I hate to throw more fuel on the fire but I also think this means that he will soon be stripped of the DROY award in accordance with the "Merriman Rule", which states that players who test positive for performance enhancing drugs are not eligible to participate in the Pro Bowl or receive performance awards in the same year that they test positive. And his positive test occurred last year. I also think this raises legitimate questions about what the Texans knew and when and whether or not some sort of cover up was involved. Their taking a LB in the draft now looks really suspicious to my eyes - I had been giving them the benefit of the doubt but now...
help me understand what you mean with this....meaning that they knew he was a user and took him anyway??? but don't they do that at their own risk? i mean, they're going to pay a price for this, in that last years #1 draft pick (who could be someone else) is going to miss 4 games AT LEAST this season because of it.
What do you mean by coverup? Of course the team knew about the failed drug test, as did Cushing. He was appealing it - so no one is supposed to say anything at that point. His appeal was finally denied, so that's when it became public.
The NFL doesn't release specifics because the player's union wanted it that way - it was done to protect the players. If Cushing wants to come out and say what he took and was banned for, he's absolutely allowed to do that. He can show the public the letter he got from the NFL with all the details. There's no legal recourse here - he agreed to these terms when he entered the NFL and signed his contract.
You guys are right. It makes more sense on why they used their 4th round pick on Darryl Sharpton. It think the Texans will be alright. Cushing just can't get caught again. He should be smarter than that.
I don't see anything wrong with Glazer not wanting to be associated with cheaters, especially when he does something that is easy to be associated with steroids.
Remember when Peppers was a FA? I never heard one person say dont sign him because he once tested positive? It never came up. People were freaking out wanting to sign him and put him opposite of Mario. (probably has been posted but didn't want to read this depressing thread. It freaking sucks being a Texans fan)
Not exactly that they knew at the time of last year's draft (although the rumors and whispers were there) but I suspect that Team Smithiak was anticipating Cushing's suspension which is why they took the LB in this year's draft.
Cushing reminds me a lot of Bill Romanowski, hopefully he'll have just as long a career without the drama. I watched this to brighten my mood about this whole ordeal. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lr17HeJoreI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lr17HeJoreI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
So people think that 250 pound musclebound monsters are all natural in football, but expect that 250 pound musclebound monsters in WWE are not - because why exactly?
Body type. Most of the WWE guys are basically just bodybuilders. Not many NFL players are that low in bodyfat and that huge. All year cushing did not really look like those USC pictures. He was pretty average for a LB body type.
Also the reason why is more a big deal on the MLB than the NFL, is because in baseball as a batter, with big muscles you can hit the ball with power and getting HRs. ( well I dont know if im right, I dont watch a lot of baseball, maybe Im wrong about this) In the NFL in the LB position you need more agility and speed and a bit of strength, to get to the QB or to cover part of the field. in the WWE is all staged so you dont need all the muscles to fight, (but obviously you need some) only to look good on screen. and because Cushing is not a star in the league, this is not a big news everywhere.
Has anyone heard/read if Cushing would pursue legal action? The Williams boys for the Vikings did this and they continued playing.
I think you're underestimating the value of strength to a LB. The main reason that this isn't bigger news is because the world is becoming desensitized to PED use in the sports world, particularly in football. The fact that Cushing isn't one of the bigger names in the game is a secondary factor. If he was among the first players to ever get busted, it would be a much bigger story, regardless of his stature.
I'm convinced he juiced in HS and college but I honestly think he did not take AAS once in the NFL. Just a gut feeling but I think he is not that dumb.
Sam, this is your post I was responding to: I took from this post that while people might idealize baseball players and baseball in general, culturally...they don't with football players...and that they more closely equate football with pro wrestling than with baseball. If that was your point, i disagree. If that wasn't your point, then I just misunderstood you.
