According to them, he never even took a test. He just didn't show up for one because he was in India and the league didn't contact him.
Those guys are guessing and wrong. It has nothing to do with a missed test as several sources have said. The reason people thought that is because he currently is in India. What they failed to report though was that the appeal has already been made before the news even became public, which means this happened awhile before it was reported. Probably some arse in the appeals know leaked it.
Several league sources said Monday night that the case against Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams, who reportedly violated the NFL's substance-abuse policy for a fourth time and who faces a possible one-year suspension, already is in the appeals process, ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports.
A source told ESPN.com's John Clayton that the team was aware of Williams' appeal.
None of the sources would divulge when the reported violation occurred or precisely when the appeal was filed through the NFL Players' Association. Two sources did acknowledge the appeal was submitted before reports surfaced Sunday evening of Williams' latest apparent violation. League policy requires that test results be kept confidential.
The timetable for resolving such appeals, which could be heard by commissioner Paul Tagliabue, varies by case and might take several months. Sources on Monday suggested Williams' appeal will likely take one-to-three months to resolve.
Meanwhile, sources told ESPN's Hank Goldberg that Williams' violation of the league's substance-abuse policy is not a matter of a missed test. Williams has failed a drug test, the sources said.
The substance discovered is not known publicly but a source told ESPN.com's Clayton that the drug for which Williams was said to have tested positive was not marijuana. Williams has three times prior tested positive for marijuana use.
The Miami Herald quoted a source who called the Williams' situation "confusing." When asked what substance he might have been using, the source told the newspaper, "This whole thing is a little confusing. I'll just leave it at that. The best way to say it is he violated the program."
Denver television station KDVR first reported Sunday night that Williams again had violated the league's policy. An NFL spokesman told ESPN that the NFL had no comment on the report.
Because of the confidentiality guidelines of the NFL system, it is not known how many appeals have succeeded, but reversals are believed to be rare. In 2000, however, then-Miami running back J.J. Johnson won his appeal against charges that he had violated the substance abuse policy, and he was spared a four-game suspension.
The basis of Johnson's appeal remains unknown.
Williams has tested positive for marijuana three times and served a four-game suspension when he returned to the NFL last season following a one-year retirement.
Williams' agent, Leigh Steinberg, did not wish to discuss Williams' situation except in hypothetical terms, according to the Herald.
"Assuming that something like this happened, an appeal would have been filed. In the best case, that appeal would probably not have been heard until April, but now that all this information is out, it's impossible to know what might happen. I would be blown away if Ricky Williams used drugs, and that's how most of the people around him also feel," Steinberg told the newspaper.
The report caught Williams' mother by surprise. On Sunday, Sandy Williams told the Palm Beach Post that her son is currently in India, that they had not spoken of late, and that she'd "bet my life he's not smoking marijuana."
Steinberg said Williams has been in India for approximately two weeks and is not scheduled to return to the United States until early April. He said Williams could have received permission from the NFL to leave the country for a period of time and not be tested under the league's substance-abuse policy.
Williams abruptly retired from the NFL in July 2004 and the Dolphins fell apart, losing their first six games and finishing 4-12 -- their worst season since the 1960s.
At the time of his return, Williams was ordered to pay the Dolphins $8.6 million for breaching his contract, although there has been no financial resolution between him and the team. He was scheduled to be paid the league minimum of $540,000 last season but was docked four games' pay because of his league-mandated suspension and was fined another four games in pay, reducing his take to $285,882.
Williams' base salaries for the two coming seasons are $545,000 and $670,000, the minimum for a player (he entered the league in 1999) of his NFL tenure.
ESPN.com senior writers Len Pasquarelli and John Clayton contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press was also
i tried to tell people pages ago that he failed a urinalysis and it wasn't for THC. but no one listens. He's in India, but not at the time of the test. He didn't miss it. He didn't fail this test for pot. He failed it for an undisclosed issue. I couldn't believe that he would fail another test for pot. It seems like one of his violations wasn't for pot, but it was for a "masking agent" that covers any toxins that might be in the body. i remember this because it freaked me out, i didn't realize that masking agents were tested for. but surely a guy like ricky williams would have enough information about the supplements that he was taking, that there would be a risk that he would falsely test positive for something if he ate too much st. john's wart or something. i'm still giving the guy the benefit of the doubt. i think he's smarter than that. it just didn't seem right. i think it has to do with flax seed oil, kava kava, or some crazy tea he had been drinking.
