After an agreement was reportedly reached to begin immediate HGH testing in the NFL, the Players Union emerged an hour later and refuted that claim, saying that there would be no testing until every one of their concerns were allayed.
The members of Congress who ran the hearings on Capitol Hill indicated that despite the speed bump today, they expect testing to begin in the very near future and want this issue resolved sooner rather than later.
During the NFL's lockout this past summer, HGH testing was one of the hot button issues. The owners were pushing for it strongly, while the players had concerns about the validity and safety of the current testing methods, which include drawing blood.
"We believe that we have to report back to our players, make sure that the protocol and the testing protocols are safe," union spokesman George Atallah said, standing in the same spot as the lawmakers shortly after their news conference. "Once we feel that way, which we hope will be as soon as possible -- obviously the chairman and Congressman Cummings can help us facilitate that -- we'll be in a position to start testing as soon as possible."