MINNEAPOLIS -- A Minnesota judge temporarily blocked the NFL's suspension of Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams for violating the league's anti-doping policy, but the players' status for Sunday's game at Detroit remained uncertain.
Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson issued the temporary restraining order Wednesday at the players' request, saying he wanted more time to hear arguments in the case.
The Williamses were among six players suspended for four games for testing positive for a diuretic that can be used as a masking agent for steroids. They have argued that the substance containing the diuretic didn't list all its ingredients, and that league scientists and lawyers had information about the substance but withheld it from players.
The NFL Players Association will file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The person asked not to be identified because the suit had not yet been filed.
The suit is to be filed before U.S. District judge David Doty, who has had jurisdiction over NFL labor matters since the 1992 lawsuit that finally settled the 1987 strike by the union.
The hearing is scheduled for Friday in an effort to clear the players for this weekend's games.
The suit seeks to overturn all suspensions issued Tuesday by the league for any player who took the substance. The basis for the union's action is founded on many of the same arguments that resulted in the temporary restraining order issued in the state district court.
The NFL argues that the league's policy on banned substances is collectively bargained with the players' association and players are responsible for what is in their bodies.
"This is one of the more difficult cases I've had in 23 years," Larson said before signing the order. "If I make a mistake, I've got to decide on a temporary basis which side I'm able to make the mistake on."
Larson said he would make himself available to reconsider the issue "as quickly as you'd like me to hear it." He also said he expected lawyers for the NFL, who participated in the hearing by phone, would take the issue to federal court in Minneapolis to get the suspensions reinstated.
"There is no merit to this lawsuit and we will promptly seek to have the order reversed," the NFL said in a statement.
Both Kevin and Pat Williams, who are not related, sat in the courtroom with their lawyers for Wednesday's hearing, which lasted more than two hours. Both declined comment afterward.
Their attorney, Peter Ginsberg, didn't claim victory, instead saying, "It's a long hard road. It's going to take a long time for them to reclaim their reputations."
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