I haven't seen this anywhere, but if I missed it please dispose of this thread. Here's the article:
John Clayton wrote:The Saints suffered a big blow to their defense Tuesday when they found out defensive tackle Hollis Thomas, who is having a career year, is being suspended for four games because he violated the league's steroid policy due to asthma medication he takes.
Thomas has been challenging the positive steroid test and had the support of the Saints. Thomas is a 335-pound defensive tackle who has struggled to keep his weight down and doesn't have the body that normally would be linked to steroids.
During his appeal, John Amoss, who is the Saints' team trainer and an assistant professor at the LSU Health Science Center, sent a letter to the league in support of Thomas. Amoss said Thomas has severe asthma problems and requires a high dose of inhaled steroids to breathe. According to the doctor, Thomas needs a long acting beta agonist and a short acting beta agonist to control his asthma.
During his August drug test, the defensive tackle was taking an asthma product called Advair twice a day while also using an inhaler four times a day.
"Advair contains both the steroid fluticasone and the long acting beta agonist galmeterol," wrote Amoss, who thought the possibility of a false positive might have happened.
After taking the information under consideration, the league ruled Thomas was in violation of the policy and he will be lost to the team for the remainder of the regular season.
BrutallyHuge wrote:The NFL needs to use some common sense.
Seriously.....this is just ridiculous. The substance abuse policy is meant to keep players from cheating.....not stop a guy who has asthma from being able to breath.
I just posted this in the Injuries forum, but since it doesn't really have much fantasy impact, I don't think there's much wrong with it being here in Leftovers.
After taking the information under consideration, the league ruled Thomas was in violation of the policy and he will be lost to the team for the remainder of the regular season.
I suppose that in the literal sense, Thomas did violate the substance abuse policy, but I thought the NFL gave exceptions if steroids were taken for medical reasons? Something else to consider, I wonder if Thomas had told the NFL beforehand that he was taking Advair or if that information came out after the failed tests.
Eh, I suppose he'll appeal the ruling. But I'm still a bit confused over whether a player can still play until the appeal is heard and ruled on or if he's just suspended until an appeal possibly reverses the ruling. Didn't Merriman get to play until he decided to drop his appeal?
onnestabe wrote:I just posted this in the Injuries forum, but since it doesn't really have much fantasy impact, I don't think there's much wrong with it being here in Leftovers.
Yeh, I put it in here b/c I saw it more of a ethical debate over the league rules rather than fantasy chatter.
Would the NFL rather the guy have an asthma attack during a game?
But, in all fairness to the league, the guy KNEW there was a policy on steriods and should have cleared it with the league before starting the meds.
On a side note, whoever wrote that article is a bit of an idiot.
Thomas is a 335-pound defensive tackle who has struggled to keep his weight down and doesn't have the body that normally would be linked to steroids.
Roids don't just magically give you killer glutes and rock hard abs. They release chemicals in your body to help you work harder and longer. If you don't workout while on roids, you're not going to get that "body normally...linked to steroids"
Does anybody know if they can test for the amount of the steriod found in a player's body? If not, I can understand them wanting to crack down on even this case because it's entirely possible that he's using more than just the medicine. Not that I think he is, but it's another factor to think about.
After taking the information under consideration, the league ruled Thomas was in violation of the policy and he will be lost to the team for the remainder of the regular season.
I suppose that in the literal sense, Thomas did violate the substance abuse policy, but I thought the NFL gave exceptions if steroids were taken for medical reasons? Something else to consider, I wonder if Thomas had told the NFL beforehand that he was taking Advair or if that information came out after the failed tests.
Eh, I suppose he'll appeal the ruling. But I'm still a bit confused over whether a player can still play until the appeal is heard and ruled on or if he's just suspended until an appeal possibly reverses the ruling. Didn't Merriman get to play until he decided to drop his appeal?
Yeah, because it's unfair to make someone sit out the games if they happen to win their appeal. As a Stains fan, I would rather see him miss these four games, and come back for the playoffs when it counts.
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by Mugrila » Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:51 pm 
