The city of Miami and the University's athletic program has been the focus of performance enhancing drug rumors recently and in response to those reports, the school had the entire baseball team tested for human growth hormone.
According to sources who spoke to the Associated Press, the University of Miami tested all players for performance-enhancing drugs as well as HGH, which is not a typical thing for the school to do. The source spoke without giving a name because the university has not authorized the information's release.
Major League Baseball is currently investigating a clinic in Miami that had connections to a number of baseball players, including ones with ties to the University of Miami, including Alex Rodriguez, Gio Gonzalez and Ryan Braun.
The school is still waiting for the results of the testing and last week the university announced that 10,000 tests performed on student-athletes since 2005 resulted in no positive tests for steroid usage to temper some of the controversy from the previous reports.
"There's a very thorough investigation going on within the program to try to find out what they can find out," said Miami coach Jim Morris, who could not provide many details of that probe because of university policy. "I feel very sure that our current players are not involved in anything. I think we have a very good system intact. Other than that, the outside, I don't know what's going on outside."
The main reason for the testing and the public relations work has to do with Rodriguez, who was tied to an anti-aging clinic and PEDs in a story published by Miami New Times last month that also named former Hurricane and 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun and former signee Gio Gonzalez.
Jimmy Goins, a strength coach at Miami who worked primarily with the Hurricanes' baseball and cross country teams, was named in the story as well.
"He has been an exemplary employee of the university and categorically denies any allegation or inference of wrongdoing," said Michelle White, Goins' attorney.
Rodriguez is one of Miami's biggest trustees, but after he admitted to using PEDs in 2009, the new report has created a new controversy for the star who is injured and will miss up to six months this season.
"Of course," Morris said. "I was disappointed seeing anybody's name. He's not guilty until he's proven guilty. I haven't seen Alex in forever. He's doing rehab and not working out."
Major League Baseball is currently reviewing the report and investigation and likely will present information sometime soon. PEDs have been a huge issue in sports and recently after news came out that Ray Lewis used deer antler spray, the talk has moved to the NFL as well. An Orlando Magic player, Hedo Tukgolu, was suspended 20 games this week for using PEDs as well.
