The Saints suffered a big blow to their defense Tuesday when they found out defensive tackle Hollis Thomas, who is having a career year, is being suspended for four games because he violated the league's steroid policy due to asthma medication he takes.
<!--------------------------START PLAYER CARD------------------>
<table class="tableheadFixWidth" align="right" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" width="200"> <tbody><tr class="stathead"> <td colspan="2" class="whitelink"> Hollis Thomas</td> </tr> <tr class="evenrow" align="right"> <td align="left"> http://espn.go.com/i/nfl/profiles/pl...tsid/s3769.jpgDefensive Tackle
New Orleans Saints

Profile</td> </tr><tr class="evenrow"> <td align="center"> <table bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="190"> <tbody><tr class="stathead" align="center"><td colspan="6" align="center">2006 SEASON STATISTICS</td></tr> <tr style="background: rgb(188, 188, 180) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="right"> <td width="17%">Tot</td> <td width="17%">Ast</td> <td width="17%">Solo</td> <td width="17%">FF</td> <td width="17%">Sack</td> <td width="17%">Int</td> </tr> <tr align="right" bgcolor="#999999"> <td>43</td> <td>35</td> <td>8</td> <td>0</td> <td>4</td> <td>0</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!---------------------INLINE MINI-PLAYER CARD ENDS HERE--------------------> Thomas has been challenging the positive steroid test and had the support of the Saints. Thomas is a 335-pound defensive tackle who has struggled to keep his weight down and doesn't have the body that normally would be linked to steroids.
During his appeal, John Amoss, who is the Saints' team trainer and an assistant professor at the LSU Health Science Center, sent a letter to the league in support of Thomas. Amoss said Thomas has severe asthma problems and requires a high dose of inhaled steroids to breathe. According to the doctor, Thomas needs a long acting beta agonist and a short acting beta agonist to control his asthma.
During his August drug test, the defensive tackle was taking an asthma product called Advair twice a day while also using an inhaler four times a day.
"Advair contains both the steroid fluticasone and the long acting beta agonist galmeterol," wrote Amoss, who thought the possibility of a false positive might have happened.
After taking the information under consideration, the league ruled Thomas was in violation of the policy and he will be lost to the team for the remainder of the regular season.
If New Orleans makes the playoffs, Thomas would be eligible to play. He can be added to the active roster on Jan. 1, 2007, the day after the regular season ends.

Yeah that is pretty dumb but you gotta know what is on the listed. Also who knows if that is even true (I haven't heard any info or anything yet)

Seriously..

WTF

:mad:

:foc:

FUCK THE NFL

:rant:

It's all over the espn ticker.. I got that article from ESPN.com..

I understand that players have to know what is on the list ala Lights Out, but he has a medical condition that has to be treated with a form of steriods.. He needs the medicine to play football.. I mean, wouldn't it be against some human rights act to not allow him to work because of his handicap??

Yeah I thought I re-posted but I guess not, I posted at like the same exact time as you when you posted that article. I think it'll get over turned.

He tested positive in August and has been appealing since then..

I think it's a lost cause..

:(

lol damn

I dunno, maybe they are just trying to cover their backs or something? Kinda having a hard time justifying this though. I guess what is on the list is on the list no matter what?

Jeff Garcia was amzing last night. It was a good game to.

HOLIS THOMAS IS A ROIDER Thats 4 wins off the books right there. Sorry Saints.

If I was Hollis Thomas, I'd take my asthma meds and then pop in a bunch of roids and make myself a beast. "Oh that? No, that's my asthma medication. Yeah, all of it's from my medication. :shifty: "

I'd pick Addai over Marhoney, but whatever.

Pretty stupid that we'd pick Colston first and not get Bush considering in real life, that we got both Colston and Bush..

Coltson is a fluke.

JUST LIKE TOM BRADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hate on, hater..

...They are re-drafting the first round on how the season has turned out?

To be fair, people take steroids because they're not good enough to excel in the NFL, so if you can't do it, you can't do it.

If you need steroids to breathe, maybe you shouldn't be doing a job where oxygen and pulmonary function are VERY IMPORTANT.

Take for instance that little dude without legs who played football and was all over the news, and went to the Browns game this week? He loves football, and he's okay at it -- the only problem is, HE HAS NO LEGS.

Can we give him bionic legs? He could run a 1.8 40 with robolegs... but he needs fake legs to play NFL football. So why not?

It's harsh but it's true... if you're not able, you're not able.

PS: Devin Hester? Fuck that shit. We can return kicks. We've had a PR TD against the Pats, and had at least one TD KR called back on penalties...

