Kevin and Pat Williams, Minnesota Vikings / Image: Zuma Press

So, until this case has been decided (and believe it or not, I don’t see a resolution until 2010), the Vikings will have their impressive defensive line intact. If Brett Favre needed another reason to play for the Vikings in 2009 (he really doesn’t), this news will certainly not hurt his chances of “unretiring” and wearing purple.

Source: NFL.com

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Pat, Kevin Williams Dodge Suspensions

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

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Pat Williams Can’t Trust the NFL

Here is the NFC Pro Bowl roster. Starters are listed in bold.

OFFENSE

QB: Kurt Warner, Cardinals; Drew Brees, Saints; Eli Manning, Giants
RB: Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Michael Turner, Falcons; Clinton Portis, Redskins
FB: Mike Sellers, Redskins
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals; Anquan Boldin, Cardinals; Steve Smith, Panthers; Roddy White, Falcons,
TE: Jason Witten, Cowboys; Chris Cooley, Redskins
T: Jordan Gross, Panthers; Walter Jones, Seahawks; Chris Samuels, Redskins
G: Chris Snee, Giants; Steve Hutchinson, Vikings; Leonard Davis, Cowboys
C: Andre Gurode, Cowboys; Shaun O’Hara, Giants

DEFENSE

DE: Justin Tuck, Giants; Julius Peppers, Panthers; Jared Allen, Vikings
DT: Kevin Williams, Vikings; Jay Ratliff, Cowboys; Pat Williams, Vikings
OLB: DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys; Lance Briggs, Bears; Derrick Brooks, Buccaneers
MLB: Patrick Willis, 49ers; Jon Beason, Panthers
CB: Charles Woodson, Packers; Antoine Winfield, Vikings; Asante Samuel, Eagles
S: Nick Collins, Packers; Adrian Wilson, Cardinals; Brian Dawkins, Eagles

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: John Carney, Giants
P: Jeff Feagles, Giants
KR: Clifton Smith, Buccaneers
ST: Sean Morey, Cardinals

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2009 NFC Pro Bowl Roster

The five players who were busted for using StarCaps no longer have to keep wondering if they will be suspended. At least not for the next couple weeks and probably longer. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson extended his preliminary injunction against the NFL’s suspension of Kevin Williams (Vikings), Pat Williams (Vikings), Deuce McAllister (Saints), Will Smith (Saints) and Charles Grant (Saints) for violating the league’s anti-doping policy today. Judge Magnuson asked both sides to propose a schedule by December 22 to file pleadings in the case. That means the players are cleared to play for at least the next two weeks. But my guess is this will go beyond the Super Bowl and into the offseason, which increases the likelihood that the Vikings will make the playoffs. And it still gives the Saints a fighting chance, too.

Source: Google News

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StarCaps Case Extended Two Weeks

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson blocked the NFL from suspending five players (Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith) for violating the league’s anti-doping policy because he needed more time to consider the case after hearing several hours of arguments from the league and the NFL Players Association today. Afterward, the NFL released the following statement:

“Judge Magnuson made clear this afternoon that he needed more time to fully and carefully consider all of the briefs, arguments, and cases put before him. We welcome that scrutiny. We are confident that, once he has had an opportunity to review all of the relevant materials, including the Collective Bargaining Agreement, he will uphold our longstanding agreements with the NFLPA that protect the health and safety of NFL players and the integrity of our game.”

So, all five players can play Sunday (Charles Grant is injured and would not have played anyway), but their immediate futures are still uncertain. The NFL usually gets their way, so I’m not too optimistic for the players, even though I am in their favor on this one. The questions that remain are whether Judge Magnuson will tell the NFL that the players can’t be suspended until the NFL wins the lawsuit; or does he allow the suspensions, with the players then eligible for financial compensation if they were to somehow win the lawsuit?

Even if the suspensions are officially revoked, I don’t hold much hope for the 6-6 Saints who are three games behind the Bucs and Panthers (and two games behind the Falcons) in their own Division. But the Minnesota Vikings’ playoff hopes are probably riding on the judge’s decision. And this lawsuit may have only made matters worse if the ruling allows the suspensions next week. If the Vikes do get to the playoffs, the four game suspension would trickle over into the team’s first playoff game.

Source: NFL.com, NFL Media

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Federal Judge Blocks Suspensions

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams stop running backs for a living. Today, they stopped the National Football League from suspending them — at least temporarily. To follow up yesterday’s post on the suspension of six NFL players for violating the league’s anti-doping policy, both Vikings DTs — Pat and Kevin Williams — were issued a temporary restraining order by a Minneapolis judge today, blocking the NFL’s four-game suspension. Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson issued the temporary restraining order at the players’ request, saying he wanted more time to hear arguments in the case. No further hearing date immediately was set and I still don’t know if the “Williams Wall” will be uniform against Detroit Sunday. This ruling didn’t sit well with the NFL. League spokesman Greg Aiello said:

“The NFL Policy on Steroids and Related Substances is a collectively bargained program between the league and the NFL Players Association. The program and the Collective Bargaining Agreement expressly bar precisely this kind of lawsuit. All of the steroid program’s rules and procedures are established in agreement with the players’ union. In other words, the players have agreed to the rules and the procedures that they are now challenging.”

Judge Larson said he would make himself available to reconsider the issue. He also said he expected lawyers for the NFL, who participated in this hearing by phone, would take the issue to federal court in Minneapolis to get the suspensions reinstated. It appears this case is far from over.

I’m going to side with the players on this one. The league knew that a banned substance (Bumetanide) was present in the product StarCaps but chose not to share that information with the players. That’s wrong. Yes, ultimately the players are responsible for what they put into their bodies. I understand that. But if the product they are taking does not list a banned substance — like Bumetanide — as an ingredient, it’s fair to assume the product is OK to use. And if the league knows about this product being tainted and doesn’t share that information, it’s almost as if they are purposely working against the players. Sure, my advice would be to take EAS supplements and nothing else. Those products are certified as OK to use by the NFL. But if the rule says not to ingest specific ingredients and a player is taking a product that doesn’t list any of those ingredients, I believe there has to be some leniency.

Source: NFL.com

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‘Williams Wall’ Stops Suspension

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

The NFL announced today the suspension without pay for four games of six players that violated the NFL Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances. The players specifically violated a longstanding provision of the policy relating to the use of diuretics and water pills, which serve as masking agents for steroids and are potentially dangerous to the health of players.

The policy states that the use of so-called “blocking” or “masking” agents, including diuretics and water pills, is prohibited and that a positive test will not be excused because it results from the use of a dietary supplement that unknowingly contained a banned substance. Supplements are not regulated or monitored by the government and players have been warned about the risks of supplement use. The policy states:

“You and you alone are responsible for what goes into your body. Claiming that you used only legally available nutritional supplements will not help you in an appeal ….. Even if they are bought over-the-counter from a known establishment, there is currently no way to be sure that they contain the ingredients listed on the packaging or have not been tainted with prohibited substances ….. If you take these products, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK! For your own health and success in the league, we strongly encourage you to avoid the use of supplements altogether, or at the very least to be extremely careful about what you choose to take.”

The six players are each suspended for the final four games of the regular-season. If the player’s team qualifies for the playoffs, he is eligible to return to the active roster on Monday, December 29. The suspended players are:

• Charles Grant, New Orleans Saints
• Deuce McAllister, New Orleans Saints
• Bryan Pittman, Houston Texans
• Will Smith, New Orleans Saints
• Kevin Williams, Minnesota Vikings
• Pat Williams, Minnesota Vikings

The appeals process in this matter included close to 30 hours of hearings. NFL Executive Vice President of Labor and League Counsel Jeff Pash heard and decided all of the appeals except for Bryan Pittman’s. The appeals officer for Pittman was former NFL Executive Vice President and League Counsel Jay Moyer. Following are key excerpts from Jeff Pash’s decision upholding the suspensions:

• Bumetanide, a potent diuretic, has long been a prohibited substance under the policy and is similarly banned by other drug-testing programs. Diuretics are banned for two reasons – first, because they can be used to mask the use of performance-enhancing drugs; and second, because they can pose a threat to player health and safety.
• The policy contains numerous specific warnings about dietary supplements. NFL players received separate advisories regarding supplements (attached). These included two memos from Dr. John Lombardo (the program’s independent administrator) entitled “Weight Reduction Products,” which were sent to players in July of 2007, and again in July of 2008.
• In addition, two notifications specifically mentioning Star Caps were sent on December 19, 2006. One was sent to the presidents, general managers, and head athletic trainers of all NFL clubs. The second was sent to Stacy Robinson, the NFLPA executive who oversees the Steroid Policy on behalf of the union. The letter to Robinson states that “Balanced Health Products, which distributes Star Caps, has been added to the list of prohibited dietary supplement companies. Please distribute this information to the agents and players through your normal channels.” In response, Robinson had Balanced Health Products added to the list of banned companies that is maintained on the NFLPA’s website.
• (For those players with weight clause bonus provisions in their contracts,) the player specifically agreed not to engage in any “last-minute weight reduction techniques,” which included “use of diuretics.”
• There is no question that the policy embodies a collectively bargained rule of strict liability – a rule that players alone are responsible for what is in their bodies; that inadvertent or unknowing use of a prohibited substance will not excuse a positive test; and that supplements are used at a player’s own risk.
• With respect to the question of whether a specific warning should have been given regarding Star Caps, the policy does not set forth an obligation to issue specific warnings about specific products and no testimony suggests that the NFL and NFLPA have ever contemplated imposing such a requirement on Dr. Lombardo, who oversees the development of education materials on steroids. In keeping with that responsibility, the NFL, NFLPA, and Dr. Lombardo have emphasized the need for extreme caution in the use of any supplement, including weight reduction products, have established a Hotline for players to call for information regarding supplements, have established a Supplement Certification program with EAS to provide players with supplements that are free of banned substances, and have, in conjunction with reinforcing the strict liability rule, repeatedly warned players about the dangers of unregulated and inaccurately labeled dietary supplements. In the past, players have been suspended for using dietary supplements that contained a banned substance.
• The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) does not issue specific warnings about specific supplements, nor are such warnings issued in other drug testing programs.

Clearly, the team that will be hardest hit by these suspensions are the NFC North Division leading Minnesota Vikings. Both Kevin and Pat Williams are Pro Bowl defensive tackles and considered among the best at what they do in the National Football League. Together, they are the heart and soul of a Vikings defense that prides itself on stopping the run. So far this season, the “Williams Wall” has been true to form as the Vikes are currently second in the entire NFL in run defense (73 ypg). The Vikings released a statement today saying:

“In response to this afternoon’s ruling, the Minnesota Vikings are very disappointed in the National Football League’s decision and suspension of Kevin and Pat Williams. At the appropriate time, we will have further comment.”

Pat Williams’ agent, Angelo Wright, had a comment today. He said a federal lawsuit aimed at preventing the NFL from imposing a four-game suspension on his client will be filed tomorrow:

“I believe that we’ll be able to offset this. I continue to maintain that he will play football. Though the tenets of the program are of strict liability, the league is supposed to act in conjunction with the players association, to communicate what products are acceptable and which are not. In this case, they’ve acknowledged that they withheld information from the players. I would feel more comfortable with the process, if there was an independent body governing over these cases. But this current set up is reminiscent of the British court, when they wore white wigs and proved to be your judge and your jury.”

If Mr. Wright achieves his goal, as he believes he will, Pat will be able to play Sunday at Detroit. But if the league’s suspension is then upheld, that could push Pat’s four-game suspension into the postseason. I’m not sure it matters because without Kevin and Pat in the Minnesota lineup this month, there’s a good chance there won’t be a postseason for the Vikings.

