Vikings, NFL in doping rift
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 05, 2008 00:00
NEW YORK - A judge granted Minnesota Vikings players Pat Williams and Kevin Williams a temporary restraining order Wednesday night blocking their four-game doping suspensions handed down by the National Football League a day earlier.
The two were among six players suspended by the NFL on Tuesday for violating the league's anti-doping policy.
Lawyers for the Pro Bowl tackles won a temporary reprieve in Hennepin County District Court on Wednesday.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league would challenge the ruling, and noted that the policy on substances was part of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association. "The program and the Collective Bargaining Agreement expressly bar precisely this kind of lawsuit," Aiello told PA SportsTicker. "There is no merit to this lawsuit, and we will promptly seek to have the order reversed."
The Williamses' lawyers argued the league knew that the weight-loss supplement StarCaps, a product contained the banned drug.
A trio of players with the New Orleans Saints - Deuce McAllister and Will Smith and Charles Grant - and Bryan Pittman of the Houston Texans were also suspended.
Lawyers for the Pro Bowl tackles won a temporary reprieve in Hennepin County District Court on Wednesday.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league would challenge the ruling, and noted that the policy on substances was part of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the NFL Players Association. "The program and the Collective Bargaining Agreement expressly bar precisely this kind of lawsuit," Aiello told PA SportsTicker. "There is no merit to this lawsuit, and we will promptly seek to have the order reversed."
The Williamses' lawyers argued the league knew that the weight-loss supplement StarCaps, a product contained the banned drug.
A trio of players with the New Orleans Saints - Deuce McAllister and Will Smith and Charles Grant - and Bryan Pittman of the Houston Texans were also suspended.