Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister, Will Smith Suspended

Very bad timing for the Vikings and Saints to lose key players to four-game drug suspensions. Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints, Bryan Pittman of the Houston Texans, and Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings are now suspended for the final four games of the NFL season – and that’s particularly important since the Vikings and Saints are fighting dearly for a playoff spot.

An interesting side note:

The Vikings are playing the Detroit Lions and remain the only really “likely / possible” victory… without Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, maybe drugs have kept the Lions from 0-16?!

The NFL reports:

The NFL suspended six players for four games each on Tuesday for violating the NFL Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances.

The suspended players are Charles Grant, Deuce McAllister and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints, Bryan Pittman of the Houston Texans, and Kevin Williams and Pat Williams of the Minnesota Vikings.

The suspensions, which cover the final four games of the regular season, are without pay.

The players specifically violated a longstanding provision of the policy relating to the use of diuretics and water pills, which serve as masking agents for steroids and are potentially dangerous to the health of players.

The policy states that the use of so-called “blocking” or “masking” agents, including diuretics and water pills, is prohibited and that a positive test will not be excused because it results from the use of a dietary supplement that unknowingly contained a banned substance. Supplements are not regulated or monitored by the government and players have been warned about the risks of supplement use.

“You and you alone are responsible for what goes into your body,” the policy has always stated. “Claiming that you used only legally available nutritional supplements will not help you in an appeal…Even if they are bought over-the-counter from a known establishment, there is currently no way to be sure that they contain the ingredients listed on the packaging or have not been tainted with prohibited substances…If you take these products, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK! For your own health and success in the league, we strongly encourage you to avoid the use of supplements altogether, or at the very least to be extremely careful about what you choose to take.”