Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman won an appeal after failing a drug test last season, but many people feel that it did not prove his innocence. Sherman insisted that he was a victim of errors during the collection process and had his four-game suspension overturned. Prior to that, there was quite a bit of speculation that he had taken Adderall.
The NFL’s performance-enhancing drug testing policy makes it so that the public only knows when a player tests positive for a banned substance — not which substance they tested positive for. As a result, more and more players who fail tests are saying it was the result of Adderall use, which sounds better than using something like steroids. According to Sherman, half the players in the NFL should be failing their drug tests.
“About half the league takes it [Adderall] and the league has to allow it,” Sherman told The Vancouver Sun earlier this week. “The league made a mistake in my case. Obviously, I didn’t do anything, but you have to go through a process to prove you didn’t do anything. There are still naysayers out there who don’t believe me. But I accept it. If everybody loves you, it probably means you’re not much of a player.”
Since Sherman insisted he was clean and his failed test was a result of a testing error, that must mean he isn’t part of that 50%. Whether or not you wish to believe that is a matter of opinion, but the NFL insists Sherman’s comments are completely off-base.
“The comments are ill-informed and inaccurate,” an NFL rep reportedly told TMZ on Wednesday. “Adderall is easily detected under current testing and will result in a suspension absent an approved therapeutic use exemption. … If his statement were true, we would be seeing many more positive tests and suspensions.”
“More importantly, his comments are irresponsible, as they ignore the serious medical risks and documented public health crisis associated with the improper use of Adderall and similar drugs.”
If Sherman is right, the NFL has a major issue with detecting Adderall. If he’s simply fabricating the story, that would make it even harder to believe that he truly never used the drug himself.
