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Judge Larson: Vikings Williamses must serve four-game suspensions
The players are expected to ask today for a continued stay of their suspensions pending an appeal.
By ROCHELLE OLSON, Star Tribune
Last update: May 6, 2010 - 10:54 AM
Minnesota Vikings Kevin and Pat Williams may be forced to serve four-game suspensions even though the NFL is their employer and violated their rights under state labor laws, Hennepin County Judge Gary Larson ruled Thursday.
The players were granted a court hearing at 2 p.m. They will ask Larson to keep in place a restraining order that allows the Williamses to play pending their appeals.
Peter Ginsberg, the players' lawyer, called the 27-page ruling a mixed result. "No employer can stand above the law, including the NFL," Ginsberg said. "We are obviously disappointed that despite violating Kevin and Pat's rights, the NFL still is threatening to suspend them. Kevin and Pat should be admired for the battle that they waged, not only for all NFL Players but for all employees throughout the State of Minnesota."
The NFL didn't immediately comment. Larson presided over a five-day trial in mid-March that included testimony from the two players and numerous NFL and Vikings executives. The NFL had argued that a ruling for the players would weaken its steroid policy and subject teams to a patchwork of state laws. The players argued no company should be above the law.
Although the judge had harsh words for NFL executives, he determined the two players were not harmed by the violations of Minnesota labor law.
The two star defensive linemen were suspended in 2008 for four games for testing positive for the diuretic Bumetanide, an unlisted ingredient in the over-the-counter supplement StarCaps. The Williamses filed a lawsuit over their suspensions, which were put hold pending resolution of their lawsuit.
Much of the case was dismissed. Larson sought to answer these remaining questions: whether the Vikings or the NFL employ the players, whether the NFL leaked the results of their tests to the media and whether the players were harmed by the league's actions.
The players tested positive on July 26, 2008. Neither player is accused of taking steroids, but Bumetanide could be used as a masking agent.
Larson determined that NFL drug policy administrators knew of positive tests among players for Bumetanide in 2005 and 2006 and linked the substance to StarCaps. Larson found that Adolpho Birch, NFL vice president for law and labor policy, had been warned by NFL drug policy administrators that StarCaps contained a "secret" banned substance, Bumetanide.
But Birch made a "conscious decision" not to inform the federal Food and Drug Administration or any other agency. He also declined to disclose the presence of the substance to teams or players, Larson said.
Before 2007, players who tested positive for Bumetanide weren't disciplined. Birch, however, then directed drug administrators to start disciplining players who tested positive for Bumetanide even though he knew their use of it was inadvertent, Larson wrote.
"Birch was playing a game of gotcha," the judge said.
Ginsberg said the "NFL machine" chose to ignore its "ethical obligation" to alert players that Bumetanide was in StarCaps.
Larson also found the NFL violated the state law requiring notice within three days to an employee who tests positive for a banned substance, but he said the players failed to prove they were harmed by the delay.
The judge also determined the Williamses failed to prove by a "preponderance of evidence" the NFL violated their confidentiality. The players said they learned of their positive tests from media reports in October.
Birch determined on his own that no one from the NFL leaked the positive tests to the media after he conducted a "single-handed investigation" that was "highly suspect," the judge wrote. Larson said Birch reached a "totally unsupportable and unfounded conclusion" that a certain person outside the NFL leaked the information.
An appeal of Larson's decision has been a foregone conclusion for weeks because of its significance. The next step is to the state Court of Appeals, which will automatically hear the case. After that, the losing party could appeal to the state Supreme Court, but the state's high court isn't required to take the case.
The players are expected to ask today for a continued stay of their suspensions pending an appeal.
By ROCHELLE OLSON, Star Tribune
Last update: May 6, 2010 - 10:54 AM
Minnesota Vikings Kevin and Pat Williams may be forced to serve four-game suspensions even though the NFL is their employer and violated their rights under state labor laws, Hennepin County Judge Gary Larson ruled Thursday.
The players were granted a court hearing at 2 p.m. They will ask Larson to keep in place a restraining order that allows the Williamses to play pending their appeals.
Peter Ginsberg, the players' lawyer, called the 27-page ruling a mixed result. "No employer can stand above the law, including the NFL," Ginsberg said. "We are obviously disappointed that despite violating Kevin and Pat's rights, the NFL still is threatening to suspend them. Kevin and Pat should be admired for the battle that they waged, not only for all NFL Players but for all employees throughout the State of Minnesota."
The NFL didn't immediately comment. Larson presided over a five-day trial in mid-March that included testimony from the two players and numerous NFL and Vikings executives. The NFL had argued that a ruling for the players would weaken its steroid policy and subject teams to a patchwork of state laws. The players argued no company should be above the law.
Although the judge had harsh words for NFL executives, he determined the two players were not harmed by the violations of Minnesota labor law.
The two star defensive linemen were suspended in 2008 for four games for testing positive for the diuretic Bumetanide, an unlisted ingredient in the over-the-counter supplement StarCaps. The Williamses filed a lawsuit over their suspensions, which were put hold pending resolution of their lawsuit.
Much of the case was dismissed. Larson sought to answer these remaining questions: whether the Vikings or the NFL employ the players, whether the NFL leaked the results of their tests to the media and whether the players were harmed by the league's actions.
The players tested positive on July 26, 2008. Neither player is accused of taking steroids, but Bumetanide could be used as a masking agent.
Larson determined that NFL drug policy administrators knew of positive tests among players for Bumetanide in 2005 and 2006 and linked the substance to StarCaps. Larson found that Adolpho Birch, NFL vice president for law and labor policy, had been warned by NFL drug policy administrators that StarCaps contained a "secret" banned substance, Bumetanide.
But Birch made a "conscious decision" not to inform the federal Food and Drug Administration or any other agency. He also declined to disclose the presence of the substance to teams or players, Larson said.
Before 2007, players who tested positive for Bumetanide weren't disciplined. Birch, however, then directed drug administrators to start disciplining players who tested positive for Bumetanide even though he knew their use of it was inadvertent, Larson wrote.
"Birch was playing a game of gotcha," the judge said.
Ginsberg said the "NFL machine" chose to ignore its "ethical obligation" to alert players that Bumetanide was in StarCaps.
Larson also found the NFL violated the state law requiring notice within three days to an employee who tests positive for a banned substance, but he said the players failed to prove they were harmed by the delay.
The judge also determined the Williamses failed to prove by a "preponderance of evidence" the NFL violated their confidentiality. The players said they learned of their positive tests from media reports in October.
Birch determined on his own that no one from the NFL leaked the positive tests to the media after he conducted a "single-handed investigation" that was "highly suspect," the judge wrote. Larson said Birch reached a "totally unsupportable and unfounded conclusion" that a certain person outside the NFL leaked the information.
An appeal of Larson's decision has been a foregone conclusion for weeks because of its significance. The next step is to the state Court of Appeals, which will automatically hear the case. After that, the losing party could appeal to the state Supreme Court, but the state's high court isn't required to take the case.