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NFL "insider" Adam Schefter blaims Denver for the leak. According to him, Denver requested a profile from the league because they were interested in a trade for Williams. Not long after that, a Denver TV station broke the news. While this is only speculation, I certainly hope a team wouldn't engage in something like this.
This thing has gotten so crazy and has just been out for a day. I've heard like 50 different rumors and who knows what to believe. I think the best thing to do for anyone who has Ricky on a keeper or dynasty team is to wait this one out because no one really knows how this one will turn out.
moonhead wrote:i tried to tell people pages ago that he failed a urinalysis and it wasn't for THC. but no one listens. He's in India, but not at the time of the test. He didn't miss it. He didn't fail this test for pot. He failed it for an undisclosed issue. I couldn't believe that he would fail another test for pot. It seems like one of his violations wasn't for pot, but it was for a "masking agent" that covers any toxins that might be in the body. i remember this because it freaked me out, i didn't realize that masking agents were tested for. but surely a guy like ricky williams would have enough information about the supplements that he was taking, that there would be a risk that he would falsely test positive for something if he ate too much st. john's wart or something. i'm still giving the guy the benefit of the doubt. i think he's smarter than that. it just didn't seem right. i think it has to do with flax seed oil, kava kava, or some crazy tea he had been drinking.
Hey Moonie, don't go breakin your arm patting yourself on the back. I'll take care of it. Lest anyone forget, when Rasta retired he said he could pass test easily and that there were many masking agents that he used. So it is entirely likely that he tested positive for a banned substance that was used to mask steroids, pot, or whatever. It looks as if he cheated and the only one who bought it was his mother.
I will agree with Moonie about what the point is about testing for pot in the first place. It's all window dressing boys. Sure it's illeagle. And if they catch him in public, they are free to prosecute him. Don't give me the "I have to pass a test to get/keep my job" crap. This isn't the real world, it's the entertainment world. You don't see actors failing drug tests do you? No, because it's their own business, just as it should be everybodies. You see there are already checks and balances in place: If the want to get high so much that it affects their job performance, they lose their jobs or earning potential. That's how it is supposed to work in a free society.
The NFL and PA threw in dope testing as a pacifier. Look we demand that our athletes live clean lives,....and we will look the other way when it comes to performance enhancing drugs. And spousal abuse, drunk driving, blah blah blah. It's all a load of crap from a resentful, sanctimonious society that has let their government driven paranoia over drugs warp their sense of proprioty. We now, in the name of this twisted sense of morality, we allow drug testing at many work places. That is just wrong in the NFL and real world alike.
Innocent until proven guilty. Sound familiar? Just try to live it.
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Dolphins | Williams' agent upset drug test results were leaked
Mon, 20 Feb 2006 20:40:33 -0800
Armando Salguero and Jason Cole, of the Miami Herald, reports Miami Dolphins RB Ricky Williams' agent, Leigh Steinberg, is upset that a Denver news station leaked the results of Williams' failed drug test. The Denver Broncos were looking at the possibility of making a trade for Williams, but discovered the positive drug test in the process. It was then leaked to a Denver television station which leaked the news. Steinberg was upset the news was leaked before the appeal could possibly prevent a suspension and feels someone should be fired for it. Steinberg said, "It's really distressing that what is supposed to be a confidential, private rehabilitation and assistance program gets talked about by supposed league officials. It runs completely contrary to the law and spirit of the program. For this to come out before we have had a chance to go through the appeal process is extremely disappointing. To me, it's the type of thing someone should be fired for."
Ha, that's funny that Ricky's agent feels someone should have been fired over this test result fiasco. He's right, that someone is Ricky. Anyone dumb enough to fail a drug test 4 times in a career that won't fire you for it, that the cops don't arrest you for failing, has no right to cry over the privacy or lack thereof.
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by The_Captain » Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:49 pm 
