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Dec

04

Hearing scheduled Friday morning for suspended New Orleans Saints players Deuce McAllister, Will Smith and Charles Grant

Posted by Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune December 04, 2008 2:22PM

Will Smith was one of the Saints who tested positive for a banned substance.

A hearing has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday in a U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minn., to review the NFL Players Association’s lawsuit on behalf of suspended Saints players Deuce McAllister, Will Smith and Charles Grant, as well as suspended Minnesota Vikings players Pat Williams and Kevin Williams.

Lawyers for both the NFLPA and the NFL are expected to argue the merits of the lawsuit before Judge Paul Magnuson, who has been assigned the case. He could choose to offer a quick ruling or schedule further proceedings. If that’s the case, the NFLPA will ask him to grant an injunction to allow the players to resume playing until the matter is settled.

If Magnuson grants an injunction, McAllister and Smith would be eligible to play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Grant is unable to play because he is on the injured reserve list for the remainder of the season with a triceps injury.

“I believe you will (see us back on the field Sunday),” said McAllister, who said he believes the players have a strong case, even if the NFL didn’t agree when it denied their appeal on Tuesday. “I think if we felt like we were wrong, we wouldn’t have even appealed it up to this point. But after not getting the appeal by the league looking at it, you still have other avenues you can take.”
Apparently, the Saints players have not filed any lawsuits on the local level. The Vikings players chose to file a lawsuit in Minnesota on the state level Wednesday, and they were granted a temporary injunction by the judge in that case, which allowed them to practice with the Vikings on Thursday.

The state case has since been reassigned to the federal court, but the injunction still stands pending Friday’s hearing.

Saints Coach Sean Payton said he’s aware of the possible change in McAllister’s and Smith’s status, but at this point, the only thing he can do is keep game-planning and practicing with the guys on the current roster.

“Really, after two days of practice (this week), that’s what it has to be now,” said Payton, though he added that McAllister and Smith “certainly understand and know the offense and defense” well enough that they could be inserted back into the lineup without great difficulty.

“If those guys are restored and allowed to play, then we’ll have a plan for that. And if not, then we already have a plan for that,” said Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis, who said he is disappointed for the players, but he also supports the league’s ruling on their suspensions.

“Listen, we support the league and the policies that we have. And the league ruled on the matter, so we support that,” Loomis said. “You know, I’m disappointed for our players, we’re all disappointed for our players, and we thought they made a strong argument. But the league made its decision, so as a member club, we have to abide by that.

“But I can tell you this, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith mean a lot to our team. They’re really good players. They’ve meant a lot to our franchise. They’ve been exemplary representatives of the NFL and our franchise, and I certainly wouldn’t be upset if they were able to play.”

Dec

04

New Orleans Saints place safety Kevin Kaesviharn on injured reserve

Posted by Teddy Kider, The Times-Picayune December 04, 2008 2:05PM

The Saints placed starting safety Kevin Kaesviharn on the injured reserve list Thursday, ending his season after he suffered his second stinger in four weeks.

With defensive end Charles Grant’s move this week from the injured reserve to the suspended reserve list, there are now 14 players on the Saints’ injured reserve list.
The Saint signed defensive end Tearrius George from the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad to take Kaesviharn’s active roster spot.

Fullback Mike Karney and linebacker Troy Evans both were on the injury report Thursday but had full practices.

Dec

02

New Orleans Saints’ Deuce McAllister says he is disappointed by suspension, but not done playing

Posted by Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune December 02, 2008 7:23PM

Saints tailback Deuce McAllister said he was obviously disappointed by the NFL’s decision to suspend him for the final four games of the regular season, but he said he had prepared himself for the worst.

McAllister, who was hosting his annual holiday shopping spree “DeuceGiving” for children in Jackson, Miss., on Tuesday said, “This was the toughest thing, hearing the news today. But I wasn’t gonna put a damper on the event we had for these kids tonight. They had a blast, we were having fun. I had to keep my head up high for them.”

He said it’s still possible that his attorney David Cornwell will file for an injunction to halt the league’s suspensions, but both he and Cornwell said they have not yet decided if they will follow that course of action.

