When did the “Williams Wall” become the wailing wall?

By Lou DiPietro | Thursday, May 28, 2009 | ( 1 )

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Never would I be one to hate a rule breaker for getting off on a technicality. After all, I did formerly work for World Wrestling Entertainment -- and if you followed WWE’s recent tiff with the Denver Nuggets and/or saw their “portrayal” of Nuggets owner E. Stan Kroenke, NBA Commissioner David Stern and Jack Nicholson last Monday night, you kind of have an idea of how Vince McMahon will push the envelope on things as far as he can. Hey, he’s a billionaire, so you can’t argue with it.

But in the case of Minnesota Vikings Pat and Kevin Williams, the chance that their looming suspensions might be lifted on a technicality...well, for lack of a better word, it sucks. And it’s unfair.

To refresh your memories, last season, several NFL players tested positive for bumetanide -- a banned ingredient found in over-the-counter diuretics that is illegal in the league because it can potentially mask steroid use. The Williamses just two of many who received four-game suspensions for a positive test, but the suspensions were held off because of legal issues.

The Williamses claimed that the NFL knew that bumetanide was found in the diuretic they used (StarCaps), so the legal wrangling began. Last week, however, a U.S. District Court Judge dismissed their claims, meaning that they, along with New Orleans Saints Will Smith and Charles Grant, former Saint Deuce McAllister and Lions DT Grady Jackson will most likely have to serve their suspensions.

Or will they?

See, there’s one more loophole the Williamses are looking to exploit. In the ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson said that their case could be heard in Minnesota state court. Apparently, the state had laws protecting employees from workplace discipline if their indiscretion comes from using legal substances away from the workplace. Basically, if what they did wasn’t illegal in the state and it didn’t happen at work, work can’t fault them for it.

The NFL, however, thinks that’s a bunch of crap and rightfully so.

The league office feels that its collective bargaining agreement should supersede state laws, and said in a statement that “The NFL has a policy that prohibits the use of performance-enhancing drugs, and that policy applies nationwide to all 32 NFL teams and their employees.”

And again, as much as I’d never hate on a technicality, they should be 100 percent right in this case.

Regardless of what team they play for, Pat and Kevin Williams violated league policy. Therefore, they should be subject to league discipline pending an appeal -- one which they made, and lost. Because the Minnesota Vikings’ main business takes place as part of said league, they should have to suffer the consequences.

If they were going to appeal the violation under any “state” law, it should be the state where the league is headquartered -- which in this case happens to be New York, which has no such law.

Yes, I understand that franchising within the NFL doesn’t work quite that way, and I also understand that no matter their actual state of residence, they pay Minnesota state income taxes (if Minnesota has them) because they’re paid by a Minnesota entity.

But in this case, again, it’s a league rule -- one that the Vikings and the other 31 teams have to follow. If they had broken a Vikings team rule in a similar manner, then by all means, appeal to state court. WWE has offices in four states and at least four foreign countries; but whether I was in the main Connecticut office, in one of the satellites in Los Angeles, London or wherever or working remotely at an event anywhere in the world, I had to adhere to the corporate policy and paid the price accordingly if I broke it -- regardless of whether what I was “legal” or not in my actual location.

Same principle applies here. Break a league rule, face league policy. It worked for (or against, really) Adam Jones, Chris Henry, Plaxico Burress and numerous others, so the “Williams Wall” should be no exception.

And in case you were wondering, neither Louisiana nor Michigan has a similar policy, so Grant, Smith and Jackson don’t have that option. McAllister is still a free agent, but unless he signs with the Vikings, he’s also likely out of luck.

The best part of this whole snafu? Pat Williams missed the final two regular-season games and the Vikings’ playoff loss to the Eagles thanks to an injured shoulder; so, if he had just shut up and taken the suspension when it happened (a la Manny Ramirez earlier this month), he’d only be missing the first game of the season.

Maybe Brett Favre can play defense, too.

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	About Lou DiPietro Lou DiPietro is an accomplished freelance writer who is fascinated with all things sports. In addition to his duties at RealFootball365.com, Lou contributes to TheBleacherReport.com and Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine, and has been featured on "The Sports Buffet with Matt West" on 1080-AM ESPN...
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