Williamses’ case remains unresolved

Ultimately, the league should prevail in this case via the CBL. The Williamses action should be against StarCaps, not the NFL.

Andrew wrote in reply to:

"Can the Williamses play for the Vikings on opening day Sept. 13 at Cleveland?"

As of today, yes. But also as of today, their quarterback for that game is either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels. The next hearing is set for July 22. Stay tuned.

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Yes, and in Game 4 with Favre vs. Green Bay, if the two DTs are NOT suspended.

Of course, with a suspension, the Williams will make their season debut in Week #5/Game 5.

Just a thought here: Didn't I read somewhere that the Williamses took Star Caps to lose weight/keep their weight down, so they could achieve some bonus (or was it to avoid some "target weight" penalty)?

Taking my thought a step further, do you suppose that by taking Star Caps, in order to shed weight and/or keep the weight off, they in fact gain a competitive advantage? I mean, a 340 lb Pat Williams probably moves better, has better stamina, etc... than a 360 lb Pat Williams.

IMO, they took the easy road by taking Star Caps. It's just a matter of time before they serve their suspensions.

On a related note, I have a lot more respect for sports figures like Manny Ramirez who, when they get caught, they own up to it and accept the consequences. Atheletes who screw up and don't want to take responsibility for their actions really put me off.

Great article.
Thanks

I have an idea. If the State of Minn does not want to allow them to be suspended, why not let them play all the games in Minn but once they are away from home they have to live by the rules of that state and sit the bench like the rest of the league players would. I know it won't happen, but at least they could get the 4 games out of them.

In your opinion, how will this affect the New Orleans players under the same Strarcaps case? Different state laws but it is hard to imagine the NFL suspending some players while litigation continues with players of the same base issue.

I think in the end, the courts will rule against them.

They knew they were responsible for what they put in their bodies
They knew Star Caps were not on the approved list
They knew they couldn't trust supplement labels
They knew it was a big risk
Their agents knew
1800 other NFL players managed to figure it out
They took them anyway, repeatedly.

The only thing the NFL didn't share was that instead of it being a high risk, it was closer to a certainty.

But since each batch of non-regulated supplements are slightly different, and the ingredients aren't listed, the NFL would be liable for a lawsuit from the Star Caps mfg unless they could prove what it contained. And since the mfg claims ignorance, the NFL had no way to make any such definitive claims about what was or wasn't in those Caps. All they could do was preach "buyer beware" for the last 5 years

If the Williams boys win this, the logical result will be that anything not specifically on the banned list is fair game for the players to take. Given how quickly new products hit the market and disappear, that would basically render the entire PED schedule and policy in the CBA moot. The burden simply must remain on the players to adhere to the policy. How some homer state judge can basically effectuate that nationwide policy change is beyond me, but this entire case is mired in very strange and rare technicalities of jurisdiction as much as anything else.

All you need to know is that this Minneapolis judge is elected. What do you think his reelection opponent would stress if he ruled against the players? Gary Larson is also the name of a Minnesota Viking's defensive tackle from the 1970s. I wonder....

And don't forget, if this gets appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, there sits Alan Page, former teammate of Gary Larson. Maybe not that particular Gary Larson, but I'll bet they're both Vikings fans.

The NFL has been very clear on these rules and has repeatedly warned players, agents, trainers. The Williams had all the information they needed to make the correct decision.

They knew they were responsible for what they ingested
They knew Star Caps were not on the approved list
They knew they couldn't trust supplement labels of unapproved suppliers
They knew it was a big risk, what was the reward ?
Their agents knew, their team knew
1800 other NFL players managed to figure it out
They took them anyway, repeatedly.

The only thing the NFL didn't share was that instead of it being a high risk, it was closer to a certainty.

But since each batch is different, and thisitem isn't listed, the NFL would be liable for a lawsuit from the Star Caps mfg unless they could prove exactly what ingredients it contained. And since the mfg of Star Caps claims ignorance, the NFL had no way to make any such definitive claims about what was or wasn't in those Star Caps.

All they could do was preach "buyer beware" repeatedly for the last 5 years and that is exactly what the NFL has done. The League also set up a list of approved suppliers so the players had a safe place to purchase. All of this escaped the Williams Bros in their quest for some un-named reward....and yes there are weight loss pills available on the approved supplier list.

If the state laws of Minnesota forbid the NFL from carrying out the terms of the collective bargaining agreement then why doesn't the NFL just suspend them for Away games that are played outside of the state?

If the State of Minnesota wants to take on the NFL, maybe the NFL should decide not to play any games in that state (Heck... the Vikings will probably move to Los Angeles anyway).

I think there are a few misunderstandings about this case. First, the Minnesota judge did not rule that the players cannot be suspended. He merely granted a temporary restraining order that says the league can't enforce the suspensions until the case is decided. This is only fair. If the players win the case but have already served the suspensions, the harm from their missing 4 games can't be undone.

But as Andrew pointed out, the players are unlikely to win the case. When they joined the league, they agreed to abide by the league's rules. All this judge is saying is that the punishment is temporarily suspended until the case is decided in court.

Also, one poster wrote that he was unhappy with a state judge "usurping the NFL's authority." The NFL is a business and, like any business, it has to abide by the labor and employment laws of states in which it operates. When it comes to questions of whether a business is in compliance with the law, it is the courts, not the businesses, that have the authority to decide the issue. The NFL is no exception.

Another poster said that if Minnesota won't give the NFL what it wants, then the NFL should pull out of Minnesota. On an abstract level, that's seems right. But the problem is that the NFL is really a fraternity of 32 owners. The other 31 owners won't screw over the Vikes owner like that, at least not over something like the Starcaps issue. If the Vikes do move out of state, as the poster suggested, the league might look long and hard at Minnesota's labor and employment laws before placing another franchise there.