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New York

Two Vikings suspended for doping violations

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(AP) - The NFL has suspended six players for four games each for violating the league's anti-doping policy, including Minnesota Vikings defensive linemen Kevin Williams and Pat Williams.

The players used a diuretic, which can serve as a masking agent for steroids.

The other four suspended players are running back Deuce McAllister and defensive linemen Charles Grant and Will Smith of New Orleans; and long snapper Bryan Pittman of Houston.

The punishment is an especially harsh blow to Minnesota, which leads the NFC North and relies heavily on the two Williamses to stop the run game.

If a player's team makes the playoffs, the player will be eligible to return to the active roster on Dec. 29.

David Cornwell, the lawyer for the three Saints, called the decisions "inconsistent with the objectives of the steroid policy."

"Deuce, Will, and Charles did not try to enhance their performance with steroids, nor did they knowingly expose themselves to the adverse health risks of a diuretic," Cornwell said in an e-mail. "They took a weight loss supplement that they had every reason to believe was safe."

In their appeals, some players said the banned substance Bumetanide was not listed as an ingredient in StarCaps, an over-the-counter weight-loss pill.

But in issuing the suspensions, the league reiterated the section of its policy that reads:

"You and you alone are responsible for what goes into your body. 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."

The NFL also said it sent two notifications about StarCaps on Dec. 19, 2006 -- one to NFL club presidents, general managers and head athletic trainers and the second to NFLPA executive Stacy Robinson, who oversees the steroid policy for the union.

That letter, according to the league, advised that StarCaps had been added to the list of prohibited dietary supplement companies.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)