New NFL Drug Policy To Reinstate Suspended Players
By Mario Hicks
According to ESPN’s Ed Werner, the NFL has started to inform players who have satisfied the terms of their current suspensions under the league’s new proposed drug policy that they should be reinstated by Sunday, a sign that the new policy will surely be in place by then.
This new drug policy will have an immediate effect on the likes of Orlando Scandrick of the Dallas Cowboys, Wes Walker of the Broncos, and the Browns Josh Gordon; all are serving suspensions for drug related offenses.
Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated explains,
"“The primary point in the new drug policy is the addition of testing for Human Growth Hormone, which the NFLPA has been resisting since the current collective bargaining agreement was ratified in 2011. The main opposition the Players Association had lodged was that the league wasn’t putting forth consistent testing guidelines and baselines, and that there was no independent arbiter to hear appeals.Now, the NFLPA and NFL will jointly appoint and pay three to five arbitrators. The NFLPA also rejected a proposal from the league that any player charged but not convicted for driving while impaired would immediately be suspended. Instead, any player convicted or pleading guilty to driving while impaired will receive a two-game suspension.”"
Scandrick and Welker will have their suspensions reduced because under the new policy, first-time positive tests for amphetamines in the offseason will no longer result in a suspension, while in-season positive tests will. Also, the threshold for a positive marijuana test will be raised from 15 to 35 nanograms per millimeter.