Ruling: NFL Cannot Suspend Williamses

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has has sided with the decision of District Judge Paul Magnuson in the so-called StarCaps case.  The two players were suspended for four games each for taking StarCaps, a prescription diuretic that also is a banned substance.

The state-sided decision essentially allows Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle’s Kevin and Pat Williams to play all season, barring something unforeseen.  The same cannot be said for New Orleans Saints’ Will Smith and Charles Grant, as they will be suspended following their week one game.

Here is a link to the decision posted on the Eighth Circuit’s web site.

Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk), a NFL insider and former attorney said in a post, “The Minnesota Legislature has passed two drug-testing laws that operate separate and apart from the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and its players union.  These statutes provide extra protections, and the CBA did not take the Minnesota laws into account.”

Florio believes the NFL will need to insert language into the drug policies to close this loophole in the future.  He also believes the The NFLPA undoubtedly will want a concession in exchange for any such tweaks to the testing procedures.

Note: The ruling almost certainly assures the Vikings that they will have their starting defensive tackles for all of the season.  With that said, we believe one of their three defensive tackle reserves may be on their way out.

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