Three canicule afterwards the N.F.L. abeyant Brian Cushing, the Houston Texans linebacker who was arresting amateur of the year aftermost season, for four amateur for actionable the league’s performance-enhancing biologic policy, The Associated Press appear Monday that it would acquiesce broadcasters and writers to adapt their votes for the award.
Lou Ferrara, The A.P.’s managing editor for sports and entertainment, said it was the aboriginal time the account alignment had accustomed its associates to vote afresh afterwards a season-ending accolade had been presented. “Because these awards are based on on-field performance, we accede it all-important to analysis the amount and acquiesce for a revote,” Ferrara said.
Cushing, who said he had activated absolute for a banned actuality that was not a steroid, was the third arresting amateur of the year in the accomplished decade to be abeyant for actionable the N.F.L.’s performance-enhancing biologic policy. San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman was abeyant in 2006 afterwards acceptable the accolade the antecedent season; Julius Peppers, the longtime Carolina Panthers arresting end who active with the Chicago Bears this off-season, was abeyant in 2002, the year he won the award.
Cushing, who accustomed 39 of 50 votes, will abide on the ballot. Buffalo Bills assurance Jairus Byrd accustomed six votes, Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews three and Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo two.
The N.F.L. has not accustomed the affectionate of Congressional analysis that Major Alliance Baseball has over performance-enhancing drugs, although somewhat added of its players analysis positive. Since the N.F.L. began testing for steroids in 1989, about 165 players accept been abeyant for absolute tests. In Major Alliance Baseball, which began suspending for aboriginal absolute tests in 2005, 31 players accept been suspended.
Last September, Cushing, who was the Texans’ first-round abstract pick, taken 15th over all, provided the urine sample that activated positive. In February, afterwards the division had concluded and he had played all 16 amateur and fabricated the Pro Bowl, he was acceptable to book an appeal. Under the accommodation aftermost week, he is abeyant afterwards pay.
A agent for the N.F.L., Brian McCarthy, said he could not animadversion on the breadth of time amid the absolute analysis aftereffect and the advertisement of Cushing’s suspension.
“I would accredit you to the action on NFLmedia.com, which explains the testing and appeals process,” he said. “As you can see, due action can be lengthy.”
Gabe Feldman, the arch of the sports law administration at Tulane University, said the action was not advised to booty so long.
“It’s an carefully advised action that gives players abounding layers of protection, but it’s additionally advised to get players who abandoned the affairs off the field,” Feldman said. “Something charge accept burst down. It could accept been as simple as the lab took too long.”
The Texans’ owner, Robert McNair, acutely criticized the league’s performance-enhancing biologic affairs because he knew actual little about the absolute analysis during the season. He said the alliance bare to advance the action as allotment of the abutting aggregate acceding agreement.
“Brian had mentioned that he had an affair there, but we don’t apperceive what any of the capacity are, we don’t apperceive what doctors he may accept consulted with, we don’t apperceive what affirmation that the alliance ability accept had,” McNair told The Associated Press.
McNair said it was “a actual bad position to be in because we’re the guy that’s got the advance in the player.”
“The alliance doesn’t accept any money invested in the player, the abutment doesn’t accept any money invested in the player, and yet they get the advice and we don’t,” he said. “So it’s a acute breadth because it is array of like medical advice and there’s acquaintance and this array of thing.”
Since February, Cushing had been accomplished by Jay Glazer, a football analyst for Fox Sports who specializes in alloyed aggressive arts workouts. “He never told me or my partner,” Glazer said. “I wasn’t blessed not knowing, so I concluded up accolade out the way everybody did.”
Jack O’Connell, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America official who oversees the voting for its anniversary awards, said his alignment never advised abolishment an accolade to a amateur afterwards he had been affiliated to performance-enhancing drugs.
“For that year, that was the best guy and that was the guy who won,” O’Connell said. “Once they are accustomed the trophy, whatever happens, happens afterwards that.”
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