Mark Cuban: NBA should consider allowing HGH during injury rehab

Mavs owner Mark Cuban is pushing for the NBA to research HGH despite its public stigma. (Rocky Widner/National Basketball) Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has

Mavs owner Mark Cuban is pushing for the NBA to research HGH despite its public stigma. (Rocky Widner/National Basketball)

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has approached the NBA's Board of Governors about allowing human growth hormone to be used by players to help them recover faster from injuries, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.

At an October meeting, Cuban presented the argument that the drug's ability to help players recover faster from injury would be a benefit to players, fans and owners, and that it has not received enough attention from the research community.

"The issue isn't whether I think it should be used," Cuban told USA TODAY Sports via e-mail. "The issue is that it has not been approved for such use. And one of the reasons it hasn't been approved is that there have not been studies done to prove the benefits of prescribing HGH for athletic rehabilitation or any injury rehabilitation that I'm aware of. The product has such a huge (public) stigma that no one wants to be associated with it."

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HGH is currently heavily regulated by the FDA and not allowed for the purpose of increasing athletic performance. Cuban told USA Today that he would like the leagues to be at the vanguard of HGH research:

"I believe that professional sports leagues should work together and fund studies to determine the efficacy of HGH for rehabbing an injury.[...] Working together could lead us from the path of demonizing HGH and even testosterone towards a complete understanding. It could allow us to make a data based decision rather than the emotional decision we are currently making."

All of the major sports leagues currently list HGH among their banned substances, and the NFL and NBA are both hoping to have new testing protocols in place for the PED next season.

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