[ESPN "Outside The Lines"] Texans' minicamp drills questioned

Any significant penalties for the Texans franchise on the horizon or is there nothing to see here?
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http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=3885900

Illegal Contact?

"Outside the Lines" takes an in-depth look at accusations that the Houston Texans coaching staff required players to participate in contact blocking drills last May in violation of NFL rules. See T.J. Quinn's report Sunday at 9 a.m. ET.

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Illegal Contract Drills Caused Injury
Texans OL Dan Stevenson alleges impermissable contract drills caused injury


HOUSTON -- When the Houston Texans' coaching staff announced to linemen that they would be running one-on-one blocking drills during minicamp last May, the rumbling started immediately, players say.

The NFL's rules about minicamp are spelled out in the collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association: no contact, no pads.

"There's a reason why these drills are prohibited in the offseason," said offensive guard Dan Stevenson. "Football is dangerous enough as it is."

But several sources told ESPN that even after the team's player representatives complained to head coach Gary Kubiak, the drills continued; and by the end of minicamp, three players had suffered season-ending injuries.

According to four players and a member of the team's front office who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Kubiak and his coaching staff conducted the drills despite the fact that players were not wearing pads. Their only protection, they said, was helmets.

"It was a live blocking drill. There were people getting pancaked. Everyone's going as hard as he can," Stevenson said.

Stevenson suffered a labrum tear in his shoulder that he feels might end his career.

"I was the third offensive lineman who was done for the season, just from that drill," offensive tackle Jordan Black said. "If nobody's going to stand up, it's just going to continue."

Black had surgery to repair a torn labrum, was released by the team in June and has since signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Stevenson also suffered a labrum tear in his right shoulder, and center Chukky Okobi suffered a triceps injury.

"I felt like, for my career, my occupation, my dreams, for all this to be taken away from me, to be jeopardized not for just one season but for my entire football career for something that wasn't supposed to be done -- I was upset," Stevenson said.

Okobi couldn't be reached for comment. Black and Stevenson said that while they accept football's injury risks, they are distressed that their seasons ended in a drill they say should not have happened. Okobi has not signed with a new club.

Stevenson and Black have labor grievances pending against the team, and Stevenson plans to sue the Texans.

Asked about the players' charges, team counsel Suzie Thomas wrote in an e-mail, "I am unable to comment, other than to say that information set forth & is inaccurate." Kubiak did not return calls to his office at Reliant Stadium.

NFL and NFLPA officials said there is no specific punishment defined for a team that holds prohibited drills during a minicamp, and an NFL spokesman said the league was unaware of the complaint against the Texans until a call from ESPN.

Stevenson's current grievance is a "non-injury" complaint that relates to the minicamp drill. A previous injury grievance was denied by the NFL Management Council. In that rejection, the NFLMC cited numerous procedural problems with Stevenson's complaint.

One portion of the rejection letter, Stevenson said, read, "the Texans deny & that 'players were required to participate in drills which are explicitly prohibited.' "

Once the team denied that the drill had taken place, Stevenson took a video camera into the Texans' meeting room and filmed the team's video of the workout. The video, which was provided to ESPN, shows what appears to be full-speed, full-contact drills.

Black and former Texans lineman Fred Weary also signed notarized affidavits supporting Stevenson's description of what took place during minicamp, from the complaints of the player representatives to Stevenson's shoulder injury.
The players said it is not uncommon for coaches on many teams to schedule such drills during minicamp, but it is unusual for coaches to proceed with the drills when players object.

Tom DePaso, associate general counsel for the NFLPA, said the union often hears complaints about offseason drills that violate the CBA.

"It's this classic thing in the offseason. Coaches really want to get started on the new season; and on the other hand, we need our guys to learn and they need to rest," DePaso said.

DePaso wouldn't specifically address the grievances against the Texans or the three players who received season-ending injuries.

"If that were the case," he said, "that would be extraordinary."


T. J. Quinn is an investigative reporter for ESPN. He can be reached at tjquinn31@yahoo.com.

 

Fred Weary touches on that in his interview with the Fox26 Sports update.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/sports/020509_Texans_Drills_Offseason

Current, Former Texans Accuse Team of Illegal Drills During Workouts


HOUSTON - Houston Texans guard Dan Stevenson and former Texans offensive tackle Jordan Black told ESPN that the Houston Texans used one-one-one blocking drills during mini-camp last May in violation of the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Stevenson was on the Texans injured reserve list all season. Black was released and has since signed with Jacksonville. Both have labor grievances pending against the Texans.

ESPN reported Stevenson and Black's allegations were confirmed by former Texans guard Fred Weary in a signed affidavit.

Weary was waived by the team last year and has an injury grievance pending against the club.

Weary told FOX 26 Sports he never intended for the affidavit he signed to be used as part of the ESPN story.

"I feel like Dan Stevenson did me a disservice," Weary said. "At the time I signed it, I didn't think he would go to this extreme. I thought it would be used internally through the team.

"Dan approached me and asked me if I would go on the record about the illegal one-on-one drills and I said yes. I signed it for Stevenson, not ESPN."

Weary said it's his understanding three players were hurt during those drills, Stevenson, Black and and former Texans center Chucky Okobi.

"This is upsetting," Weary said. "I don't want it to seem like I have ill feelings toward the Texans. It would be like biting the hand that feeds you."

Weary said ESPN requested an on-camera interview with him and he turned them down. He said Stevenson was trying to get him to go forward with the interview and sent him a text message requesting that he do so.

Weary read the text from Stevenson, dated Jan 20. to FOX 26.

"I already did the interview," Stevenson said in a text according to Weary. "Are you going to do yours?

"The team needs to get what it deserved."

Weary said when ESPN called for the interview he alerted the Texans as a courtesy and to ask for guidance. He said the Texans were already aware of ESPN's efforts.

"I didn't do the interview with ESPN because I didn't think it would be beneficial," Weary said. "It would just look like I was bad-mouthing the team."

Regarding the alleged rules violations by the Texans, Weary acknowledged they happened, but he also said the Texans tried to take precautions against anyone getting hurt.

"It did happen," Weary said. "Guys did get hurt. The coaches stopped them after that.

"In the Texans' defense they did tell us what was going on. They did give us parameters, like going half-speed during the drills. But when guys are trying to make the team, those parameters go out the window."

Weary recalled one such instance involving Texans defensive tackle Tim Bulman.

"Coaches will say we're not trying to hurt anyone and they would ask the offensive guys to let the defensive guys finish the drill," Weary said. But you've got guys like Tim Bulman, who was a practice squad guy at the time.

"He bull-rushes a guy and the offensive lineman has to be a football player and understand this is not half-speed. He becomes competitive and sometimes people get hurt."

While Black and Stevenson said the alleged rules violations occurred during the Texans mini-camp in May, Weary said he remembered the illegal drills taking place during the Texans' organized team activities last year, which are separate from the mini-camp.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players' Association calls for a team violating workout rules to be punished by losing one week of organized team activities and for the head coach to be fined.

If it is determined that there were multiple violations, the team can lose a 4th-round draft pick.

Texans general manager Rick Smith and Texans head coach Gary Kubiak have not been available for comment.