Sources: NFL Media, Vikings.com, TwinCities.com, Photo: Newscom

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NFL Suspends Six Players For Violating Policy on Steroids and Related Substances

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams were back at practice today. They returned from several days of meetings and hearings without a verdict in their appeal regarding four-game suspensions for violating the league’s policy on steroids and related substances. The “Williams Wall” had nothing to say about the matter and Vikings head coach Brad Childress couldn’t offer much input, either:

“Because I wasn’t there, I don’t know. I have no idea. I just know that they had a forum and it was pretty comprehensive.”

As it turns out, Kevin and Pat did not travel alone. Vikings owner Zygi Wilf went with them. If that doesn’t show how important these two players are to the organization, I don’t know what would. The Vikings’ 2008 season is pretty much in jeopardy based on the league’s decision here. Currently tied for first in the NFC North with Chicago and Green Bay, the Minnesota defense (and strength of their team) would be crushed by the loss of either starting defensive tackle. A decision is expected the first week in December.

Source: StarTribune.com

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Kevin and Pat Williams Back at Practice

The Minnesota Vikings defensive line — and the strength of their entire team (sorry Adrian) — is in jeopardy of being completely dismantled. Defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams are scheduled to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell tomorrow to discuss testing positive for a weight-loss diuretic (aka StarCaps) that is on the list of substances banned by the league. They’re both looking at possible four-game suspensions. And defensive end Jared Allen will also meet with Commissioner Goodell to talk about his recent questionable hits on quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers (Packers) and Matt Schaub (Texans). He’s facing possible suspension time. To make matters worse, the Vikes other starting defensive end, Ray Edwards, will most certainly be fined this week and possibly suspended (eventually) for a blatant late hit on Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia yesterday.

If any combination of the aforementioned happens (especially Williams, Williams and Allen), the Vikings defense will be severely hindered and any hopes of a division crown (they’re tied for the NFC North lead right now) and subsequent playoff berth will be all but finished. Vikings fans are hoping Commissioner Goodell is in a good mood tomorrow.

Source: NFL.com

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Vikings Defensive Line in Trouble?

Blogcasting the National Football League, Blogcasting the NFL

It’s official. The Kansas City Chiefs have traded All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen to the Minnesota Vikings for three picks in this weekend’s NFL Draft. The Vikings give up their first-round pick (17th overall) plus both of their third-round picks (73rd and 82nd overall). Initially, the Chiefs wanted Minnesota’s first and second-round spots, but the Vikings had enough Draft picks (nine) to negotiate with. Considering their second-round pick non-negotiable, they decided to abandon their two third-round picks instead and the Chiefs jumped at the opportunity. KC now has 13 total selections in this 2008 NFL Draft as they try to rebuild their program.

Photos Courtesy Minnesota Vikings

Jared Allen wanted no part of a rebuilding program. As he approaches the prime of his career, Jared saw that the Vikings (who signed him for six years and nearly $74 million with $31 million guaranteed) were really only a player or two away from being serious playoff contenders. Along with the “Williams Wall” (tackles Kevin and Pat), Minnesota now has three Pro Bowlers on their D-line and a very legitimate pass rush. You know the numbers. The Vikings could stop the run (they were the NFL’s best last season) but couldn’t stop the pass. Opposing teams gave up trying to run on the Vikes and Minnesota couldn’t muster enough of a pass rush to prevent themselves from becoming the league’s worst pass defense. With Kenechi Udeze recovering from leukemia and Erasmus James recuperating from a third knee operation, it was pretty clear the Vikings needed help at the defensive end position.

Jared’s only going to make the rest of the Vikings better. I’m talking specifically about players like Ray Edwards (who should start opposite Jared at DE) and DBs Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin and Marcus McCauley. As long as Jared can stay healthy and out of trouble, the opportunistic Vikings will have arguably the NFL’s best defense to go along with an offense led by superstar running back Adrian Peterson. If QB Tarvaris Jackson can “manage” the offense, Minnesota will be tough to beat. Super Bowl contenders? In the wide-open NFC, why not?

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Chiefs Trade Jared Allen to Vikings