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Robert Mathis Suspended (1 Viewer)

Soulfly3

Soulfly3

Footballguy
4 games, per Schef.

For using drugs to get his wife pregnant.

ROBERT MATHIS STATEMENT: "It is difficult for me to address the circumstances surrounding this suspension because they involve very personal medical information, but it is very important to me that my fans, particularly young people, understand what did and did not occur. Like many families, my wife and I faced fertility challenges, and I sought medical assistance. I specifically asked the doctor if the medication he prescribed for me would present a problem for NFL drug testing, and unfortunately, he incorrectly told me that it would not. I made the mistake of not calling the NFL or NFLPA to double check before I took the medication at the end of last season. The union has worked very closely with me to present all of the facts and medical records for consideration of discipline that does not include a suspension because of the unique facts of my case, but the Commissioner refused the request. I am deeply saddened that this situation will prevent me from contributing to my team for four games, and I regret that I didn't cross check what my doctor told me before I took the medication. I hope that my fans will understand the unique circumstances involved here and continue to know that I am a man of integrity who would never intentionally circumvent the performance enhancing substance policy agreed to by the NFL and my union. The incredible blessing of this very upsetting situation is that, after I took the medication very briefly at the end of last season, we learned that my wife is expecting a baby. We are thrilled that we will be welcoming a new member in several months, but I apologize to my teammates, coaches and Colts fans that I will not be able to contribute to my team for the first four weeks of the 2014 season. I will work extremely hard during that time to stay in top football shape and will be prepared to contribute immediately upon my return."
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If someone said, "Miss the first four games of the season or be able to have your child conceived?" I think the answer would be pretty simple.

Everything else in his statement doesn't matter. You weren't allowed to have something in your body and you got caught. Regardless of the reason, it's the players responsibility to check what he's taking and check with the NFL.

 
Borden said:
If someone said, "Miss the first four games of the season or NOT be able to have your child conceived?" I think the answer would be pretty simple.

Everything else in his statement doesn't matter. You weren't allowed to have something in your body and you got caught. Regardless of the reason, it's the players responsibility to check what he's taking and check with the NFL.
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First, let me correct your hypothetical statement (it's bolded, above).

Second, once the hypothetical statement is correct, I have no problem with him choosing to have a baby with his wife at the expense of four games, if he indeed did know that it would jeopardize his playing status, which he claims he did not.

Third, yeah, he should have double checked and not listened to just the doctors word.

Fourth, you have no compassion, do you?

Fifth, congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Mathis on the impending birth of their child!

 
Really, you think he's blowing smoke and I bought it? Oh well, I'm okay with that. Seems to me he could have just done what every other player does when they get suspended for a substance abuse violation and say nothing at all. Why make up this story?

Oh, and whether or not they had children previously doesn't negate the fact that they might have needed to go this route this time.

It also doesn't negate his responsibility to actually go through the motions and verify the legality of the drugs under the substance abuse regulations within the current CBA, whether that's the team or the union, it doesn't matter. So, yes, he's responsible for not being responsible.

I'm okay with his claim though. He didn't have to tell anybody anything about the reasons for his suspension.

 
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Even I know that clomid is a drug that is taken between steroid cycles and I've a)never taken roids and b) don't play in the NFL. I call BS

 
Ruffrodys05 said:
Borden said:
If someone said, "Miss the first four games of the season or NOT be able to have your child conceived?" I think the answer would be pretty simple.

Everything else in his statement doesn't matter. You weren't allowed to have something in your body and you got caught. Regardless of the reason, it's the players responsibility to check what he's taking and check with the NFL.
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First, let me correct your hypothetical statement (it's bolded, above).Second, once the hypothetical statement is correct, I have no problem with him choosing to have a baby with his wife at the expense of four games, if he indeed did know that it would jeopardize his playing status, which he claims he did not.

Third, yeah, he should have double checked and not listened to just the doctors word.

Fourth, you have no compassion, do you?

Fifth, congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Mathis on the impending birth of their child!
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You are correct that I do not have compassion for his actions. He could have went to the NFL and said this is the situation, can I do tests before, after and during. (Assuming they would have told him he wasn't allowed to take whatever is banned) Also, there may be other drugs available that don't contained the banned substance, I don't know for sure. Either way, this was a planned birth and he could have put more effort into seeing how these drugs would impact the way he chooses to provide for his family.

