Seattle Seahawks cornerbacks Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner continue to deny that they have ever taken performance-enhancing substances despite facing four-game suspensions for testing positive.
According to Mike Garafolo of the USA Today, Sherman is saying that he unknowingly ingested Adderall prescribed to a teammate according to a person familiar with Sherman’s explanation. Sherman’s agent, Kevin Poston, would not speak on the specifics of the case but when presented with the scenario described Poston said, “What appears is not always the case. Hopefully, when the facts come out, justice will prevail.”
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network also reported the scenario described by Garafolo.
Sherman, however, is completely denying that’s what took place. In a series of texts Monday night, Sherman disputed the accounts being reported by the USA Today and NFL Network.
“It’s totally false,” Sherman said. “It will be resolved in time and I have never taken anything.”
Sherman has denied ever taking Adderall since the suspensions were first reported on Sunday.
Browner’s agent, Peter Schaffer, also denied the claims against him client.
“I can tell you that Brandon Browner has no knowledge of how any illegal substance could have gotten into his system,” Schaffer said. "...He takes tremendous care of his body and he is very careful with what he puts into it. We’re exploring all avenues to try and figure out how any substance out of the ordinary would be in his system.”
Per Garafolo, Browner is already in the league’s substance-abuse program following an undisclosed incident while playing for the Denver Broncos in 2005. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com was on Sports Radio KJR in Seattle Monday morning and relayed Browner’s denial of taking any performance-enhancing substance knowing how frequently he is tested due to being in the substance-abuse program.
"[Browner]'s someone who’s tested regularly; up to three times a week,” La Canfora said. “So he’s told people, ‘look, I knew what I was up against. I don’t even drink a beer because I’m so wary of having a positive for anything.’ So he’s been adamant that ‘I’m not on anything. I’ve gone out of my way not to put any sort of substance, supplement, or anything other than what you would normally eat and drink.’”
Schaffer said they received notice from the league about the positive tests last week. He said normally hearings for these matters are usually scheduled within 20 days of the notice being sent but circumstances could require it to take longer. Schaffer said he wasn’t sure how long it would take for this particular hearing to come about.
“It’s too early to tell what we’re going to need, what witnesses and evidence and experts are going to be required so there is no way to even guess at this point,” he said.
Until those appeals are resolved, both Browner and Sherman are eligible to play for the Seahawks. Head coach Pete Carroll said Monday that he fully expects to have them available for this Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.