Lane Johnson isn't happy with NFLPA over positive PED test
Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson faces a 10-game suspension for another violation of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy, but said Saturday he did nothing wrong.
He knows he’ll probably be suspended anyway, although he’s appealing, because the NFL isn’t much into excuses when it comes to failed tests. But Johnson wanted to give his side of the story.
“I have nothing to hide,” Johnson said, according to the video posted by Nick Fierro of the Allentown Morning Call.
Johnson, speaking to a large group of Eagles reporters, said he took amino acids, which he bought online.
“It’s the most basic thing, as far as recovery-wise, you can take,” Johnson, the fourth pick of the 2013 draft, said.
What bothers Johnson is he says the supplement in question was on the NFLPA’s approved list — although Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News said later that Johnson was referring to the union’s app, because the NFLPA doesn’t have an official approved list of supplements. The union doesn’t test suppplements and it takes no responsibility if a test comes up positive. And, Johnson suggested, his supplements were tainted.
Bowen tweeted about Johnson that “he feels let down by union, like players have no protection.”
“Everything I’ve taken was approved by the NFLPA Aegis shield app, and that’s the only thing the NFLPA gives us to test our products,” Johnson said, according to Philly.com.
“I feel like the players have no rights. I feel, the supplement industry is not regulated, so you do not know what’s in it. (That’s) hard to believe, coming from a second-time offender, but I want that to be clear, that the NFLPA does not stand up for players. They don’t check the supplements, They give us an app. Then when you call them and ask ’em, if you test positive for something they approve, it doesn’t matter.”
The NFLPA cleared up its role after Johnson’s interview. It said it does not approve supplements. What it has is a phone app that allows players to scan labels of supplements. The NFLPA said Saturday, via Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal, “While the App may have listed it with a green check, players are reminded within the app, at team meetings and as part of the policy that a) supplements may contain stuff not on the label and b) still strict liability for putting it in your body if it contains something not on the label.”
If the suspension stands it could be costly for Johnson too. His contract stipulated that if he failed another test the remaining guaranteed money in his contract wouldn’t be guaranteed anymore, and he has $25 million in guaranteed money remaining on his deal according to NJ.com.
Johnson said he’s having the supplement tested, and he would let the Eagles test everything he took, which probably won’t matter for his suspension but could be helpful for his reputation.
The NFL is clear in its enforcement of the PED policy that a player is solely responsible for what supplements he takes and it accepts no excuses when a player fails a test, with very few exceptions. So Johnson could be stuck, and he’s not thrilled with it.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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