One of the most baffling aspects of the case involving StarCaps and the NFL policy on anabolic steroids and related substances is that the defense of the suspended players states the product was mislabeled and they were unaware that the supplement in question violated the policy.

An NFL official said this week that two notifications specifically mentioning StarCaps were sent on December 19, 2006. One was sent to the presidents, general managers, and head athletic trainers of all NFL clubs. The second was sent to Stacy Robinson, the NFLPA executive who oversees the steroid policy on behalf of the union.

This should have been the ultimate red flag that there was a problem with StarCaps.

The letter to Robinson states that “Balanced Health Products, which distributes StarCaps, has been added to the list of prohibited dietary supplement companies. Please distribute this information to the agents and players through your normal channels.” In response, Robinson had Balanced Health Products added to the list of banned companies that is maintained on the NFLPA’s web site.

If this is indeed the case, the players’ defense is all but blown up. Yet somehow on Friday, the suspended players got the temporary restraining order they needed to prolong their time with their teams this season. Yet oddly enough, they did it with the union suing its own program.

Posted in: Adam Schefter  | comments  |