That article in general was retarded. Preseason, WR was not a need position for the Saints, so taking a stud at #2, while Colston is The Man, he's also on the Saints, I believe Devery Henderson's having a pretty good season too. Saints probably would have picked someone on D I'd imagine?

And Bush to the Raiders*? With QBs on the board? WTF.

But Hollis Thomas CAN do it. And he's been doing it for 10 years.

Exactly..

He has asthma and needs medicine to treat it.. I mean, he weight 340lbs and peolly bencjes over that.. It's not like he's trying to get bigger..

Aren't the steroids used for asthma completely different from the anabolic ones? I'm sure there's more to the story than that.

Well not saying I agree with this dude getting suspended but "I mean, he weighs 340 pounds and can bench a lot" is irrevelant, plenty of people like that still take 'roids.

On Steroids... and already has a strike against him in the substance abuse program.

I don't know, I took steroids for moderate asthma when I was younger for a while, so I think it's a standard thing to do. However, there are different types of steroids, and usually the ones used for that kind of thing are not the same as the ones that turn you into Scott Steiner. There just has to be more to the story than that.

Of course there is:

"ASTHMA MEDS!" = "COUGH SYRUP!!!!"

A cover-up is a cover-up.

I highly doubt Hollis Thomas is the only player in the NFL with Asthma.

And you don't have to be Brock Lesnar to be on roids. Rafael Palmiero ffs.

I personally stuck Hollis Thomas with a roid needle.

:foc: :foc: :foc: :foc:

I'm pretty sure theirs other affective asthma medicine that does not have steroids in them.

The agent for Saints defensive tackle Hollis Thomas has forwarded to us the text of the letter submitted to the NFL in October 2006 by the Saints' team physician, Dr. John Amoss.

Wrote Dr. Amoss: "I am the team physician of New Orleans Saints and this letter is to document that Hollis Thomas has severe asthma and requires high dose inhaled steroids, a long acting beta agonist and a short acting beta agonist to control [his] asthma. At the time of his drug test in August 2006, Hollis was taking Advair 500/50 twice daily along with singular 10 mg daily and albuterol inhaler four times daily. Hollis continues to be on this same drug regimen to control [his] asthma. Advair contains both the steroid fluticasone and the long acting beta agonist salmeterol. Hollis' urine drug test in August of 2006 was positive for clenbuterol which is a beta agonist. At the time of the test, Hollis was taking two beta agonist to control his asthma (albuterol and salmeterol) and the possibility of a false positive test in this case would appear to be highly plausible."

I don't know about that, they just find a trace of the steriod in your blood they are going to assume it is a steriod for performance enhancement. Steriods used in medcines etc can contain the same the chemicals as the type of steriods body builders use.

I mean, I've heard stories of people failing drug tests because of poppy seeds or some shit like that, so it is kind of the same idea.

They tested the poppy seed bagel/failed drug test thing on Mythbusters and you can fail because of it..

He was on Sirius NFL Radio yesterday and said it was because of the medicine.. He failed it in August, during preseason, and has been appealing it since.. The NFL are doing a "zero tolerence" policy against the banned substances, so they didn't drop the charge.. It's a black and white thing, which, as this case shows, should be modified..

It's really bullshit to lose one of our best defensive players because of this.. Specially, when we are pushing to make it to the playoffs..

:mad:

You should volunteer to play DT.

It can be Rudy meets Invincible meets The Replacements meets Beerman Lewis.

Hilarity will ensue. And when the Saints play the Giants or Packers you can be like "WHO DAT remember when I met you on the set of your commercial?!?!"

After you sack the QB.

I am too short..

:(

If I was taller I would've prolly gone on to play college ball..

The NFL is saying it wasn't asthma medicine, but won't say what it was.. I think they are covering their asses because everyone knows they look like dicks..

lol like nobody at the Steelers game right now, looks really weird.

watching this game on my computer cause i dont have nfl network :cool:

Well, they are playing the Browns..

Chartrick Darby, 5'9" DT.

Cato June Pro Bowl LB, 209 lbs

Robert Mathis, isn't he 240 or something? Bob Sanders, 5'8"

ROFL Elvis Dumerville, people are acting surprised that he's successful... 230 DE, an absolute monster in college, still drops to like the 5th round because he's small?

Are the people in the NFL still so daft to think size is all that matters? Fuck.

Unless you're Marcus McNeill... 6'9" and every inch of it is a monster.

Derek Anderson is the next Tom Brady

I remember in like NCAA Football 2004 probably I played as Oregon State (with Derek Anderson and Steven Jackson) and I won the National Championship in dynasty mode. Video games are the true indicator of talent