It was reported on Friday by Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News that New York Giants running back Andre Brown had his four-game suspension lifted by the league following his appeal hearing. Brown had been suspended for four games back in March for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, which ended up being Adderall, a prescription medication normally used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Brown reportedly had a prescription for the drug, which he said he had taken since entering the league, but that he did not get prior approval before taking it.
In a similar case, Houston Texans punter Brett Hartmann had his four-game suspension reduced down to three following his appeal. Hartmann had been suspended for taking Ritalin, which can also be used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder like Adderall. Following his suspension being reduced Hartmann said, “It was just for ADD medicine, but now I have approval to take it from our doctors and the NFL doctors. I just made a mistake. Should have got that approved before. Just got to move on. Serve the three game suspension.”
Now the question is whether or not Pittsburgh Steelers second year tight end Weslye Saunders will get his four-game suspension reduced or lifted. Saunders has appealed the suspension that was handed out in early February after he tested positive for Adderall. It is unknown if he had a prescription to take the drug and just failed to get it approved by the league like was the case with Brown. If it turns out that Saunders just didn\’t get the approval of the league, we could see his four-game suspension dismissed entirely.
With training camp just under two months away from getting started, one would think that Saunders should be getting word on his appeal soon. You would think that he wouldn\’t have appealed it unless he had a prescription, but other factors could possibly play into it as well that we are unaware of. We shall wait and see what the verdict is.
Saunders made the Steelers 53 man roster last year as an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina.
