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 Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:45 pm
The NFL suspended six players for four games each on Tuesday for violating the NFL Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances.
The suspended players are Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints, Bryan Pittman of the Houston Texans, and Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings.
The suspensions, which cover the final four games of the regular season, are without pay.
The players specifically violated a longstanding provision of the policy relating to the use of diuretics and water pills, which serve as masking agents for steroids and are potentially dangerous to the health of players.
The policy states that the use of so-called “blocking” or “masking” agents, including diuretics and water pills, is prohibited and that a positive test will not be excused because it results from the use of a dietary supplement that unknowingly contained a banned substance. Supplements are not regulated or monitored by the government and players have been warned about the risks of supplement use.
“You and you alone are responsible for what goes into your body,” the policy states. “Claiming that you used only legally available nutritional supplements will not help you in an appeal ... Even if they are bought over-the-counter from a known establishment, there is currently no way to be sure that they contain the ingredients listed on the packaging or have not been tainted with prohibited substances ... If you take these products, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK!
"For your own health and success in the league, we strongly encourage you to avoid the use of supplements altogether, or at the very least to be extremely careful about what you choose to take.”
If the player’s team qualifies for the playoffs, he is eligible to return to the active roster on Monday, Dec. 29.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 4:20 pm
They should have been punished earlier...
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:47 pm
Supposedly the substances that these players took weren't that bad. Not like they took steroids. But rules are rules, and they should not have violated this strict policy.
...Anyways, yes, they should have been suspended earlier, because these findings were validated weeks ago. I think the league just did it now, because there are four games in the regular season, and a four game suspension will keep them out for the year, unless their teams make the playoffs.
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 1:44 pm
Thursday
The NFL Players Association filed a lawsuit Thursday to block five of the six player suspensions for violating the league's anti-doping policy.
The suit filed in federal court here is on behalf of Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings, and Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints.
The five players were suspended for four games for testing positive in training camp in July and August for the banned diuretic bumetanide, which can be used as a masking agent for steroids. The drug was in a dietary supplement, StarCaps, that did not list the diuretic as an ingredient.
The suit does not include Houston Texans long snapper Bryan Pittman. David Cornwell, Pittman's lawyer, told the AP that his client isn't included because his circumstances "differ substantially from the men who used StarCaps."
In the lawsuit, the NFLPA alleges both the NFL-appointed doctor and the NFL lawyer who administer the league's steroids policy knew the supplement contained the banned drug but never advised the players. It alleges they breached their duty to the players and endangered their physical well-being.
"It's just common sense that someone shouldn't be punished in those circumstances," David Feher, a lawyer for the union, told The Associated Press.
The union has asked for a hearing Friday for a preliminary injunction so the five players can play this weekend. Feher said the hearing hadn't been scheduled as of Thursday morning, and that it wasn't immediately clear which judge would handle it.
"We are taking these steps today in hopes of keeping these players on the playing field," Richard Berthelsen, acting executive director of the NFLPA, said in a statement. "We strongly believe that the doctors and the NFL should have told us and the players what they knew about StarCaps, but for some unknown reason they failed to meet that duty."
An accompanying legal memo says the suspensions could prevent the Vikings and Saints from making the playoffs. It notes that Kevin Williams and Pat Williams have been the centerpieces of the Vikings' defensive line. The Vikings are in first place in the NFC North; the Saints are last in the NFC South and are a longer shot, two games out of the wild-card spot with four games to go.
"Not only these players, but their teammates and fans will suffer irreparable harm if the wrongful suspensions are not enjoined," the memo says.
Absent from the field the day before, after the suspensions were handed down, the Williamses returned to practice Thursday. Neither player made themselves available for comment in the locker room while it was open to reporters.
The lawsuit and memo stress the union's view that the NFL had a duty to tell the players and the union that it had known since at least 2006 that StarCaps contained the banned drug, but failed to do so.
Dr. John Lombardo, who oversees the league's steroids policy, "expressly knew and willfully withheld the critical information that StarCaps secretly contained the banned diuretic substance," the filings allege.
The documents allege that NFL vice president Adolpho Birch, who also oversees the policy, also knew but withheld the information that StarCaps "contained a prohibited substance that could jeopardize the health and career of any player who used the product."
According to the filings, during the players' arbitration hearings last month, a consulting toxicologist for the league, Dr. Bryan Finkel, testified Lombardo told him he did not disclose what he knew because he wasn't sure whether all StarCaps products contained the banned drug. Finkel also said he was afraid the supplement manufacturer might sue him if he made a public statement against the product.
But Birch testified during the arbitration hearings that he did not notify any teams, players or the union in writing that StarCaps contained bumetanide, the memo shows.
The NFL has said it sent two notifications about StarCaps on Dec. 19, 2006 -- one to NFL club presidents, general managers and head athletic trainers, and the second to NFLPA executive Stacy Robinson, who oversees the steroid policy for the union. That letter, according to the league, advised that StarCaps had been added to the list of prohibited dietary supplement companies.
In announcing the suspensions Tuesday, the NFL said it is not obligated to issue specific warnings about specific products. The league also reiterated the section of its policy that reads:
"You and you alone are responsible for what goes into your body. Claiming that you used only legally available nutritional supplements will not help you in an appeal. ... Even if they are bought over-the-counter from a known establishment, there is currently no way to be sure that they contain the ingredients listed on the packaging or have not been tainted with prohibited substances ...
"If you take these products, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK! For your own health and success in the league, we strongly encourage you to avoid the use of supplements altogether, or at the very least to be extremely careful about what you choose to take."
Kevin and Pat Williams had already obtained a temporary restraining order blocking their suspensions from Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson on Wednesday. Thursday's lawsuit would protect all five players and had no immediate effect on Larson's order.
In the sixth case, Cornwell said he reviewed Pittman's case with the NFLPA, the player and his agent, Kevin Gold.
"While we remain disappointed in the result, we concluded that, under the circumstances, the chances of a successful challenge were not favorable," Cornwell said.
A seventh player under scrutiny, Atlanta's Grady Jackson, has not been suspended. Jeff Pash, the league's chief counsel, has asked for additional information.
Jackson filed suit against StarCaps in California last month, seeking restitution for any lost salary and damages for "false advertising and unfair business practices."
McAllister said Tuesday that he told other players about StarCaps because he believed it was a permitted supplement.
"I wouldn't have put those guys in jeopardy if I had known something was in that product," he said.
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