McNair to NFL: Overturn Cushing suspension

[WMH]

Interesting......I sure hope ole Bob has his salesman hat on.....

From the Chronic: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/7145062.html

Texans owner Bob McNair is meeting with Roger Goodell on Monday to try to persuade the NFL commissioner to reduce or overturn linebacker Brian Cushing’s four-game suspension.

Cushing was suspended for the first four games this season because he violated the league’s policy against performance enhancing drugs by testing positive for hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), a banned substance that can be used to mask steroids.

A person with knowledge of Cushing’s situation said McNair will present new evidence to Goodell the owner hopes will shorten or eliminate the suspension that is costing the linebacker games against Indianapolis, Washington, Dallas and the New York Giants.

Goodell suspended Cushing. Goodell also rejected Cushing’s appeal in February.

Cushing, who is able to practice during training camp and play in preseason games, denied using hCG when the suspension was announced. He said he didn’t know how the substance got into his body.

Cushing has convinced his owner. McNair said recently that he backs Cushing and believes he’s innocent. McNair has paid for some of Cushing’s recent tests.

Neither McNair or Cushing could be reached Sunday.

Since his positive test last season, Cushing has traveled around the country visiting specialists, including some in Houston, hoping to find a doctor who can prove hCG was produced naturally in his body.

Cushing’s agent, Tom Condon, said during the offseason that the linebacker started seeing doctors during the Texans’ open date in November and that he would continue to undergo tests to try to prove his innocence.

HCG is a hormone that can be produced naturally in men and women, including in the pituitary gland. It’s produced in pregnant women and has been used for weight loss and to stop the aging process.

ProFootballTalk.com showed in the offseason that the standard letter the league sends to players who test positive for hCG warns them that it can be a sign of tumors and that they should get tested.

Cushing was tested for tumors which can cause testicular cancer. Those tests were negative.