As for what this means for him in the long-term, McAllister isn’t ready to go down that road just yet.

“I don’t feel like I’m through playing. I don’t feel like I’ve played my last game in the Dome,” said McAllister, who turns 30 this month. “I mean, whatever happens happens, but there’s no reason to try and speculate at this point.”

McAllister has four years remaining on his contract, but his salary-cap figure for next year is $7.3 million, which would likely need to be significantly restructured to keep him in a Saints uniform.

“We all know something will occur. What will occur we don’t know,” said McAllister, who said it would be premature to start talking about changing his contract. “Right now I have a contract.”

McAllister and Saints defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith were all suspended for four games without pay on Tuesday for violating the league’s policy on steroids and related substances. They all tested positive for the banned diuretic, bumetanide, which they say came from an over-the-counter weight-loss product called StarCaps, which advertises itself as all natural and does not list any diuretics or other banned substances among its ingredients.

McAllister said he has been taking the product for four years, and that he had a team trainer inquire about the product through the league’s hotline before he started taking it. Although the league didn’t officially approve the product, McAllister said he was informed that there was nothing bad in the product.

“Probably the saddest part about it is that I went about it the right way,” McAllister said. “My only question now is, ‘What is a player supposed to do if it’s not calling the league hotline?’ Obviously that’s not working, because that’s what I did and that’s not working. Something needs to be revamped.

“Now we find out that the league doesn’t test it. They just read the label. I can read the label.”

The NFL reiterated its policy Tuesday, both through a lengthy statement and a conference call with the league’s Vice President of Law & Labor Policy, Adolpho Birch. Birch said the league does not test products for players or teams, but that the hotline is there for informational and educational purposes. The league has long advised players to avoid weight-loss supplements, because they are unregulated and often contain diuretics that are both prohibited by the league and harmful to the body.

McAllister said the StarCaps product has been used for years by several players around the league, including one unnamed player he described as a future Hall of Famer, and he said Grant estimated during the appeals process that at least 25 players on the Saints had used it at one point or another over the past seven years.

Saints guard Jamar Nesbit also was suspended this season under the same circumstances, but he elected to waive his right to appeal and served his suspension. He later filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of StarCaps.

Neither Smith nor Grant were reached for comment.

Dec

02

New Orleans Saints Deuce McAllister, Will Smith and Charles Grant suspended four games

Posted by Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune December 02, 2008 9:01AM

Deuce McAllister insists that the supplement he took was for weight loss.

The NFL officially announced that six players, including Saints Deuce McAllister, Will Smith and Charles Grant will be suspended four games for violating the league’s policy on steroids and related substances.

Grant, who is already on injured reserve for the remainder of the season, will be able serve his suspension while on the injured list, but he will have to forfeit his pay. McAllister and Smith will miss the final four games of this regular season.

The players all appealed their suspensions two weeks ago at the league office in New York, but their appeals were denied Tuesday. Their attorney, David Cornwell, said he has not yet decided if he will pursue an injunction to halt the suspensions or pursue legal action against the manufacturers of the weight-loss product, StarCaps, which allegedly caused the Players’ positive test for a banned diuretic.
“We are disappointed,” Cornwell said in a statement. “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 (Dr. John Lombardo, the independent admindistrator of the league’s testing program) closure obligations under the law, and the best interests of NFL players.

“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.

“We will take further action as is appropriate.”

Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said, “We are disappointed for Deuce, Will and Charles.” The Saints have not yet announced any corresponding roster moves.

Following is the league’s official statement on the decision:

Will Smith was one of the Saints who tested positive for a banned substance.

The NFL announced today the suspension without pay for four games of six players that violated the NFL Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances.

