NFLPA, NFL continue disagreement over HGH testing

The National Football League and the NFLPA continue their battle over HGH testing. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

NFLPA president Eric Winston said the reason human growth hormone testing has stalled is that the league's players disagree with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as the final arbitrator should any issues arise with the testing process or the results, reports ESPN.com's Jane McManus.

Major League Baseball, which started testing its players for HGH in 2010, is the only North American professional sports league currently testing for HGH.

"It's there when [Goodell] wants to sign it," Winston said. "I kind of laugh because it keeps coming up. If he wants HGH testing as bad as he wants to retain his power then we would have had HGH testing last year. At the end of the day that's what this is all about. He wants to hold all the cards and he wants to be the judge, jury and executioner and we're not going to go for an un-American system like that."

NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said the union is just making excuses for why HGH testing is not in the NFL.

"It is kind of funny because since 2011 the union has come up with one excuse after another to avoid implementing an agreement to test for HGH," Aiello wrote in an email to ESPN. "First, it was the testing method; then it was the population study; now it's commissioner authority. Our commitment to testing is clear. The same cannot be said of the union.

MORE: 2014 NFL Mock Draft | 2014 NFL draft needs: AFC | NFL draft needs: NFC

Winston responded by saying the system doesn't work and that there needs to be a neutral arbitrator, especially when taking someone's blood.

"It showed in the Bounty case and it showed in StarCaps case. It's not something the players don't want and when you get into taking blood, there needs to be a neutral arbitrator to deal with all those issues," Winston said.