefully, as we move down the line, the players will see 

how incredibly ridiculous it looks for them not to—maybe they need 

to talk to their lawyers, let’s just put it like that—and straighten 

this thing out. We have got to move off of this. We have got to 

move down the line. We are getting ready to go into a third season. 

And it does not look very good. 

I think, too, part of responsibility is when you agree to something, carrying through with it. And if you can’t carry through with 

it, at least show a good reason why you can’t, and then make it— 

I mean, show that there is a way forward if you can get it done. 

Right now, we are not seeing that. And but your testimony has 

been very, very helpful because you have put on the record not only 

the science but the effect that it has on our young people and folks. 

So thank you very much. 

And thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ISSA. Thank you, Mr. Cummings. 

And I want to again thank our witnesses. Making the record is 

an important part of the process. Each of you has brought an insight. 

Mr. Butkus, even though you don’t have a Dr. or a Ph.D. in front 

of or behind your name, I think your humbleness and your recognition—or our recognition that your continued dedication to a clean 

sport added more than all the science perhaps can add to the 

human side of this hearing. 

For our scientists, I want to thank you for beginning the process 

of making it clear that a number, a contract, and a testing regime 

has to occur, and can occur, and certainly has occurred in most of 

the rest of the sports world. So again, I want to thank you for your 

time as we go into the holiday season. 

And we stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:52 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

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