Mainstream media off base on StarCaps story

By John McMullen  |   Wednesday, May 27, 2009  |  Comments( 2 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Who protests a win?

The NFL ... at least according to the mainstream media.

Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson dismissed a lawsuit brought by the NFL Players Association on behalf of Minnesota Vikings Pat and Kevin Williams, two New Orleans Saints players and a free agent facing suspensions in the ongoing StarCaps case.

However, Magnuson sent the Williamses' original lawsuit back to Minnesota State Court.

The suspensions of the Williamses, the two Saints -- Charles Grant and Will Smith -- and free agent/ex-Saint Deuce McAllister came after they tested positive for the diuretic bumetanide contained in a tainted but legal over-the-counter supplement called StarCaps.

It was reported as a resounding victory for the league by the lemmings who didn't take the time to read Judge Magnuson's 23-page ruling, a document that read like a roadmap for the Williamses' lawyer, Peter Ginsberg.

Magnuson clearly loathes the NFL's position and behavior in this case, but, because of the one-sided collective bargaining agreement that the players signed with the league, is handcuffed and unable to do anything about it.

So, Magnuson sent the mess back to Minnesota and actually gave Ginsberg the ammunition to win.

Magnuson explained that the Minnesota Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act confines employee drug testing in the state to the specific procedures permitted by the law itself. Simply put, any testing or discipline not permitted by that law is illegal in Minnesota and the act prohibits an employer from imposing any discipline based on a single positive test. The law also gives employees the right to explain any positive test.

Moreover, Magnuson explained that the Minnesota Consumable Products Act prohibits employers from taking action against employees who have "engaged in the use or enjoyment of lawful consumable products, if the use or enjoyment takes place off the premises of the employer during nonworking hours."

Of course, Kevin and Pat Williams only tested positive once; specifically, it was for "engaging" in the use of a lawful consumable product.

Under the NFL's policy for anabolic steroids and related substances, a four-game suspension arises from that first positive test whether the product came from a legal or illegal source. That flies in the face of the liberal Minnesota law and it's the Vikings who employ the Williamses, not the NFL.

Magnuson seems to be bending over backward to help Ginsberg simply because of the NFL's behavior. The judge seemed troubled that NFL executives knew StarCaps contained bumetanide but did not notify the players.

Legally, the NFL did not have that responsibility but seemed to be playing a game of 'Gotcha' instead of instituting a meaningful, substantive drug testing program that helped its players.

The NFL's "independent" drug administrator, Dr. John Lombardo, acknowledged that he learned in late-2006 that StarCaps contained bumetanide and didn't inform the players, claiming that "he feared that a specific warning regarding StarCaps could be used as a defense to alleged violations of the steroid policy that involved weight reduction products other than StarCaps."

By failing to disclose the fact bumetanide was in StarCaps, they have essentially entrapped players. Perhaps more importantly, they exposed their own players to significant health risks associated with the unintentional ingestion of diuretics.

Magnuson couldn't send the NFL the message he wanted to, so he sent it back to a jurisdiction that could.

"The decision strongly supports the NFL program on performance enhancing substances that protects the health and safety of NFL players and the integrity of our game," the NFL said in a statement after Magnuson's ruling.

Then, after studying the decision they loved so much, the NFL filed an appeal, asking the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to review whether Magnuson erred by sending the case back to the Minnesota courts.

Strange thing for a winner to do.
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About John McMullen

John is the managing editor of The Phanatic Magazine, the assistant managing editor of The Sports Network and the co-host of the highly rated 'Johns on Sports' radio show on WTBQ in New York. Every Saturday from 6:30-9 p.m. (et) you can hear John along with his co-host, John Gottlieb, talk to the ...
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