It was widely reported last August that the NFL suspended Steelers receiver Martavis Bryant because he failed multiple marijuana tests. His latest predicament suggests a violation for something other than a positive marijuana test.
The three possibilities are: (1) a positive test for something other than marijuana; (2) failure to cooperate with testing, treatment, evaluation or other requirements under the policy or failure to cooperate with the terms of his treatment plan; or (3) at least two separate positive marijuana tests.
The intermediate 10-game suspension applies only to a single positive test for marijuana while in Stage Three of the substance-abuse program. So with Bryant skipping from four games to a full year, it means he allegedly violated the policy without testing positive for marijuana, again.
Bryant has appealed the suspension. If the suspension becomes official, the NFL likely will release more information about what specifically caused it.
It could have been something as simple as missing one of the many tests he now has to take while in Stage Three of the program. Or it may have been a positive test for a banned substance other than marijuana.