 
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So shocked that an otherwise average defensive end to an above average end to an all world OLB. Sounds like he graduated from the Merriman, James Harrison, Brian Cushing university.

 
Well said.

That led Adolpho Birch, the NFL’s Senior V.P. of labor policy and government affairs, to appear on Mike & Mikeand say that Mathis is suspended for one simple reason: He tested positive for a substance on the NFL’s banned list. Birch added that whether Mathis is telling the truth that he took a banned substance to boost fertility — not to enhance performance — is irrelevant.

“The policy is crystal clear that the player is responsible for what is in his body — that’s by design,” Birch said. “That’s because of the union and the league agreeing that we don’t want to have to make those sorts of decisions. We don’t want to have to judge whether or not this is a reasonable story, this is an unreasonable story, this claim is correct, this claim is incorrect. We want to be able to treat everyone consistently and make sure that first and foremost, we are applying that policy in a way that we feel works to ensure that we eliminate the threat of these types of substances and deter the use of these types of substances in our game.”
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Bojang0301 said:
So shocked that an otherwise average defensive end to an above average end to an all world OLB. Sounds like he graduated from the Merriman, James Harrison, Brian Cushing university.
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You are shocked that a guy who went from a run stopping/edge setting position to a QB rushing position radically improved his sack numbers?

 
He's either dumb or full of it. Its a prescription drug so you'd think thats something he would check on prior to taking. Second, Clomid and Nolva and various other drugs can double your testosterone levels without even doing a steroid cycle. They are very popular post cycle to get levels back to normal.

 
wdcrob said:
Well said.

That led Adolpho Birch, the NFL’s Senior V.P. of labor policy and government affairs, to appear on Mike & Mikeand say that Mathis is suspended for one simple reason: He tested positive for a substance on the NFL’s banned list. Birch added that whether Mathis is telling the truth that he took a banned substance to boost fertility — not to enhance performance — is irrelevant.

“The policy is crystal clear that the player is responsible for what is in his body — that’s by design,” Birch said. “That’s because of the union and the league agreeing that we don’t want to have to make those sorts of decisions. We don’t want to have to judge whether or not this is a reasonable story, this is an unreasonable story, this claim is correct, this claim is incorrect. We want to be able to treat everyone consistently and make sure that first and foremost, we are applying that policy in a way that we feel works to ensure that we eliminate the threat of these types of substances and deter the use of these types of substances in our game.”
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:goodposting:

 
Clomid, though, is probably not the hill an athlete wants to die on. It is one of the most popular drugs in the history of illegal performance-enhancing in sports, and has been for decades. Its most popular contraband use is to jumpstart a man's testosterone cycle if it's been interrupted by steroid use, and it shows up again and again in baseball's PED users—most notably in the BALCO scandal. The bottom line: Any player should know to seek a medical exemption before using it. Mathis did not.And more than that, no competent doctor would provide it to an athlete for legitimate medical purposes without warning him that it appears on all banned-substance lists. But the more we learn about Mathis's doctor, the more questions come up. Naptown.co poked around the website for that doctor's clinic, and didn't find any information on fertility treatments. Instead, there's a whole bunch of "anti-aging" treatments, including Sermorelin, a largely undetectable HGH substitute.
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I was hoodwinked by Mathis' press release and looked no further into it. Obviously, I should learn to wait to comment until further clarification presents itself. My bad.

 
The NFL can kiss his bum. Hooray for Mathis and I don't blame him one bit for putting the game of life ahead of the game of football.

 
Sorry Ruff... wasn't singling you out or anything. Just don't like this bit where the steroid users can say anything they want when they get popped and basically count on the fact that the NFL is precluded from revealing what actually happened.

 
wdcrob said:
Sorry Ruff... wasn't singling you out or anything. Just don't like this bit where the steroid users can say anything they want when they get popped and basically count on the fact that the NFL is precluded from revealing what actually happened.
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No worries Rob, I didn't think you were.

I took Mathis' posted comments at face value without looking into it further. (I believe I mentioned I thought it was unique for Mathis to immediately make public comments when other players, banned for using, very rarely do.) I took his public comments as an indication he had a legitimate soapbox to stand on. I had no clue what "drug" he was being banned for nor did I look at his history. I spoke (misguidedly) without checking the facts and simply took Mathis at his word. I have been proved wrong in my initial thoughts and felt the need to express my new awareness instead of commenting no further and disappearing from the thread.

