In an apparent victory for the NFL, a state appeals judge in Minnesota upheld a lower court ruling that allowed the league to suspend two players on the Vikings who were found to have taken StarCaps, a supplement that included a banned substance.
The players, Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, may now be forced to serve the four-game suspensions originally handed down by the league.
The league suspended the Vikings players, as well as Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints, after they failed a drug test in 2008. The StarCaps weight-loss supplement included bumetanide, a diuretic that can mask steroids.
The players admitted taking the supplement, but the two Vikings fought their suspensions, arguing in court that as employees of a company based in Minnesota, they were governed by the state’s drug-testing rules, not those of the league.
As the case worked its way through the courts — and hearings were held in Washington — the players were allowed to continue playing. However, on Tuesday, Appellate Judge Francis Connolly said that the NFL did not violate state law because Minnesota’s workplace drug-testing policy did not cover bumetanide.
One of the players, Pat Williams, told the Pioneer Press in Minneapolis that he would not appeal the decision to the state’s Supreme Court, adding that he had spent close to US$1 million in legal fees.
The decision makes it less likely that other players will make similar legal challenges if they are suspended by the league for taking banned substances. It also raises the likelihood that the league will enforce its original suspensions next season.
“We are pleased that the Minnesota Court of Appeals, like all other federal and state courts to hear the matter, has unanimously upheld the structure and operation of the NFL’s collectively bargained Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances,” Greg Aiello, a league spokesman, said in a statement. “Today’s opinion confirms that the testing program did not violate Minnesota state law and vindicates the policy and procedures of the program. We are in the process of reviewing the decision and determining our next steps.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but