I hope the NFL loses

WILLIAMS CASE MOVES TO FEDERAL COURT
Posted by Michael David Smith on December 4, 2008, 2:35 p.m. EST

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that the NFL succeeded today in getting its legal case with Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams moved to federal court.

Yesterday Judge Gary Larson of the Hennepin County District Court issued a temporary restraining order that allowed Williams and Williams to return to the team. But that victory was expected to be short lived.

Now the case has been filed with U.S. District Court Judge David Doty, the same judge who’s presiding over issues related to the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

As of right now, it’s still not clear whether Williams and Williams will be on the field when the Vikings play the Lions Sunday.

Now I just heard this product was acceptable on "the list", and was took off three years ago.

What a messed up system.

I guess if I made their money, I would pay someone to "watch out" for me. But, I guess they could mess up to.

4 games seems like a lot though....

Judge Doty being on the case is very good news for the players.

Yeah I read that the NFL doesn't want anything to do with Doty because of a ruling on the Michael Vick case ($20 million) he was lucy enough to keep.

Also it appears if the Williams play this week and the Players lose in court next week the Williams Wall will be suspended for the playoff game.

The players would lose less money if they are suspended for the playoff game.

Doty is not on the case, he deferred it to Judge Magnuson.

From espn.com


Updated: December 5, 2008, 3:16 PM ET

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A federal judge has blocked the NFL from suspending five players for violating the league's anti-doping policy.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson said Friday he needed more time to consider the case after hearing several hours of arguments from the league and the NFL Players Association.

Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings, and Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints each were suspended this week for four games. They tested positive for a banned diuretic in the dietary supplement StarCaps.

The union has argued the NFL didn't properly inform players about the substance. The NFL's attorneys argued that claim, and others, had been considered and rejected in a process set out by the league's collective bargaining agreement.

Cool, maybe we can beat the Lions!

Needs more time, eh?? If I were the judge, I would rule about mid february

hahaha thatd be nice

starcaps wasn't on the approved or the unapproved list...when some of these players went to the trainers they said it should be ok and to make sure to call the 800 hotline setup for players to call to check on products...the 800 hotline said it was ok to take starcaps...so it was ok'd by trainers and the hotline.

the league doctor/chemist knew there was an illegal substance in the starcaps product but never informed the league staff.

the players did everything they were supposed to do and got the ok from the people they are supposed to check with first and called the hotline...they shouldn't be held responsible in this case.

Given the collective bargaining agreement language that exists between the NFL and the players, I believe they should face a 1 game suspension for testing postive.

Beyond that there are too many issues like intent, incorrect labelling and known positives by the league for it to go beyond that.

This issue should not be a league vs. the players deal for the good of the fans.

In addition to providing a list of approved substances, there should also be an information exchange on companies that have maketed substances resulting in positives for banned substances. If they can test the urine, they can test the supplements.

Sounds good on paper........But It's impossible.....and it's not the NF L's job to baby sit the players and the fly by night company's like StarCaps who are constantly trying to circumvent the banned substance rules in sports today.

The supplement industry is not regulated. There are literally thousands of supplements, performance enhancers on the market and they are CONSTANTLY changing ingredients.


How about maybe the players instead of risking their lively hood have the so called supplements tested themselves?

Or better yet how about losing weight the old fashioned way with out drugs?

i agree on the 4 game suspension being to harsh in this circumstance considering the miscommunications.

if it was on the list and they were told not to take it and still did or got caught using real roids i'd say they should get suspended for 4 games forsure...even though i'm a fan and it would suck.

i also agree they should just lose the weight the old fashioned way without drugs....u get paid millions and millions of dollars not like you can't afford to eat right and do some additional exercises.