New Orleans Saints offensive guard Jamar Nesbit filed suit against the maker of a weight-loss supplement on Tuesday, alleging it was improperly spiked with a diuretic that is banned by the NFL.
The lawsuit against the makers of StarCaps, an over-the-counter product, was filed in federal district court in New Jersey, said Brian Molloy, Nesbit’s attorney.
Nesbit returned last week from a four-game suspension that was levied after he tested positive for Bumetanide, a substance that helps rid the body of excess water and salt.
The NFL considers the substance to be a possible masking agent for steroids.
It is the same substance for which other players in the league have reportedly tested positive, including three other Saints: running back Deuce McAllister and defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant.
McAllister, Smith and Grant remain on the Saints’ roster pending a consolidated appeal of their suspensions, said a person familiar with their case. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the appeals are ongoing.
Nesbit never appealed his suspension because he did not expect to win, and instead chose to get it over with as soon as possible while trying to recoup his US$235,294 in lost salary from StarCaps, Molloy said.
LIABILITY
“Under NFL rules, you are strictly liable for what is in your body. They don’t care how it got there, contaminated supplements or otherwise,” said Molloy, who has represented other players in past appeals of NFL suspensions for banned substances. “So he did not appeal his suspension and focused his attention on going after the manufacturer of StarCaps.’’
In addition to lost salary, the lawsuit seeks money for damage to Nesbit’s reputation and for the alleged intentional, undisclosed spiking of the product with Bumetanide.
Molloy said some of Nesbit’s leftover pills were tested and found to be contaminated with Bumetanide, which was not listed as an ingredient.
StarCaps did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment on the allegations.
McAllister, who acknowledged that he was being investigated by the league after the Saints’ 37-32 victory over San Diego on Sunday, has said his positive test for Bumetanide also resulted from his use of StarCaps. He said he had been using the product to help him control his weight for four years and had the pills lab-tested before he began taking them.
CONFIDENTIALITY
The Saints and the NFL have declined to discuss investigations into the alleged use of banned substances by individual players, citing confidentiality rules.
However, coach Sean Payton indicated that he did not expect to learn of any new suspensions of Saints players before New Orleans’ next game at Atlanta on Sunday next week.
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