Judge rules on NFL Vikings drug testing case

drug testing case, a state appeals judge in Minnesota upheld a lower court ruling that allowed the league to suspend two players on the Vikings – Kevin Williams and Pat Williams – who were found to have taken StarCaps, a supplement that included a banned substance, according to the New York Times. This story dates back to 2008 when they both failed a test for bumetanide, a diuretic that can mask steroids and can be found in StarCaps. The players admitted taking the supplement, but the two Vikings fought their suspensions, arguing in court that as employees of a company based in Minnesota, they were governed by the state’s drug-testing rules, not those of the league. The decision makes it less likely that other players will make similar legal challenges if they are suspended by the league for taking banned substances. The NFL drug testing policy was a subject of one of our posts earlier this month, and this news seems to at least answer a few of those questions posed in that – primarily, that the NFL does indeed enforce a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy and will take cases through the courts to ensure the validity of their drug testing processes and the measures they enforce.]]>