"The Ravens have not spoken to star linebacker Ray Lewis about a Yahoo Sports story linking him to a substance banned by the NFL, but team officials said Thursday they plan to.

The story published this week by Yahoo Sports claims that Lewis may have acquired a supplement that contains human growth hormone.

"Ray is one person that I think that we all can talk to, and he'll explain any and everything to us about what he's doing [and] why he's doing it," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "So, if need be, we'll have that conversation."

Newsome, however, said he believes that the NFL has the strictest drug testing policy of all the major American sports, and if a player were using something, he would likely be caught.

When reminded by The Baltimore Sun that human growth hormone cannot be detected without a blood test, and that the current collective bargaining agreement only allows a player's urine to be tested, Newsome and Ravens president Dick Cass said they didn't feel comfortable commenting further until they have talked to Lewis.

"I've read the report, but we haven't had a chance to really follow up and see what's behind it," Cass said. "We'll obviously look into it. It's really hard to comment when we haven't really talked to Ray and really don't know the facts yet."

The NFL's drug policy states that players are responsible for whatever they put into their bodies, regardless of whether they are unaware a supplement may contain a banned substance.

The Sun was unable to reach Lewis for comment. He has never been sanctioned by the NFL for a failed drug test during his career.

The report, published Wednesday night, stated that the NFL had ordered Raiders head coach Hue Jackson to sever ties with a company called Sports With Alternative To Steroids, in part because the company markets a product called "The Ultimate Spray" which contains IGF-1, a substance banned by the NFL, as well as the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The owner of the company, Mitch Ross, told Yahoo Sports that it supplied Jackson, who was the Ravens quarterback coach in 2008 and 2009, with free products, including The Ultimate Spray. He then distributed it to Lewis as well as several other NFL players. The "Ultimate Spray," according to the company website, is made from crushed deer velvet antlers, which contain IGF-1. According to claims made by various websites that sell deer velvet, the substance improves immune system functioning, improves athletic performance, and speeds up muscle recovery."