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WADA Praises MLB at Growth Hormone Summit
[November 11th, 2008] by Millard Baker
The first annual 2008 Growth Hormone Summit was held by Major League Baseball (MLB) and the UCLA Medical School this week in Beverly Hills, California. The “Growth Hormone Summit: Barriers to Implementation of HGH Testing in Sports” focused on several issues related to the use of HGH in sports:
(1) understanding the currently available methods for identifying use of hGH and understanding the viability of urine testing for hGH in the future;
(2) building a consensus on the most effective methods of implementing widespread blood testing for abuse of hGH;
(3) identifying future strategies for hGH testing; and
(4) understanding the United States Laws regarding the regulation and distribution of hGH.
WADA senior science manager took the opportunity to praise MLB’s anti-doping efforts at the summit.
“We are very happy Major League Baseball has taken some steps to take on this problem,” said Osquel Barroso, senior manager of science at the World Anti-Doping Agency. “The fact they invited us here is important. We are willing to work with them.”
Barroso struck a different chord than other WADA officials. As recently as July, WADA President John Fahey said fans of MLB would turn away from the sport if they’re “not confident with the performances that they’re seeing.” Fahey’s predecessor, Dick Pound, called MLB’s early testing efforts “a joke.”
Obviously, Barroso’s comments are in stark contrast Dick Pound and John Fahey’s characterization of MLB anti-doping efforts. MLB feels that WADA previously never truly appreciated what they were doing.
We always felt that WADA didn’t understand the efforts that were being made by baseball to deal with the problem,” said Bob DuPuy, MLB’s president and chief operating officer.
The MLB is preparing to implement a urine test for HGH in 2009.
Tags: baseball, growth hormone, HGH, MLB
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November 12, 2008 at 3:49 am
[...] Barriers to Implementation of hGH in Sports” addressed several scientific, legal and ethical issues involving testing athletes for human ...