Given the existence of two Minnesota statutes that potentially prevent the NFL from imposing four-game suspensions on Vikings defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams for taking an over-the-counter supplement that secretly had been spiked with a banned substance, the news that Jets defensive end/linebacker Calvin Pace tested positive after supposedly taking an over-the-counter supplement that, unknown to Pace, contained a banned substance caused us to wonder whether New York law contains similar protections.
Our Internet research regarding the terms of applicable New York law suggests that no potential barriers to a suspension exist.
So, in other words, Pace took the supplement -- and now has to take his medicine.
Meanwhile, we're a bit troubled by the fact that the NFL's use of a strict-liability standard in connection with the policy regarding anabolic steroids and related substances gives those who test positive a convenient P.R. strategy. Since a suspension is imposed even if a player tests positive for a banned substance that he didn't know he was taking, the best response to a positive test is to claim that the player didn't know that he was taking a banned substance.
It doesn't change the fact that the player tested positive, but it gives those inclined to accept whatever he says as true (e.g., the fans of the team for which he plays) a tangible basis for concluding that the player isn't a cheater.
As Ross Tucker of SI.com pointed out earlier tonight, "I can't wait until a guy comes out and says 'I took steroids for a competitive advantage.'"
Even former Patriots and Chargers safety Rodney Harrison, who was suspended two years for HGH use without testing positive, tried to talk his way out of the reality that he cheated by explaining that he used the substance to recover from an injury.
But, still, it's cheating. And since in the NFL players are penalized for unintentionally cheating, any player caught cheating can easily claim that he didn't mean to do it.
Even if he did.
New York Law Won't Help Pace
Posted by Mike Florio on July 2, 2009 11:28 PM ET
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14 Comments 
Latest stories in: Latest News and Rumors, Legal, NFL Mobile Exclusives - Legal, New York Jets, Top Stories
Latest stories in: Latest News and Rumors, Legal, NFL Mobile Exclusives - Legal, New York Jets, Top Stories
I'm glad New York law won't help guys who actually play in New Jersey.
There you go Mike. I, personally think any supplements should be banned, but we like to see men get "debacled(or am I using it right?)" and come back the next week. I'm also 5'5" and 130 on a good day.
I hope you keep pushing this issue, as the NFL seems to have created a double standard. If supplements are legal, and the manufacturer spiikes them, there should be another course of action for the player to clear his name.
Otherwise, like you said, their best chance is to deny which just leads into a vicious circle which will never allow us to get to the real abusers.
Is the NFL really serious about cleaning up it's sport, or is it just a facade to look like it cares? I tend to believe the latter. This course of action has actually made the NFL more succeptible to criticism and mockery.
The NFL, for some ridiculous unconcionable reason, is letting the bad guys define their league. Like I said previously, this is a league of 95% decent guys. Roger Goodell's nonsense and self serving tough guy approach has ONLY made it seem like 95% of the guys in his league are bad.
Now, I don't know the truth. MAYBE every guy who has claimed his supplement was spiked is lying. But the Starcaps case proved that the substance was indeed compromised. I don't know how you can punish the athlete for taking something the league has approved. That is one of the reasons I think that anything but your flinstones vitamins and a glass of milk before bed should be banned.
Also, I know the lady that sold Calvin Pace his house. Not relevant, but kinda cool...
So what is going on with the NFL and in particular, the Pittsburgh Steelers as they're the NFL franchise most identified with wide scale historical abuse? If you're going to single out individual players Florio why not mention the franchise most frequently mentioned with performance enhancing drug abuse?
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=3831956
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/hyde/blog/2009/01/steelers_and_steroids_1.html
http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/06/so-terry-bradsh.html
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_462321.html
That's a bad suggestion, Mike. Strict liability is absolutely the way to go regarding steroids ... this way: It doesn't matter what kind of lies the NFL player spews about why steroids ended up in his body.
And you premised that Calvin pace did NOT know he took a steroid.
Are you sure about that?
