Said Butkus: “It is inexcusable to not have HGH testing in place for the 2013 season.  If you care about the health and safety of players you should not play without first conducting HGH testing.  Guys playing clean in the NFL are getting the short end of the stick.  They are being put at risk and penalized for doing things the right way.  Most importantly, young players at every level are watching and paying attention. They are waiting for the players to lead.”

For seven years, Butkus has encouraged teenagers to play clean; that is, to train hard, eat well and play with attitude, instead of resorting to illegal performance-enhancing drugs.  He and his son Matt Butkus formed the “I Play Clean” program to educate young athletes about the physical and emotional risks of using performance-enhancing drugs.  Some 400,000 teenage athletes report experimenting with these substances, largely because they haven’t received formal education about the risks and consequences, or understand how to optimize their training, nutrition and intensity.

Butkus applauds strict enforcement of tough professional standards about performance-enhancing drugs to send a strong signal to the next generation of athletes that the use of such substances will not be tolerated.

The linebacker legend encourages every player, coach, fan and team to take the I Play Clean pledge, which is posted at www.iplayclean.org and located on facebook at i.play.clean.