NFL to delay suspensions for THG use
— -- OAKLAND, Calif. -- NFL players who used the steroid THGbefore the league began testing for it will avoid possiblesuspensions until next season.
However, players who now test positive for the previouslyundetectable drug will face immediate discipline, includingfour-game suspensions, commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Thursday ina memo to NFL clubs.
No players have tested positive for THG since random testingbegan Oct. 6, the league and union said. About 1,000 samples havebeen tested.
Players who tested positive for THG in samples collected beforeOct. 6 still could be fined this season, league spokesman GregAiello said.
Tagliabue wrote that there was "uncertainty whether suspensionsbased upon pre-October 6 tests could be imposed during the 2003season with the requisite competitive fairness for all 32 teams."
Last Sunday, CBS reported that four members of the Oakland Raiders -- center Barret Robbins, linebacker Bill Romanowski anddefensive linemen Dana Stubblefield and Chris Cooper -- had testedpositive for THG. The NFL hasn't commented specifically on theRaiders, and the report didn't indicate when the samples weretaken.
"Everything that has transpired with these rumored reports ispurely and strictly speculation," Raiders coach Bill Callahansaid. "It just appears to me that whatever has occurred has beenstrictly confidential and remains confidential."
The league and the union still are negotiating over how topunish players for a positive test from a sample obtained beforeOct. 6.
Usually, the penalty for a positive test is a four-gamesuspension, and just six weeks remain in the regular season. Theleague rarely issues a suspension stretching across two seasons.
In addition, more tests must be conducted after a positive testto ensure accuracy. Most importantly, any player testing positivecould appeal a suspension -- a process that could take several moreweeks.
"This is not about winning," said Gene Upshaw, the union'sexecutive director. "This is strictly about the process."
Related Stories
ABC News Live