Bill Lewis is really mad.

[AZCB34]

Here is why Garcia's excuse shouldn't alter his suspension. EVERY player would suddenly come down with allergy attacks. How would that be dealt with?

Tango is right in that this is simple (I think BACH also said it):

In the NFL, ephedra is illegal.
Garcia took ephedra
Garcia gets suspended.

It doesn;t matter if the punishment for cocaine is too light compared to this simply because the NFL and NFLPA have agreed ephedra is more detrimental to the game. Does it make sense to us? No really but it doesn't have to.

My sense is this issue will be discussed at the next owners meeting and eventually in the next CBA negotiations.

 

[Lars the Red]

Originally posted by Tangodnzr

So what does that have to do with Garcia? A law or rule can be unjust or "screwed up" to the max. It's till the law, and getting caught breaking it usually carries penalties.
Garcia violating the rule and whether or not it is just of fair, are two entirely separate subjects.

Look at what the first comments were about in the post. It had to do with what Lewis thought was an unjustly severere punishment, given the infraction. He broke a rule. The comparison to breaking a similar rule with cocaine and the lack of penalty involved with it, is his example of what he and obviously several others on this board see as inequitable.

No it's not "moronic". You yourself use examples to point out why.

It is moronic. Is it the fault of the stairs that make a 400lb man have a heart attack, or is it the fact he's an out of shape slob that made his heart pop? The stairs may have been a factor, but not the proximate cause. I do not believe that the world needs to be 'idiot proofed'. I think as adults we should have the ability to read instructions and warnings regarding the products we use.

As is the number of people who have driven legally drunk and nothing happened. So what is that supposed to prove?

It's supposed to show you that we are surrounded by things that, if used improperly, or if we are physically more inclined to have problems with them, can and will hurt us. Things that can be deadly to one person can be used without incident by thousands of others without negative effect. One size doesn't fit all.

 

[PDXChris]

Originally posted by Lars the Red
Look at what the first comments were about in the post. It had to do with what Lewis thought was an unjustly severere punishment, given the infraction. He broke a rule. The comparison to breaking a similar rule with cocaine and the lack of penalty involved with it, is his example of what he and obviously several others on this board see as inequitable.

That was my point exactly. He was trying to get across and how uneven the policy is and he was very fired up about it, which I totally agree with. If Garcia and for for the sake of arrgument we will use Jake Plummer both take a drug test. Plummer fails for use of cocaine and Garcia fails for efedria. They then suspend Garcia for 4 games, but Plummer get to go to some classes on why it is wrong to take drugs and gets a warning not to do it again even though cocain use is much more dangerous to use when you get your heart pumping and is more likley to give you a heart attack. It makes no sence, but since there is $100 million lawsuite hanging out there from Stringers wife, they have to show that they will not tolerate players putting their self at risk with efedra and that they are preventing players from droping dead on the field again. It is ass backwards, but then it comes to money, poeple do not think about things straight. Oh well, that is my 2 cents on teh issue.

 

[cards 24-7-365]

I would argue that ephedra and ephedra based products are used as performance enhancers and research proves that it can improve among other things reaction time (a valuable attribute for an NFL player). The IOC, NCAA, NHL, and NFL ban use of ephedra. Ephedra increases heart rate and blood pressure - therfore cardiac output (more blood getting to the exercising muscles faster) which can improve performance. Hell, caffeine is banned by the IOC and is also a performance enhancer.

I was working with NFL players (I am an athletic trainer, like Jim O's father. I used to help with NFL players rehabilitation and conditioning programs) when the news of the ban came down and some were pissed because the couldn't drink a couple of "Ripped Fuel" before the game to get hyped up. Many would also take Hydroxycut or Xenadrine before practice / games just to get that "boost"

Doens' t anyone remember a couple of years ago when there was a big cover article in Sports Illustrated on how hockey players would take Sudafed before games to get "up" for the game. Tell them it doesn't enhance performance.

Ephedra when mixed with caffeine (as it is diet pills) is "legal speed" And if taken by asthmatics and people with other health conditions (obesity) it can be extrememly dangerous. That kid that died at Norhtwestern just before Stringer died was an asthmatic who used an ephedra based supplement before his conditioning drills.

Ephedra is banned for a reason! However, if it is used in small, regulated (by the FDA) doses as it is in cold / allergy medications and it is used the way it is intended (read the instructions on the medication package) it is usually harmless. That said, it is a professional athlete's responsibility to read the contents of any cold / allergy medication he uses to make sure he is not using anything illegal. Garcia has nobody to blame but himself.

 

[PDXChris]

Garcia has nobody to blame but himself. [/B]

Nobody is disputting the fact that Garcia made a mistake. A rule is a rule, but the big issue is te difference in the how different banned stubstances are looked at by the NFL. Think about it, a linebacker could COKE up before a game and possibley end a QB's career and if caught for the first time told to go to some meeting and told to get better and not to do it again, but a Garcia type player can take a cold medicine in the offseason and miss the first 4 games of the season. Where is the logic in that? IMO all banned stubstances should hold the same penalty regaurdless of what it his.

 

[Cardiac]

I think everyone is very close on this issue but are arguing side topics. Bankybruce nailed it with his last 2 posts.

 

[PDXChris]

Originally posted by Cardiac
I think everyone is very close on this issue but are arguing side topics. Bankybruce nailed it with his last 2 posts.

At least I know someone read my post.