SI.com Yanks B.J. Raji Report

Apparently, the specter of the Mike Price litigation has prompted SI.com to blink. Brian Murphy of Athletes First tells us that SI.com has removed the report that Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji tested positive for marijuana at the Scouting Combine. Indeed, the link to the story, which was included in our first blurb on the topic, is now dead. Initially, Raji’s agents provided a non-denial denial of the story, which many interpreted as a concession that Raji had indeed tested positive. “We will not comment on rumors from unnamed sources,” Brian Murphy told SI.com last Thursday. “I do know that B.J. has been one of the hardest workers and nicest individuals that we at Athletes First represent. There is no doubt that he will be an invaluable addition to an NFL team both on the field as a player and in the community as a role model.” Then, after NFLDraftBible.com reported that another Athletes First client, USC linebacker Clay Matthews, had tested positive for steroids, the far more aggressive approach taken by the agency -- including an express demand for a retraction -- made the Raji response seem even more suspicious. More recently, however, both Athletes First and Raji himself declared that he did not test positive. In the end, something prompted SI.com to take the more cautious approach.