Vikings DTs Challenge Suspensions in Court
Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams have taken legal action to attempt to overturn their four-game suspensions by the NFL for testing positive for a banned substance.
According to the Associated Press, the two Vikings players are seeking a temporary restraining order in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis in their bid to remain eligible to play.
A hearing reportedly is under way.
The two were among six NFL players suspended by the league Tuesday without pay. Several of the players tested positive for a banned diuretic contained in a weight-loss product, according to their representatives.
An attorney for Pat Williams and Kevin Williams had told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press on Tuesday that he would take action today to attempt to block the league's ruling in court.
"The players will take proactive steps to correct a harm suffered as a result of actions by the league and its arbitrary and inequitable administration of the program," New York-based attorney Peter Ginsberg told the newspaper. "Neither Pat nor Kevin has ever used steroids and do not warrant this kind of treatment."
Also suspended Tuesday were Houston Texans long snapper Bryan Pittman and three New Orleans Saints players, tailback Deuce McAllister and defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith. The league is yet to rule on an appeal by Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jackson.
The suspensions run through the conclusion of the regular season. They also would be in effect during the playoffs if any players manage to obtain a temporary restraining order but the NFL's ruling later is upheld.
At least some of the players reportedly tested positive for the diuretic bumetanide, which is on the NFL's list of banned substances as a possible masking agent for steroids, that was contained, according to the players and their representatives, in the weight-loss product StarCaps.
The players and their representatives have focused on the testimony of John Lombardo, the independent administrator of the NFL's testing program, during at least one set of appeals hearings. According to attorney David Cornwell, who represents the three suspended Saints players, Lombardo testified that he had known previously that StarCaps contained bumetanide but he did not warn players of that for fear that other players facing possible suspensions for positive tests in unrelated cases would use that information as a defense.
Ginsberg, the attorney for the Vikings defensive tackles, told the Pioneer-Press: "It's the league, and not the players, that ought to be sanctioned for this kind of behavior."
Cornwell said in a written statement issued Tuesday, in which he expressed disappointment with the league's rejection of the players' appeals, that further action on his clients' behalf was possible.
"We will take further action as is appropriate," Cornwell said in the statement.
Cornwell indicated that his clients ingested bumetanide unknowingly. He said the three Saints players would not have used StarCaps if they'd been warned that it contained the banned diuretic. The weight-loss product did not list the banned diuretic on its label as an ingredient, according to the players and their representatives.
"Based on the unique circumstances presented in this case, the NFL's decision is inconsistent with the objectives of the steroid policy, Dr. Lombardo's disclosure obligations under the law, and the best interests of NFL players," Cornwell said in his written statement.
"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. They took a weight loss supplement that they had every reason to believe was safe. Against the backdrop of the federal government's refusal to require accurate labeling for nutritional supplements and Dr. Lombardo's specific, but undisclosed knowledge that StarCaps contained bumetanide, it is grossly unfair that Deuce, Will, and Charles are the only ones that must bear a burden."
In rejecting the players' appeals, the league cited the provision of its testing policy that holds players responsible for any banned substances that they ingest, even unknowingly, in a supplement. The league indicated in a written statement that Lombardo was not obligated to issue a specific warning to players about StarCaps. According to the league, Lombardo did warn teams and the NFL Players Association that the maker of StarCaps had been added to the league's list of banned supplement-producers.
"The policy is very clear that the appeal decision is final," Adolpho Birch, the NFL's vice president of law and labor policy, said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "It's binding on all the parties, and that's where we are. Whatever happens beyond that, I guess we'll have to find out."
Birch, who oversees the testing program for the league, said he didn't think the players would be successful if they went to court.
"I'm not sure what their intentions are or what they wish to do," Birch said during Tuesday's conference call. "We know that our policy has been designed through collective bargaining, and that's how we function. It's under our policy that these decisions have been made.... We don't think that that would have any merit to it, but they certainly are free to file whatever they choose."
Birch would not say whether all of the players who'd been suspended had tested positive for bumetanide and had indicated they'd used StarCaps.
All of the appeals except for Pittman's were heard by league counsel Jeff Pash, according to the NFL. According to the NFL, Pittman's appeal was heard by former league counsel Jay Moyer.
By
Mark Maske
|
December 3, 2008; 6:14 PM ET
| Category:
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Posted by: Toby | December 5, 2008 12:21 PM
Plain and simple the substance were not labledl...... NOT GUILTY!
Posted by: BKuhn | December 4, 2008 2:03 PM
Here's what happened:
1) The Williams boys took steroids and then took bumetanide to mask it.
2) They pass the steroid test but test positive for bumetanide.
3) They then find out that StarCaps has bumetanide but it's not on the label so they conveniently claim to have taken StarCaps, even though they never did.
Guilty as charged. Even if their BS story was true, the league and players association has a zero tolerance policy on bumetanide so it's a mute point.
Posted by: mark | December 4, 2008 10:11 AM
Steriods are the back drop to this issue, but with all that is relavent, the williams wall should not be suspended! the lable does not contain the information on the substance, therefor they should not have been punished, all 6 players should still play, and if they're suspended for the 4 games, take the damn company who produces that stuff to court...
Posted by: Larry | December 4, 2008 7:59 AM
i know that the williams brothers work very hard at what they do. If they have weight problems, and trouble keepin it consistant outside of the results of their draining work ethic, then they should be able to take a supplement, as a lot of tv stars do--which the williams brothers seem to be every week--in order to stay competitive.
Posted by: joe wetzel | December 4, 2008 4:28 AM
This is a bunch of crap they suspended them for something like this. Obviouslt pat and kevin williams have had no recent problems with steroids or any problems with the NFL. I feel its wrong what happened to these players.
Posted by: Colton | December 3, 2008 11:49 PM
When one is paid what NFL players make, one should be able to be responsible for what gets ingested. I have no sympathy for the players involved. They are acting like 10 year old children.
Posted by: Brian | December 3, 2008 10:34 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Mark, did you give the Wall bro's the steroids yourself? How do you know they took steroids? Let them play. I take a vitamin everyday maybe I should get suspended from work because I did not read the label.