"They're open minded" When Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban offered to fund studies to legalise HGH in the NBA

In late November, billionaire entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban pitched a controversial idea to the NBA Board of Governors: allow injured players to use synthetic human growth hormone (HGH) during rehabilitation.

The Shark Tank investor didn't just float the concept—he offered to bankroll the necessary scientific research himself. When asked about the board's reaction, Cuban was optimistic.

"They're open-minded," he said

Adding:

"Knowing that it'll take 10 years to get [the studies] done, it's easy to be open-minded and say when it's there, it's there. But hopefully it's something I can accelerate. I've talked to a couple of different universities about funding studies."

This bold proposal from one of sports' most outspoken owners sparked immediate debate across the basketball world about the future of performance-enhancing substances, player recovery, and where to draw ethical lines in professional sports.

What is HGH and Mark Cuban’s proposition?

Human growth hormone occurs naturally in the body. The anterior pituitary gland produces and stores it in the brain. Sleep, exercise, and nutrition can boost its release, while factors like insulin can reduce it.

For some people with medical conditions like Lionel Messi experienced as a child, HGH deficiency causes issues like short stature and delayed development. Medical treatment for these individuals isn't controversial.

The debate centers on giving HGH to people with normal hormone levels. Research from Australia demonstrated its power: recreational athletes using HGH saw a 4-5% increase in cycling speed, while sprint times improved by 0.4 seconds in a hundred-meter dash. These performance enhancements explain why sports organizations worldwide ban the substance.

Mark Cuban's argument focuses specifically on injury recovery, not performance enhancement. He referenced baseball's Andy Pettitte, who admitted using HGH briefly while rehabbing an elbow injury.

"The issue isn't whether I think it should be used," Cuban told USA TODAY Sports.

Explaining:

"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."

Scientific studies suggest HGH could benefit certain injuries, particularly bone fractures. However, its effectiveness varies by injury type. For tendon injuries, the evidence remains questionable, and for repairs joining tendons to bones (like rotator cuff surgeries), HGH might actually harm healing.

Even if Mark Cuban's studies prove HGH safe for injured players, defining "injured" would become a regulatory headache. Would a player need to be officially sidelined? For how long? Who makes the decision—team doctors or independent physicians?

The potential for abuse seems enormous. Off-seasons could transform into HGH loading periods, reminiscent of baseball's controversial Steroid Era when every home run raised eyebrows.

Team physicians would face serious conflicts of interest if given prescription authority. The pressure to get star players back on court quickly could compromise medical judgment and player safety.

What is the path moving forward?

The journey to HGH approval might mirror other once-banned substances. Caffeine, prohibited in Olympic competition from 1984 to 2004, gained acceptance after research showed performance enhancement only occurred above certain thresholds. The asthma medication formoterol followed a similar trajectory, becoming permitted at therapeutic doses in 2011.

Mark Cuban's research could potentially identify minimal HGH dosages that speed recovery without significantly boosting performance. Such findings might make low-dose HGH treatments commonplace for injured athletes within a generation.

"It would immediately recall baseball's Steroid Era, where every feat of strength was viewed with skepticism," Mark McCarthy claimed on Deadspin.

Yet with billions at stake in modern sports, the motivation to get injured stars back in action remains powerful.

Mark Cuban's proposal ultimately highlights the evolving nature of sports science. What constitutes "cheating" today might become standard treatment tomorrow.

If Mark Cuban's studies move forward and demonstrate positive results, independent oversight would be crucial. At minimum, team doctors should be barred from prescribing HGH to prevent conflicts of interest.

The billionaire's willingness to fund this research exemplifies his innovative approach to sports ownership. Whether his HGH initiative represents the future of sports medicine or opens a Pandora's box of performance enhancement remains to be seen.

For now, the NBA leadership remains cautiously receptive to exploring the idea—after all, as Mark Cuban noted, they're "open-minded" when the finish line appears a decade away.

---

You can watch Shark Tank every Friday at 8 PM ET on ABC, with streaming available on Hulu.