Soulfly3 seemed to think this thread was going to take a wrong turn (after one of my posts) and a beetch-fest would ensue. I won't be part of that and I'm willing to state it when I've been proven wrong.

 
Bojang0301 said:
So shocked that an otherwise average defensive end to an above average end to an all world OLB. Sounds like he graduated from the Merriman, James Harrison, Brian Cushing university.
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Otherwise average? Robert Mathis? You've lost your mind.

Age 23-31 production (i.e. before Mathis led the league in sacks and got busted for PEDs):

Robert Mathis- 131 games, 88 sacks, 37 forced fumbles, 309 tackles

Dwight Freeney- 133 games, 89.5 sacks, 33 forced fumbles, 211 tackles

Edit:

Jason Taylor- 140 games, 92.5 sacks, 27 forced fumbles, 351 tackles

Michael Strahan- 144 games, 94.5 sacks, 18 forced fumbles, 444 tackles (includes the sack record season)

Julius Peppers- 142 games, 88 sacks, 32 forced fumbles, 362 tackles

Mathis was one-dimensional (although not as much as Freeney), but he stacks up favorably against some of the best pass rushers of the last 20 years.

 
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It isn't like a player can't use fertility drugs because the NFL won't let him.

As Mathis's agent noted, the NFL gives exceptions for legitimate prescribed use of drugs that are otherwise on the banned substance list. Including the drug Mathis took.

All he had to do was work with the league so they could verify it was a legitimate use.

 
Ruffrodys05 said:
Soulfly3 seemed to think this thread was going to take a wrong turn (after one of my posts) and a beetch-fest would ensue. I won't be part of that and I'm willing to state it when I've been proven wrong.
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Incorrect.

I was making a general statement about where I was hoping this thread would go... and it somewhat did w folks realizing a few things about Mathis and Clomid

 
Greg Russell said:
It isn't like a player can't use fertility drugs because the NFL won't let him.

As Mathis's agent noted, the NFL gives exceptions for legitimate prescribed use of drugs that are otherwise on the banned substance list. Including the drug Mathis took.

All he had to do was work with the league so they could verify it was a legitimate use.
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it's just a convenient excuse to not make him look like a steroid user.

 
cdubz said:
Bill Barnwell was tweeting out some links to sources on his other kids, apparently had twins and then another one in the 2 year period prior to this...

Bill Barnwell ‏@billbarnwell 1h
Mathis also had a daughter in February of 2013. http://bit.ly/1iTHS0M http://bit.ly/1iTHRdg

Bill Barnwell ‏@billbarnwell 1h
Robert Mathis had twins in 2012... http://bit.ly/1iTHak7
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Apparently these need to made bolder and bigger, since folks have a hard time reading things that make sense.

He juices. End of story.

Should be allowed to tho

 
This guy's story seems to be falling apart piece by piece. Mathis claimed that his doctor told him that Clomid wasn't on he banned list. The doctor claims that he didn't even know Mathis played in the NFL and that he never told him the drug wasn't on the banned list.

http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyId=10953485

ETA: Another claim he made, made no sense. He said that his wife couldn't take Clomid because of some medical condition so he took it instead. That makes zero sense. If she was the one with fertility problems, then it would do no good for him to take Clomid. The possibility exists that he is actually the one with fertility problems and is too embarrassed to admit it, but that opens up a ton of other questions like: why would he throw his wife under the bus like that, and how did he get her pregnant the other two times?

Maybe Mathis really is telling the truth, but there's a whole lot that is fishy about his story as well.

 
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I'm sure it was just a coincidence that he had by far his best season ever at the same time he tested positive for a banned substance. How gullible does he think everyone is?

 
If I'm being paid millions and my employer hands me a gigantic list of #### I can't take, knowing I will be tested regularly, you can bet your ### I'm cross referencing that list before I take so much as an aspirin.

 
Guy sets career highs in sacks and forced fumbles in his age 32 season? He's lucky there's still no hgh testing

 
fantasycurse42 said:
If I'm being paid millions and my employer hands me a gigantic list of #### I can't take, knowing I will be tested regularly, you can bet your ### I'm cross referencing that list before I take so much as an aspirin.
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and that owner gets arrested for 30 Gs of drugs and nothing comes of it from the league, nice.

 
I'm still pissed that he lied about it. If he really was taking it for fertility reasons, then he's a moron. But, there's basically no way he wasn't just juicing and lied about it. Occam's razor and all.

 
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