A NFL informou à NFLPA (Associação dos Jogadores da NFL), que James Harrison, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and Mike Neal serão suspensos por tempo indeterminado se não cooperarem com a investigação da liga, que solicita que eles sejam entrevistados nos próximos 10 dias, referente às alegações do uso de substâncias para melhoria de performance, que são proibidas pela liga.
A investigação deu-se a partir do documentário Al-Jazeera, que alegou que vários atletas profissionais – incluindo o quarterback aposentado Peyton Manning – faziam uso de substâncias ilegais, incluindo hormônio de crescimento. Charli Sly, que trabalhava na clínica de anti-idade, acusou os atletas de receber encomendas das drogas, mas depois negou a sua versão.
Os jogadores tem até o dia 25 de Agosto para fazer as entrevistas, de acordo com a carta enviada segunda a NFLPA por Adolpho Birch, o vice presidente de políticas da liga.
De acordo com a carta, a liga fez ao menos 7 tentativas de contato com os jogadores para agendar as entrevistas, mas sem sucesso.
A NFLPA argumenta que os jogadores não deveriam ser obrigados a cooperar com a investigação uma vez que Charlie Sly negou a história que contou no documentário.
Vale lembrar que a NFL anunciou em julho que havia encerrado a investigação à parte que foi feita com o ex-quarterback Peyton Manning, que também foi citado por Charlie Sly no documentário. A NFLPA não representa mais Manning, pois o mesmo está aposentado, mas a liga disse que ele e sua esposa cooperaram completamente com as investigações e ambos deram entrevistas e acesso a todos os registros solicitados pelos investigadores.
A liga tem um histórico de punir jogadores por ações não colaborativas, assim como aconteceu com o ex-quarterback Brett Favre, que foi multado em US$50.000,00 dólares, por “falhar em cooperar” em uma investigação da liga referente ao envio de fotos ilícitas a um empregado do New York Jets em 2008.
Não é de hoje que vem se discutindo as punições dadas pela liga, com relação a coerência e imparcialidade das mesmas, e esse é mais um caso de como as decisões são tomadas na liga sem obedecer padrões e precedentes.
De qualquer maneira, se nada acontecer até o dia 25 de Agosto, a punição iniciará no dia seguinte e se estenderá até o momento em que o jogador resolver cooperar com a liga, e então o comissário da NFL Roger Goodell tomará a decisão de reintegrar o jogador a liga ou não.
Veja o conteúdo da carta na íntegra:
"As you know, the league has been investigating a nationally televised report concerning potential violations of the collectively bargained Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances. There can be no question that the league has a good faith basis for conducting this investigation; moreover, the league and NFLPA have a shared interest in ensuring that our jointly developed policy is not being violated.
Nevertheless, since the initiation of our investigation in January the league has made at least seven attempts to arrange interviews of Messrs. Harrison, Matthews, Neal and Peppers. On each occasion, the NFLPA has communicated the players’ refusal to participate. Most recently, the NFLPA has attempted to prevent the interviews by submitting for each player a half-page statement, which you advised should be treated as a sworn statement given in a legal proceeding, and which you contend should fulfill the players’ acknowledged obligation to cooperate with the investigation. The statements, however, are wholly devoid of any detail, and we were quickly able to determine that Mr. Neal’s statement includes an assertion that is demonstrably false. Rather than eliminate the need for interviews, the players’ plainly deficient statements simply underscore the importance of obtaining their full cooperation.
You were so advised on July 29, when we again wrote to offer the players another opportunity to participate in an interview, beginning with Mr. Neal. In that letter, you were expressly notified that continued noncooperation could result in discipline up to and including a suspension. In response, you provided a revised statement and letter which acknowledged Mr. Neal’s prior steroid policy violation and that his previous “sworn statement” is in fact untrue. Most important, you advised that Mr. Neal had again refused to cooperate with our investigation by participating in an interview.
There is no dispute that players are obligated to cooperate with the league’s investigation, as you have repeatedly acknowledged. This obligation includes not only the responsibility to submit to an interview but also the duty to provide meaningful responses to the questions posed. Nor is there a dispute that a failure to cooperate or an attempt to obstruct the investigation may result in discipline, including suspension from play, for conduct detrimental under Article 46 of the CBA and the NFL Player Contract.
We cannot accept your unilateral assertion that the cursory, untested statements you have submitted satisfy the players’ obligation. Accordingly, the Commissioner has directed that Messrs. Harrison, Matthews, Neal and Peppers be given until Thursday, August 25 to provide interviews. For those players whose interviews do not take place on or before that date, or who fail meaningfully to participate in or otherwise obstruct the interview, their actions will constitute conduct detrimental and they will be suspended, separate and apart from any possible future determination that they violated the steroid policy. The suspension for each such player will begin on Friday, August 26 and will continue until he has fully participated in an interview with league investigators, after which the Commissioner will determine whether and when the suspension should be lifted.
To avoid this outcome, please promptly contact my office to make arrangements for the interviews. As previously stated, we will make every effort to accommodate the NFLPA’s availability, within the outlined time period."
