Houston Texans owner Bob McNair says he knew about “an issue” that linebacker Brian Cushing had with the NFL during the 2009 season. But he didn’t know what that “issue” was.
The Associated Press reports that McNair said Monday that being “left out of the loop” is something that should be addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement.
“Brian had mentioned that he had an issue there, but we don’t know what any of the details are,” McNair said.
Cushing tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in September but was allowed to continue playing throughout the 2009 season. In February he appealed his positive test, and last week the NFL informed Cushing that his appeal had been denied and he’d be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season. Through it all, no one breached the confidentiality of the process, and there were no leaks of Cushing’s positive test.
It’s not clear how McNair proposes changing the collective bargaining agreement so that owners won’t be “left out of the loop” in the future. And it’s hard to imagine the the union agreeing to any changes to the confidentiality of the league’s drug testing procedures.