"Rodney Harrison, who was suspended two years for HGH"
shouldn't that read...
"Rodney Harrison, who was suspended two years AGO for HGH"
Big Joey does make a good point. Where are the Jets headquartered? I know it was Long Island, but they were to move to a new facility in New Jersey.
Does it matter for State jurisdiction of applicable laws, regulations, and oversight that they play half their games and earn their paychecks in a New Jersey stadium now?
Does it matter that they play the other half of their games in "other" cities not to mention they pay local taxes of those cities? When do those cities take jurisdiction and their relevant work protection laws take over?
This onion has a few layers and it's not completely obvious.
@kenpoblade: 75% of the links you posted deal with usage before there was any NFL policy about steroids. And the other link has already been covered here by Florio.
You know you'd think that someone who professes to be a lawyer would take more care with his writing and try to avoid anything that might be considered libelous. Kind of like this statement from the article above quoted here verbatim:
"Even former Patriots and Chargers safety Rodney Harrison, who was suspended two years for HGH use without testing positive, tried to talk his way out of the reality that he cheated by explaining that he used the substance to recover from an injury."
Of course the facts were that Harrison was suspended for the first four games of the 2007 regular season for admitting to federal investigators that he knowingly obtained and used HGH. That's suspended for four games and not two years there Florio. Hopefully Rodney doesn't sue you over your incompetence now that NBC helps pay your bills.
Maybe he should try the "Jeremy Mayfield" defense.
Just find some idiot judge who doesn't have a clue. You know, the one who believes that "witches brews" of perfectly legal drugs somehow tranform into 100% illegal drugs just by taking them into your body and therefore you can't be suspended.
js
Harrison was suspended for 2 years?
Those viking players are going to get suspended for banned substances plus some extra for all the hassle they put the league through.
6 game suspension will do them some good to help get their minds right.
"Even former Patriots and Chargers safety Rodney Harrison, who was suspended two years for HGH use without testing positive, tried to talk his way out of the reality that he cheated by explaining that he used the substance to recover from an injury."
"Tried to talk his way out of the reality he cheated"
HMMMM, seems like that is standard protocol with the Patriots. He must have learned from Belicheat pretty well.
Never once has Star Caps been on the league's approved list of supplements. Nor has anything made by it's parent company, Balanced Health Products. In fact, a memo was issued explicitly forbidding users from taking or endorsing products made by Balanced Health Products:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/05/23/pat-williams-says-he-has-trust-issues-with-the-nfl/
If the issue was simply taking something listed on the leagues approved supplements list, there wouldn't be an argument. But because these guys went outside the list of league approved substances, it becomes user beware. In short, they knew the risks in using something outside of the approved supplements list and now they have to face the consequences.
Harrison should have been suspended for two years.
He admitted to Federal investigators that he took HGH over multiple seasons.
Harrison was a broke down player when he left SD, but - magically - he becomes healthy as a Patriot. Makes one wonder about the rest of Bellycheaters aging players in recent years.
Harrison lied through his teeth recently about only using it to recover from an injury. Unless that usage was for multiple seasons, as he stated to the Feds.
He's a cheater, plain and simple.
Funny how comments in articles such as this one quickly morph from the subject at hand to a Pats haters convention.
@Shamrock:
I have searched and been unable to find anything about Harrison saying he used HGH for multiple seasons. The only thing I have found is that he admitted he purchased HGH more than once. Were you by chance one of the federal investigators assigned to the case?
When he left SD the Chargers wanted to keep him, but he was released for salary cap reasons. I wouldn't characterize missing three games as "broken down."
On a side note, anybody that does not believes a large portion of NFL players - from all 32 teams - are using HGH is naive. There's no test for it, football is an extremely violent game that results in a need for the body to heal and recover, and there's no way I'm convinced that some of these players look the way they do from simply lifting weights.
But why the outrage only for Harrison? No mention of Pace - you know, the guy the story is about - or Shawne Merriman or any of the dozens of other players to be suspended by the NFL for performance enhancing drugs over the last several years?