updated 9:03 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The NFL’s drug-testing program is inadequate, warned a doping expert who examined medical records that linked several former Carolina Panthers players to steroids and human growth hormone.

Dr. Gary Wadler, an internist and author who specializes in drugs in sports, prepared a report that federal prosecutors used in their case against James Shortt, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally prescribe steroids to several Carolina Panthers. Last month, the doctor, formerly of West Columbia, S.C., was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

In the report, Wadler said medical records showed Shortt prescribed steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) to several players for more than a year during the team’s Super Bowl season of 2003. During that time, no player was suspended for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.

The NFL does not test for HGH, but every player is randomly tested at least once a year for steroids.

“I think that’s something the NFL has to look into, because it’s striking that none of them had a positive drug test or were suspended for violating the substance-abuse policy,” Wadler told The Associated Press on Monday. “How can that be?”

A member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Wadler assailed the NFL’s failure to test for HGH, noting the International Olympic Committee administered a blood test for HGH at the 2004 Athens Games.

“The only way (players) could get caught (using HGH) is if someone walked in and they were being injected, because clearly there’s no testing being done,” Wadler said. “In a way, they’re sending a message: ‘Look, you can take it, because we’re not going to test for it.”’

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league believes the blood test, which yielded no positive tests in Athens, is unreliable.

“Our doctors do not believe the test is reliable, because it has to be administered within an hour after someone takes human growth hormone for it to be detected,” Aiello said. “We are investing in research in hopes of the development of a urine test for human growth hormone.”

He also defended the league’s testing policy.

“We test seven players, per team, per week on a random basis,” Aiello said. “We conduct about 10,000 steroid tests a year, and we have roughly 2,000 players. So chances are every player will be tested more than once a year.”

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Players’ names were blacked out in the copy of Wadler’s report filed with the court, but The Charlotte Observer determined their identities by analyzing court records and comparing them to earlier reports and public records. In a story published Sunday, the newspaper identified the players discussed in Wadler’s report as guard Kevin Donnalley, center Jeff Mitchell, tackle Todd Steussie, tight end Wesley Walls and practice squad player Louis Williams.

All but Steussie — now playing with the St. Louis Rams — have since retired. Steussie refused comment Monday. The other men could not be reached.

Two other former Panthers previously identified by prosecutors as recipients of performance-enhancing substances from Shortt — defensive end John Milem and punter Todd Sauerbrun — were not mentioned in the report, The Observer said.

“Each session players had with Dr. Shortt was taped and put on CDs. Not only did I have the CDs, but I also had his written records,” Wadler told the Associated Press of his report. “I’ve never seen this type of detail in anything like this that I’ve ever reviewed.

"Several of [the players] were using disturbing, particularly alarmingly high amounts with high dosages for long durations — some in combinations," Wadler told the Observer. "This wasn't just a passing flirtation with these prohibited substances. When I see [prescriptions] 'renewed five times,' I say, 'What are you trying to accomplish?'"

“The thing that was glaring was that many of them indicated they were there for the performance-enhancing purpose — not even a guise or an excuse of why they were requesting these drugs.”

An NFL investigation concluded the Panthers were not aware of the players’ visits to Shortt. Team officials refused comment Monday.

The Observer reported Donnalley and Steussie each were given three prescriptions for testosterone cream, allowing for numerous refills. The newspaper also said less than a week before the Panthers left for the 2004 Super Bowl in Houston, Steussie and Williams were given prescriptions for a combined five NFL-banned substances, including two forms of testosterone.

Wadler said he worries players might be at risk for future health problems.

“The adverse effects of these things may not be apparent for a while,” Wadler said. “They are not innocuous drugs, and that’s the reason they’ve been regulated for so many years.”

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