In the wake of Thursday's exchanges between the NFL and NFL Players Association over implementation of human growth hormone testing, USA Today published a Q&A with Adolpho Birch, the league's senior vice president of law and labor policy.
Topics in the interview ranged from the league and union's negotiations on HGH testing to the importance of keeping NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the appeals process, which appears to be the key sticking point.
While NFLPA officials said they can't sell a testing program to their rank and file with Goodell involved, Birch pointed to the large number of players who have said they want testing to start immediately.
As for a deadline, Birch said it would be better to have a program in place for the preseason for baseline testing and the population study, to which the sides have agreed.
-- Bill Bradley, contributing editor
