Anabolic Steroids Blog - iSteroids . com » Minnesota Vikings cleared by Federal Appeals Court

Minnesota Vikings cleared by Federal Appeals Court

Minnesota Vikings cleared by Federal Appeals Court A federal appeals court has the cleared the way for Pat Williams and Kevin Williams, Minnesota Vikings, to play all season despite strong opposition from NFL seeking suspensions for them for violating the league’s anti-doping policy.

Kevin Williams said that it is a big sigh of relief after knowing that he and Pat can play the whole NFL season.

From TimesUnion.com:

The fight isn’t over, but a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld earlier decisions from a federal district court — including one that says the remaining legal issues must be resolved in state court. The judge there has issued an injunction prohibiting the NFL from suspending the players, and he has said a state trial during the 2009 season was unlikely.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is troubled by the ruling, which says federal law doesn’t pre-empt state law just because the parties are involved in a collective bargaining agreement.

“It is putting in jeopardy a drug program that has been put in front of the entire world as being one of the highest standards in all of sports,” Goodell said in an interview on WFAN-AM in New York on Friday. “It puts in jeopardy that players in Minnesota in any sport – this could affect other sports – are subject to a different standard than in the other 49 states. You recognize that it is a fairness question for all the athletes.”

Goodell said the NFL was considering its next step, which could include an appeal, a trial in state court, or taking the issue to Congress.

A spokesman and an attorney with the NFL Players Association did not immediately return requests for comment.

It is important to note here that the two Vikings are not accused of taking steroids. They, however, acknowledge taking StarCaps, over-the-counter weight loss supplement which did not stated on the label that it included the diuretic bumetanide, which is banned by the NFL as it can mask the presence of steroids.

Bookmark It