NFL suspends 6

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081202/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_nfl_suspensions_9 :'(

NEW YORK – Six players, including the heart of the Minnesota Vikings' stout defensive line, were suspended for four games without pay by the NFL on Tuesday for violating the league's anti-doping policy. All six were punished for using a diuretic, which can serve as a masking agent for steroids.

The suspended players were running back Deuce McAllister and defensive linemen Charles Grant and Will Smith of New Orleans; defensive linemen Kevin and Pat Williams of Minnesota; and long snapper Bryan Pittman of Houston.

The punishment means all six will miss the end of the regular season, an especially harsh blow to Minnesota, which relies heavily on the Williamses in its run defense, which ranks second in the league.
Angelo Wright, the Williamses' agent, said he would file a motion in federal court Wednesday morning, presumably to put off the suspensions.

A seventh player, Atlanta's Grady Jackson, was not suspended. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Jeff Pash, the league's chief counsel, had asked for additional information from Jackson.

If a player's team makes the playoffs, the player will be eligible to return to the active roster on Dec. 29.

The suspension of Pat and Kevin Williams, who are not related, may prove to be the most critical.

The Vikings lead Chicago by a game in the NFC North with four games left, in large part because the Williamses are considered the NFL's best defensive tackle combination.

Last Sunday, they led a goal-line stand that kept Chicago from taking a 14-3 second-quarter lead in Minneapolis. On the first play after the Bears were stopped, the Vikings' Gus Frerotte threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian, giving Minnesota a 10-7 lead it never lost, a 14-point swing.

"In response to this afternoon's ruling, the Minnesota Vikings are very disappointed in the National Football League's suspension of Kevin and Pat Williams," the team said in a statement. "At the appropriate time, we will have further comment."

Adolpho Birch, the NFL's vice president of law and labor policy, would not disclose during a conference call when the players tested positive.

Word of the positive test first leaked in late October. Asked why it took until the final four games of the regular season to hand down the suspensions, Birch said it was "a function of a lot of factors."

"I think if you ask most coaches, every game is important. I don't think they'd differentiate between the first and the last," Birch said. "We do have things in place to get them done as quickly as possible. But we had to deal with the number of players involved and adjust travel schedules. We have to fit it around the players' ability to attend."

David Cornwell, the lawyer for Pittman and the three Saints, called the decisions "inconsistent with the objectives of the steroid policy."

"Deuce, Will, and Charles did not try to enhance their performance with steroids, nor did they knowingly expose themselves to the adverse health risks of a diuretic," Cornwell said in an e-mail. "They took a weight loss supplement that they had every reason to believe was safe."

In their appeals, some players said the banned substance Bumetanide was not listed as an ingredient in StarCaps, an over-the-counter weight-loss pill.

In fact, Jackson filed suit against StarCaps in Alameda County Superior Court in California last month, seeking restitution for any lost salary and damages for "false advertising and unfair business practices."

But in issuing the suspensions, the league 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."

The NFL also 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.

Asked if the NFL would review its policy on diuretics, Birch said the policy is reviewed every year.

"I suspect the players association may want to look specifically at diuretics or some other issues. We'd be happy to do that with them if appropriate," he said. "I do think it's good policy. It works well. It has different aspects to it, but we will certainly listen with an open mind and if it's appropriate to make change, make changes."

 

Wonder what would happen if these teams had to forfeit games for using an ineligible player... think teams would clean up then?

 

"In response to this afternoon's ruling, the Minnesota Vikings are very disappointed in the National Football League's suspension of Kevin and Pat Williams," the team said in a statement. "At the appropriate time, we will have further comment."



Right, blame the league for inforcing its rules rather than the jackasses who broke those rules.

Toughest drug policy in sports....bullshit.

A league full of roided up 300-pound freaks suspends six ghuys and their teams' management is pissed at the league.
Total fucking joke of a league.

 

the long snapper?

 

Anyone think the NFL timed this to try to help the Lions not finish 0-16? I'm sure it's not, but it's interesting at the timing.

They suspend the Vikings' top two run defenders the same week they face the Lions.

The Lions also face New Orleans in three games. Boom, get rid of McCallister and maybe the Lions can stop that run.

Of course, we all know nothing can help the Lions except wiping the whole franchise clean from owner to towel boy.

 

After reading that fanboi post Hank, I assume you are the towel boy.

 

No fan boy here. I want the Lions to go to 0-16.

 

Why do you hate America?

 

Did you not know this was coming? I'm a Vikings fan, but I knew weeks ago that the suspension was coming down this week, before the Lions game. What sickens me most is that Sunday's win over the Bears, probably the Vikings' best overall performance of the season will be its last hurrah thanks to the Williamses. Those jackasses can say whatever they want, but to me, it's BS. They've cost their team big time. AP can still do his stuff, but the Vikings have to play at the Lions (record notwithstanding, Daunte Culpepper might be able to lead Detroit to a win here) and then go to Arizona, followed by home games with Atlanta and the Giants to end the season. Vikings might be able to get in the playoffs, but it's DEFINITELY not going to be a cakewalk.

 

Don't kid yourself, the Lions don't have a chance against the Vikings.

And it may not even be Culpepper at QB. There's some talk Orlovsky might be ready to come back.

 

No one gives a fuck about the Lions.

 

"Says who?"