The NFL is looking to increase the threshold in which in penalizes players for testing positive for a particular banned substance, but the policies implemented couldn’t spare the season of a couple of notorious violators.
Pro Bowl Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington didn’t learn his lesson after being suspended for the first four games of the 2013 season for violating the league’s substance policy and he’ll sit the entire upcoming season out for doing it once again. Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim didn’t hold back any scorn for Washington’s actions and released a scathing statement regarding the matter.
“It’s completely unacceptable that Daryl has once again put us in this position,” Keim began. “We all know what the consequences are and will deal with them. From a personal standpoint, our hope is that this suspension will give Daryl the opportunity to accept the necessary help and guidance to get his life back on track and we will certainly support him however we can. As it pertains to our team, our approach is the same as it’s always been: next man up. We talk a lot about how critical depth is to a team because situations always arise where you lose players, whether by injury or other circumstances such as this one. One player’s absence is another’s opportunity. That approach has served us well in the past and we will rely on it now.”
Washington has had his fair share of run-ins with the struggle, namely being arrested for aggravated assault of his baby mama in May of 2013. An apology on his behalf will probably be futile seeing that he tweeted “I apologize to all my fans, teammates and to the Cardinals Organization. I promise to work even harder and to not let you guys down anymore,” in April 2013 after his initial suspension.
Although he won’t have quite the lengthy unpaid vacation as Washington, New York Giants safety Will Hill will miss the first six games of the 2014 season for his decision to violate the league’s policy as well. Like Washington, he also is a repeat offender after being suspended in 2012 for using Adderall.
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