Fans of the Dallas Cowboys across Texas are reeling following an announcement that defensive end Robert Quinn will remain suspended without pay for violating the NFL’s strict policies prohibiting performance-enhancing drugs. Early reports of Quinn’s absence were surrounded by mystery thanks to a fractured left hand he recently injured, which many believed was the source of his absence. In reality, however, NFL officials have handed Quinn a two-game suspension for violating NFL policy despite his agent’s insistence that Quinn is innocent.
In a statement released on Twitter, Robert Quinn’s agent took to the offensive, dismissing the allegations against his client and asserting that a simple mistake at a pharmacy, led Quinn to fail a drug test.
“I am extremely disappointed in the NFL for following through with this suspension,” the statement began, “[Quinn] does not take any supplements and he took nothing else during this period that would create a positive test for probenecid,” he continued.
Prohibited substance
Probenecid is prohibited by the NFL as it can be used to mask the presence of other, more serious steroids and performance enhancers which may give players an unfair advantage over their competitors on the field. Quin reportedly tested at levels of 0.17 and 0.34 ng/mL of probenecid in his system, resulting in the two-game suspension that’s likely to cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The professional NFL footballer's agent attested that the levels of probenecid in his system are similar to those which may be detected thanks to a small contamination at the pharmacy, where different compounds, chemicals, and drugs may inadvertently come into contact with one another.
According to SportsDay, and other news sites, Quinn was signed on with a base salary of $6 million, meaning his two-game suspension will force him to forfeit up to $941,176 of his salary, not to mention any fines that will be imposed by the NFL.
Quinn’s agent also claims he took a similar test on April 2nd of this year and passed it without issue.
Preseason jeopardy
Regardless of the substance allegations against him, Quinn was set to miss most of the preseason and perhaps the first game of the NFL season as well thanks to his injured left hand. Without the veteran defender on the field, the rest of the Cowboys lineup will be forced to compensate for his loss.
With Quinn’s suspension taken into consideration, the Dallas Cowboys have had 14 players suspended since 2014. According to musings from USA Today, fellow Cowboys Taco Charlton and Dorance Armstrong are set to step in and make up for Quinn’s absence on the field.
