Jerry Jones, owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, said Monday that the team's cornerback Orlando Scandrick has been suspended for taking a performance enhancing drug.
The suspension will put Scandrick out of the first four games of the 2014 season, according to ESPN. One source said he failed a drug test in April, which he tried to fight by issuing an appeal. However, he ended up losing it.
"I would like to apologize to my children, my family, the Jones Family, my coaches, my teammates and my fans," Scandrick said in a statement through his agent, Ron Slavin. "Failing a drug test is far out of my character, and although I never knowingly took a performance-enhancing drug/banned stimulant while on vacation in Mexico, I take full responsibility for what goes in my body, and more importantly, for the embarrassment of a failed drug test."
Scandrick believes someone put something in his drink while on vacation, and said he is issuing the statement to clear his name, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported.
"I hope that my family, my Cowboys football family and all my fans can forgive me for this situation," he added. "I look forward to a successful football season."
Having been the Cowboys' best cornerback since last season, Scandrick's suspension serves as a setback for the team. His accomplishments last season include having 70 tackles, 15 pass breakups and two interceptions.
While not excusing Scandrick for failing the drug test, Slavin said his suspension is the result of the NFL and NFL Players Association being unable to agree on testing for human growth hormones. Since the passing of a new collective bargaining agreement in 2011, testing for these substances has been a major issue, ESPN reported.
"it is my understanding that if the current proposed agreement related to HGH testing would have already been instituted, a very significant percentage of the players receiving 'PED' suspensions since the new CBA took effect would not have been suspended. Instead, these players, under the proposed new policy, would have been subjected to the Substance Abuse Policy and Program," Slavin said. "More than 80 missed games, millions of dollars in fines and bonus payments have been issued because the NFLPA and NFL cannot come to an agreement. The only people who are losing in this standoff are the players and fans."
