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| NFL suspends six after failed drug tests |
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Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 3-Dec-2008 10:39 hrs |
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| Deuce McAllister of the New Orleans Saints waits to be introduced before playing the San Francisco 49ers in September, 2008 at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The National Football League suspended a half dozen players after they failed doping tests, league officials announced on Tuesday. |
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The National Football League has suspended a half dozen players after they failed doping tests, according to league officials.. Defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams of the Minnesota Vikings, a trio of players with the New Orleans Saints - running back Deuce McAllister and defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant - and centre Bryan Pittman of the Houston Texans were slapped with four-game suspensions for violating the league's policy on anabolic steroids and related substances.. The NFL's disciplinary officials did not release the name of the drug but it is reportedly to be Bumetanide, a masking agent for steroids.. It was a big setback for the Vikings, who lost the heart of their interior line with the suspensions of the Williamses, who are both Pro Bowlers.. The Saints, who are teetering on the edge of playoff elimination, also lose a pair of players with the expulsions of Smith and McAllister.. Grant was placed on season-ending injured reserve last month.. With four games remaining, the suspensions effectively end the regular season for the players. However, if a player's team makes the playoffs, he is eligible to return to the active roster on December 29.. During their appeals, the players attributed the positive tests for taking the weight-loss supplement StarCaps, which does not list Bumetanide as an ingredient.. David Cornwell, a Washington-based lawyer who represented the Saints players during their appeals, argued that Dr. John Lombardo, the administrator of the NFL's policy regarding anabolic steroids and related substances, was aware that StarCaps contained Bumetanide but failed to share the information with NFL players, fearing that players who testing positive for the drug would claim they took StarCaps even if it were not true. — AFP
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