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 has always stated. “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 six players are each suspended for the final four games of the regular-season. If the player’s team qualifies for the playoffs, he is eligible to return to the active roster on Monday, December 29. The suspended players are:

Charles Grant, New Orleans
Deuce McAllister, New Orleans
Bryan Pittman, Houston
Will Smith, New Orleans
Kevin Williams, Minnesota
Pat Williams, Minnesota

The appeals process in this matter included close to 30 hours of hearings. NFL Executive Vice President of Labor and League Counsel Jeff Pash heard and decided all of the appeals except for Bryan Pittman’s. The appeals officer for Pittman was former NFL Executive Vice President and League Counsel Jay Moyer. Following are key excerpts from Jeff Pash’s decision upholding the suspensions:

• Bumetanide, a potent diuretic, has long been a prohibited substance under the policy and is similarly banned by other drug-testing programs. Diuretics are banned for two reasons – first, because they can be used to mask the use of performance-enhancing drugs; and second, because they can pose a threat to player health and safety.

• The policy contains numerous specific warnings about dietary supplements. NFL players received separate advisories regarding supplements (attached). These included two memos from Dr. John Lombardo (the program’s independent administrator) entitled “Weight Reduction Products,” which were sent to players in July of 2007, and again in July of 2008.

• In addition, two notifications specifically mentioning Star Caps were sent on December 19, 2006. One was sent to the presidents, general managers, and head athletic trainers of all NFL clubs. The second was sent to Stacy Robinson, the NFLPA executive who oversees the Steroid Policy on behalf of the union. The letter to Robinson states that “Balanced Health Products, which distributes Star Caps, has been added to the list of prohibited dietary supplement companies. Please distribute this information to the agents and players through your normal channels.” In response, Robinson had Balanced Health Products added to the list of banned companies that is maintained on the NFLPA’s website.

• (For those players with weight clause bonus provisions in their contracts,) the player specifically agreed not to engage in any “last-minute weight reduction techniques,” which included “use of diuretics.”

• There is no question that the policy embodies a collectively bargained rule of strict liability – a rule that players alone are responsible for what is in their bodies; that inadvertent or unknowing use of a prohibited substance will not excuse a positive test; and that supplements are used at a player’s own risk.

• With respect to the question of whether a specific warning should have been given regarding Star Caps, the policy does not set forth an obligation to issue specific warnings about specific products and no testimony suggests that the NFL and NFLPA have ever contemplated imposing such a requirement on Dr. Lombardo, who oversees the development of education materials on steroids. In keeping with that responsibility, the NFL, NFLPA, and Dr. Lombardo have emphasized the need for extreme caution in the use of any supplement, including weight reduction products, have established a Hotline for players to call for information regarding supplements, have established a Supplement Certification program with EAS to provide players with supplements that are free of banned substances, and have, in conjunction with reinforcing the strict liability rule, repeatedly warned players about the dangers of unregulated and inaccurately labeled dietary supplements. In the past, players have been suspended for using dietary supplements that contained a banned substance.

• The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) does not issue specific warnings about specific supplements, nor are such warnings issued in other drug testing programs.

Dec

01

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton: ‘We’re going to have to play better’

Posted by Brian Allee-Walsh, The Times-Picayune December 01, 2008 4:20PM

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton is stating the obvious, that the team needs to play better.

A night of reflection did nothing to change the plight of the New Orleans Saints as they head into the final month of the NFL season.

The way the NFC playoff picture is shaping up, it’s likely the Saints will have to run the table and finish the regular season at 10-6 just to stay in playoff contention. And they’ll have to do it without safety Kevin Kaesviharn who is expected to miss one, perhaps two games after suffering a shoulder injury in Sunday’s 23-20 divisional loss at Tampa Bay.
The Saints (6-6) are last in the NFC South and will play host to the Atlanta Falcons (8-4) at noon Sunday in the Superdome. The Falcons are currently holding down the No. 6 playoff seed in the NFC after beating San Diego 22-16 at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday.

“I think this is a year where I don’t think in the NFC you’re going to see any 9-win teams, aside from a division winner, in the postseason,” Saints Coach Sean Payton said Monday at his weekly press conference. “You could very well see a 10-win team left home.

“We have four weeks left, and (we) certainly understand how everyone else is playing ahead of us and that makes it much more challenging. Nonetheless, we have a home game here against Atlanta in the division. We’re going to have to play better. I think that’s where it’s at.”


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