“Now you see it, now you don’t,” this was the line uttered by Lovie Smith, head coach of Chicago Bears, upon knowing the four games suspension of Terrance Metcalf after a diuretic was found out in his urine during a casual drug test in preseason. Thirty-year-old Metcalf serves as the starting guard of Chicago Bears and was immediately sanctioned by the NFL with a suspension without pay after violating the steroid policy according to the report released by the Star Tribune.

The report explained that a diuretic is known to work in increasing the production of urine; this is why it is usually used by those athletes who use steroids—to purposely dilute the urine. Simply, diuretic works to hide the use of steroid. Hence, this drug is one of the banned substances for athletes in the NFL. Because of this, Metcalf was still sanctioned for violating the steroid policy of the league even though he did not really get a positive result in steroid test.

However, the report of the Chicagoist featured the defense of Metcalf concerning the issue he is facing. He bluntly stated that he was never involved in steroid use and that he is never sure as to how a diuretic came in to his system.

On the other hand, the Chicagoist report also qouted the statement of Smith about the violation that was committed by Metcalf. “When you make a mistake like that, there are consequences that go with it,“ he said. “It’s something that happens. Besides, he is not the first guy in the league to get suspended for this reason and that’s about as much time as we can spend on it. The league says he is suspended for four games. So, that’s what we will go with,” he added. Smith simply reiterated the consequences that must be faced by Terrance Metcalf by involving himself to what is prohibited. So for now, Bears will be playing without Metcalf for the coming four games.

So far, Metcalf appeared in almost every game this season. And even though he lost his preliminary job in training camp, he was still able to witness and join the excitement of the action that occurred throughout the six games played by Bears in this season. It was only a year ago when Metcalf started to play as left guard for five games although he was usually benched during such time when his hand was endured. Meantime, Chris Williams will temporarily take over his place on the team while he is unable to play.
Anyhow, Bears disclaimed the statement of Ken Green, English footballer, who said that the suspension of Metcalf indicates a loss for the Bears. According to the report released by the Chicagoist, the team confirmed that their offensive line is not weak; in fact, the team played a lot better compared to others so far this season.

For now, Metcalf is presently signed in non-guaranteed contracts that will last until 2011. And when Smith was asked whether they would still accept Metcalf after the first violation he committed, he directly stated that “I don’t see why he would not be accepted. It is a four game suspension, and that’s how we are looking at it. Hopefully, we can get it back.” On the other hand, the agent of Metcalf, Jeffrey Nalley did not make a return call immediately when he was also asked to comment on the same question.

The Chicagoist report confirmed that Metcalf is expected to return on November 17, a day after the game of Chicago Bears against the Green Bay Packers.

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