Congressmen write NFLPA's Smith about HGH testing

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Chastising the NFL Players Association for "remarkable recalcitrance" on testing for human growth hormone, two members of Congress have pledged "to take a more active role" on the issue and say they could ask players to testify before their committee.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Darrell Issa, a California Republican, and ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland tell NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith in a letter sent Monday that the union "has prevented meaningful progress on this issue."

The 10-year labor contract approved by the NFL and NFLPA in August 2011 paved the way for HGH testing once certain parameters were set. But the union wants a new study before it will agree to the validity of a test used by Olympic sports and Major League Baseball.