JonCJG
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T.O. CROWS ABOUT TESTING REQUIREMENT
Posted by Mike Florio on June 12, 2008, 12:26 p.m.
Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens dodged a bullet this week, avoiding a four-game suspension after he failed to report for a random drug test pursuant to the policy regarding anabolic steroids and related substances.
Instead, Owens is required to submit to up to 24 tests per year, under the “reasonable cause” portion of the program.
But rather than exhale deeply and move forward after ducking the loss of four game checks and a portion of his signing bonus money, Owens is *****ing about the outcome. He now says he thought that passing a subsequent test would be enough to help him avoid enhanced testing.
“[T]he thing is they had already put me in the reasonable cause testing program, which I didn’t want to do,” Owens said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. ”I didn’t want to be part of that, especially with everything considering steroids and the performance-enhancing drugs. I think for me to be put in that light, it’s just a negative connotation.”
He’s right. It does create a negative connotation. And that’s why a player should put procedures in place to ensure that, when the call comes, he’ll get his *** to the appropriate place so that the thing residing on the other side of it can make a deposit.
“They can test me a thousand times,” Owens said. ”I know I don’t use illegal stuff.”
Fine. Then quit crying about it.
Meanwhile, we continue to be confused by Owens’ decision to add his agent’s number to the call list given to the league. Owens says he did it because his agent always answers the phone.
But the agent still has to get in touch with Owens. So why inject a third party into the communication chain?
It’s enough to make a cynic (we think we know one, but we’re now suspicious that it’s all an act) question whether something deeper is going on. We’re aware of no evidence that Owens is using any type of improper substances to maintain the chiseled physique of a man half of age, but if Owens were taking something in the offseason and if Owens hoped to finagle a drug-test Mulligan in the event his name comes up for random testing, it would make sense for Owens to give the league his agent’s number, and to then claim that the message didn’t get through, if/when the call comes.
Though our guess is that Owens isn’t smart enough to pull something like that off (and also not dumb enough to complain after avoiding the automatic four-game suspension), it’s definitely a loophole that needs to be closed. We think the league should insist that the player supply only numbers that will result in immediate contact with the player. Everyone now has a cell phone (preferably Spring), and for many the thing is within arm’s reach 24 hours per day.
We also think that the league should send a text message and an e-mail along with the phone call, in order to ensure that the player can’t claim he didn’t get the word.
Posted by Mike Florio on June 12, 2008, 12:26 p.m.
Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens dodged a bullet this week, avoiding a four-game suspension after he failed to report for a random drug test pursuant to the policy regarding anabolic steroids and related substances.
Instead, Owens is required to submit to up to 24 tests per year, under the “reasonable cause” portion of the program.
But rather than exhale deeply and move forward after ducking the loss of four game checks and a portion of his signing bonus money, Owens is *****ing about the outcome. He now says he thought that passing a subsequent test would be enough to help him avoid enhanced testing.
“[T]he thing is they had already put me in the reasonable cause testing program, which I didn’t want to do,” Owens said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. ”I didn’t want to be part of that, especially with everything considering steroids and the performance-enhancing drugs. I think for me to be put in that light, it’s just a negative connotation.”
He’s right. It does create a negative connotation. And that’s why a player should put procedures in place to ensure that, when the call comes, he’ll get his *** to the appropriate place so that the thing residing on the other side of it can make a deposit.
“They can test me a thousand times,” Owens said. ”I know I don’t use illegal stuff.”
Fine. Then quit crying about it.
Meanwhile, we continue to be confused by Owens’ decision to add his agent’s number to the call list given to the league. Owens says he did it because his agent always answers the phone.
But the agent still has to get in touch with Owens. So why inject a third party into the communication chain?
It’s enough to make a cynic (we think we know one, but we’re now suspicious that it’s all an act) question whether something deeper is going on. We’re aware of no evidence that Owens is using any type of improper substances to maintain the chiseled physique of a man half of age, but if Owens were taking something in the offseason and if Owens hoped to finagle a drug-test Mulligan in the event his name comes up for random testing, it would make sense for Owens to give the league his agent’s number, and to then claim that the message didn’t get through, if/when the call comes.
Though our guess is that Owens isn’t smart enough to pull something like that off (and also not dumb enough to complain after avoiding the automatic four-game suspension), it’s definitely a loophole that needs to be closed. We think the league should insist that the player supply only numbers that will result in immediate contact with the player. Everyone now has a cell phone (preferably Spring), and for many the thing is within arm’s reach 24 hours per day.
We also think that the league should send a text message and an e-mail along with the phone call, in order to ensure that the player can’t claim he didn’t get the word.
