National Football league: Jamar Nesbit sues the league over suspension
Jamar Nesbit was ‘caught’ using a banned substance and given a four year suspension in 2008. There is nothing out of the ordinary in the NFL’s decision except Nesbit didn’t have the slightest idea that he was using a substance which was banned under the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
What he was using was a weight loss supplement, Starcaps, which was available, over-the-counter. At the time no flags were raised by the Food and Drug Administration. Unbeknownst to Nesbit, Starcaps contained Bumetanide.
Bumetanide is not by itself a performance enhancing substance but it can be used as a diuretic to mask the use of anabolic steroids and other banned substances and thus it’s banned by the league. Starcaps did not disclose that the supplement contained Bumetanide. The League did not take appropriate action to warn players of Bumetanide when its presence was discovered in Starcaps. The players didn’t know they were taking Bumetanide.
Research into the contents of the pills was conducted by the University of Utah at the behest of the World Anti-Doping agency. Although the results were published in the Journal of Analytic Toxicology and received a lot of media attention due to the popularity of the supplement, there was no response from the National Football league. The NHLPA alleged that the league knew of the presence of Bumetanide as far back as 2006 without making an effort to warn players.
That is why the league is now being sued by Nesbit, who chose to accept the four game ban, imposed on him in 2008. The law suit brought against the league alleges fraud and negligence on the leagues’ part. The suit accuses the league of failing to warn players that Starcaps contained a banned substance or that its use could result in a ban from the league. Nesbit also accuses National Football League drug-testing administrator, Dr. John Lombardo and Adolpho Birch of failing to punish at least 8 other players, who tested positive for Bumetanide. He alleges that the officials bent the rules to exonerate those players while Nesbit was slapped with a ban.
The most well known athletes, who got caught up in the Starcaps/Bumetanide mix up would have to be Pat and Kevin Williams of the Vikings. The league tried to ban the two players but they, along with many others, who tested positive for Bumetanide, fought off their suspensions and continued to play. The league has so far been unable to do anything about them.
Nesbit, however, did not fight. He accepted his fate and sat out four games without pay. While he was gone the Saints picked Carl Nicks for the starting position Nesbit previously held. Nicks shined in the 2008 season and made the most of the opportunity that the absence of veteran Nesbit provided him with. He played so well that Nesbit didn’t get his starting position back and was let go by the Saints in 2009. He became an unrestricted free agent.
Nesbit claims that the leagues failure to warn him of the presence of Bumetanide severely damaged his NFL career and his reputation in the league. The NFL has maintained that players and the players alone were responsible for what they use and what substance they put in their bodies. The NFL used the same argument against players who fought their suspensions.
Nesbit’s legal counsel, Brian Molloy in a written statement said that Nesbit had been treated in a capricious and unreasonable manner. He alleged that the treatment he was given stood in contrast to the others players against whom suspensions had been brought by the league. A judge had previously ruled that the leagues failure to warn players was not a breach of their duties to the players.
The NFL has come out strong against Nesbit. Spokesman, Greg Aiello claimed that there was no basis for undoing the disciplinary actions that Nesbit was subjected to and thus no basis for the lawsuit. He might be right but the lawsuit has been filed.
Tags: