Pat Williams Can’t Trust the NFL
May 24, 2009 by David Kindervater
Filed under Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams says he doesn’t know if he can trust the NFL anymore—this after the league failed to tell its players that the over-the-counter supplement StarCaps secretly contained a prescription diuretic banned by the NFL. Pat and Vikings teammate Kevin Williams continue to face four-game suspensions to start the 2009 season if their ongoing appeal is overturned.
Kevin and Pat Williams, Minnesota Vikings / Image: Zuma Press
Pat is willing to take his medicine, so to speak, but he feels betrayed:
“Basically now I got to hold trust issues with the NFL. I don’t know if I can trust them now. If I did something wrong, I’m going to take it. But they knew about it and didn’t tell the players.”
Two days ago, federal Judge Paul Magnuson dismissed the claims of five NFL players who had been issued suspensions last season and it’s looking more and more like the “Williams Wall” and New Orleans Saints defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant will have to serve those suspensions. Judge Magnuson agreed with the NFL that the players are ultimately responsible for what they put into their bodies.
Not so fast, though. The NFLPA case and Pat and Kevin’s suit were separate actions. So, Pat and Kevin are still holding out hope. Judge Magnuson found their claims, under two specific Minnesota statutes, were not included in the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Thus, their lawsuits will now continue in a Minnesota court as to those claims.
Source: StarTribune.com
