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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were asked to urinate into bottles as part of their training camp medicals for the first time yesterday.
But the CFL has not introduced drug testing -- yet.
"Me and Milt (Stegall) were talking about it as player reps for the Bombers and I hadn't seen it in seven years and he hadn't seen it in 13, so that was a new wrinkle they threw at us this year," Bomber defensive lineman Doug Brown said yesterday. "We definitely talked to the (CFL) Players Association and it is something that has transpired in the past.
"The PA is now talking about standardizing those tests and clearly define what you can and cannot test the urine for, because right now there is no drug testing policy in the CFL. What we've been told is it's a health screening type of thing."
The tests were endorsed by Winnipeg athletic therapist Alan Couture, Brown said.
Anyone who has an annual check-up knows he or she will have to provide a urine sample to determine health problems, and the Bomber medical staff did discover that Gilles Lezi's had a kidney ailment which meant a flunked physical.
CONCERN
But the concern the association could have is the samples could also be tested for illegal drug use without permission.
"They can't (legally) test your urine for drugs," Brown said.
Some CFL players have voluntarily undergone drug tests in the past, including Toronto Argonauts Ricky Williams just last season.
"That probably had something to do with the NFL having him on a short leash so that's not surprising," Brown said. "But it worked out well for him in his return, too, didn't it?"
Williams failed yet another drug test when he returned to the NFL this year.
Although many believe that drug testing should be introduced to the CFL, that has yet to be negotiated with the CFLPA.
