Hits Keep Coming For Henderson Family

By MikeBullock  |   Wednesday, December 16, 2009  |  Comments( 1 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Just when it seemed like Christmas at the Henderson household couldn’t have a darker shadow cast over it, Erin Henderson, younger brother of injured middle linebacker E.J., was suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing substances. The suspension calls for Henderson to be out the final three games of the season, as well as the first game of the playoffs.

While it’s not been made public how Henderson violated the policy, there are those who will certainly find a way to connect this to the Star Caps fiasco involving Kevin and Pat Williams, affectionately known as the Williams Wall.

In his second season out of Maryland, Erin Henderson has spent a considerable amount of time on the bench, having only been active for twelve games so far. Henderson has racked up eighteen tackles and one forced fumble while trying to climb out of the shadow of older brother E.J., who went down with a season ending injury against the Arizona Cardinals on December 6th.

Most football players seek fame based on their on-field play and few want the spotlight for reasons such as a suspension. While there are intricacies to the NFL’s substance abuse policy that boggle the mind, the NFL has stated unequivocally that the players are held completely responsible for what’s in their bodies. In the case of the Williams Wall, both players insist they took a weight loss pill, simply to drop a few pounds prior to weigh-in. According to many in the know, this is fairly common in NFL locker rooms. However, the pill the Williams boys took is also used to mask the presence of steroids, a major no-no in the NFL.

That being said, it’s hard to come down on the younger Henderson brother for any wrongdoing until the facts are known. He might have innocently been trying to step to the plate in order to fill the role his brother held on the team, or he may have been attempting to do something far less dubious. Either way, the Vikings will have to forge on into the playoffs without either Henderson on their active roster and even more media attention scrutinizing just what substances are floating around in their locker room. Neither of which is an appealing situation for a team focused on a championship, but overcoming adversity is what winners do, and what the Vikings must do if they hope to win it all.
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