A federal judge refused to stop the...

A federal judge refused to stop the National Football League from testing for steroids and declined to reinstate 13 players suspended under the program.

U.S. District Court Judge Aubrey Robinson said in Washington “the clear congressional policy against judicial interference in labor disputes” poses a “formidable obstacle” to the players association’s request to block the program with a preliminary injunction.

The players’ labor union, which says steroid testing is unreliable, asked the court to suspend the league’s program while it is pending before an arbitrator.

Robinson said the record in the case “simply does not present the kind of irreparable harm” to the players that would be required to issue an injunction.