For the first time in sports history, professional athletes are facing suspension for testing positive for the controversial designer steroid tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG.
The NFL Today and SportsLine.com have learned four Oakland Raiders starters have tested positive for the steroid. The players this week were informed via letter of their positive THG tests, and pending an appeal, each faces a four-game suspension by the NFL.
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| Bill Romanowski is among four Raiders to test positive for THG and now might face suspension.(Getty Images) |
According to the league's drug policy, suspensions are not immediate and would not take effect until after a protracted appeal process that could include testing of another sample, as well as a hearing. In addition, the union will fight the suspensions.
Three weeks ago, The NFL Today and SportsLine.com reported, in addition to these four players, others such as Raiders RBs Tyrone Wheatley and Chris Heatherington, former Raider Josh Taves, Chiefs wide receiver Johnnie Morton, Falcons linebacker Artie Ulmer and Patriots special teams Pro Bowl LB Larry Izzo had been subpoenaed to testify in the government's IRS probe of Victor Conte and his Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO).
Part of that report included breaking news that previous urine samples from many of those players had been tested by the league for THG -- the centerpiece of one of the biggest steroid scandals in sports history.
Sunday's news also marks the first time in history four players from the same team were facing suspension at the same time because of failed drug tests.
The NFL is allowed to test for such drugs without the previous permission of the NFL Players Association. But according to several people close to this situation, the suspensions of the four Raiders might cause a very tense situation between the league and the union. The union believes the league should not suspend players for any positive samples found in retests. The league, however, has a strict zero-tolerance policy on anabolic steroids.
Since an early September raid on Conte's BALCO lab, several sports organizations have begun testing for THG. The NFL, however, would become the first major professional sports institution to actually levy a suspension for testing positive for it.
Oakland senior assistant Bruce Allen told the Associated Press before Sunday's game against Minnesota that he knew of no suspensions. He criticized the report but wouldn't confirm or deny the positive tests.
"The league's program on testing and information on testing are extremely confidential," Allen said. "So any reports out of that, someone's either violating the law or making them up. I hope they're able to find the people who spread false rumors."
"That's a situation that's out there," Robbins told the AP after the Raiders' 28-18 victory. "I haven't been notified about it. I don't think it's right the way it's being handled. That's about all I've got to say about that."
Said teammate Trace Armstrong, the players association president: "The process has been violated by the information coming out."
The furor over THG is spreading to several sports and nations.
Major League Baseball this week admitted five to seven percent of its overall steroid tests have returned positive and will now begin to implement banned-steroid testing. Boxing champion Sugar Shane Mosley has also been subpoenaed by the government, which reportedly asked for Mosley's urine sample.
Olympic officials said they will test for THG next summer in Athens, while authorities in horse racing, skiing and rugby are also implementing such tests.
The International Olympic Committee said it would add tetrahydrogestrinone to the list of banned substances included in its tests at the Aug. 13-29 games. THG already has turned up in the samples of several track and field athletes. The International Ski Federation said it will test for THG this season. THG testing was also set to begin at the Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Also in Australia, the horse racing industry has added THG to its testing of thoroughbreds' urine. International track and field officials plan to retest previously taken urine samples from the world championships in August, and swimming's world governing body will consider retesting samples from its world championships this summer.
The designer steroid flap burst open when Conte was accused by an anonymous track coach of supplying athletes with THG. Conte has denied he is the source of the previously undetectable drug.
Fassel fuel
Giants players stood in disbelief last week when their fans began the "Fire Fassel, fire Fassel" chants. These classless chants weren't the only statements to baffle Fassel's players during the week.
According to several players, in the course of ripping into his team this week, the coach informed his players, if they continue to make these mistakes, the team wouldn't have to fire him, because he would quit.
Ouch!
While many of the players understood he was simply talking football-speak and trying to ignite a spark, many were also perplexed by his decision to bring up the dreaded "Q" word. Fassel said such talk was tongue-in-cheek and most of his vets understood his frustration. Some of Fassel's players talked privately with him after his proclamation to inform him that, to some, it came off the wrong way.
Such a threat is not uncommon among coaches on the hot seat. Earlier this year, the Jets head coach Herm Edwards uttered a similar statement after it was perceived owner Woody Johnson was placing the onus on the team's struggles on Edwards' shoulders.
A few years ago then-Chiefs head coach Gunther Cunningham made a similar announcement in trying to fire up his troops. Word leaked out of the threat, and Cunningham was then questioned mercilessly after that day.
Please let him pass you by
When the Browns released Kevin Johnson this week, the waiver wire was abuzz. The NFL world already knows no fewer than 16 teams filed claims for his services. What the world doesn't know is Johnson's agent, Tom Condon, sent a fax to several teams asking they refrain from taking his client off of waivers.
According to several personnel men, Condon's faxed letter stated, per Johnson's wishes, he requests no team ahead of Baltimore in the waiver priority order make a claim, as the Ravens were the team Johnson truly yearned to play for. Condon also had conversations with personnel men reiterating his player's intentions.
Johnson, who now says quarterback Kelly Holcomb and coordinator Bruce Arians helped run him out of town, was snapped up by Jacksonville. The conspiracy theorists inside the NFL (oh yeah, there are plenty of 'em) speculate the letter was simply a smokescreen for the rest of the league to ensure Jacksonville would get him.
Why would this make sense, according to these conspiracy theorists? Because Johnson and Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio are both represented by Condon's firm, IMG.
Far-fetched? Not really. Any truth? Who knows?
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
