Scandal on Canadian football team produces first positive HGH test in North America

Canadian football player tests positive for HGH

WATERLOO, Ontario — The first athlete to positive test for human growth hormone in North America is a Canadian college football player whose team was suspended for the 2010 season because of a steroid scandal.

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (CCES) says one of the 20 blood tests collected from the University of Waterloo team came back positive for HGH.

Earlier this year, the British anti-doping authority announced a two-year ban on a rugby player, who became the first athlete anywhere to be suspended for using HGH.

In June, Waterloo suspended its football program for a full season after finding evidence of nine doping violations from 62 urine tests. One of those athlete’s blood tests also came back positive for HGH. His sanction will be announced next Wednesday, along with penalties for three other players.

HGH is among the hardest performance-enhancing drugs to test for, with no urine test available and a new blood test being developed that is expected to augment the one currently being used.

The Waterloo case is being called the most significant doping issue in the history of Canadian college sports. The school tested the entire team after a player was arrested in the spring and charged with possession and trafficking of anabolic steroids.