Major League Baseball and the NFL agreed to join the U.S. Olympic Committee in funding anti-doping research, each contributing $3 million to create the most extensive drug-fighting partnership between America's biggest pro leagues and its Olympic federation.
The USOC also is giving $3 million, and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is giving $1 million to the new Partnership for Clean Competition, a collaborative that will use the initial $10 million to fund grants for research that combats performance-enhancing drugs in sports.
"Major League Baseball's support of this important new effort by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency continues our commitment to fight the use of performance-enhancing substances among our athletes," Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday in a statement obtained by The Associated Press.
Baseball and the NFL have long distanced themselves from anti-doping programs endorsed by the USOC and USADA, saying their programs are tailored specifically for their sports, and the management-union issues unique to them.
MLB, NFL Join USOC In Anti-Doping Research Group