Based on tests conducted in the NFL so far, a source familiar with the situation said Monday it seemed unlikely that the use of a recently identified designer steroid was widespread among players in the league.
It is likely, according to the source, that the only positive results from the testing of existing samples will be those of the four Oakland Raiders revealed Sunday in media reports.
An NFL spokesman declined to comment on the reports.
It is unclear how many samples the NFL has tested for THG, the designer steroid, but it is known that the league tested those of the 10 players who were summoned before a federal grand jury in San Francisco. The source said it was a "fair assumption" that six of those players had negative tests for the substance.
The four who tested positive, revealed by CBS Sportsline on Sunday, were Raiders Barret Robbins, Chris Cooper, Dana Stubblefield and Bill Romanowski.
Other players subpoenaed were Oakland's Chris Hetherington and Tyrone Wheatley, former Raider Josh Taves, Kansas City's Johnnie Morton, New England's Larry Izzo and Atlanta's Artie Ulmer.
The grand jury is looking into Victor Conte and the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, and investigating whether Conte laundered money from the sale of performance-enhancing drugs. THG has been linked to the Burlingame lab and is at the center of a widening sports scandal. The NFL, which has the strictest steroid policy of any professional sports league, performs random, year-round testing of its players for banned substances. The first steroid-related infraction means an automatic four-game suspension.
When a player is tested, his urine is divided into A and B samples. If the A sample tests positive for a banned substance, the player is informed and is allowed to be present with his attorney for the testing of the B sample. If the second test is positive, the player may appeal the mandatory suspension, which amounts to one-quarter of the season without pay.
The source said the Raider players had tested positive in the first stage of the process and received letters informing them that their B samples soon would be tested.
"I don't encourage or condone the use of steroids," Raider Coach Bill Callahan said in his Monday news conference. "Not only as a father but as a coach in any regard. It's a serious matter. I wish I had more information. And again, I don't have the full jurisdiction over this area because there is an ongoing federal investigation going on.... When that is involved, it's not my area."
