The NFL’s last resort failed when a federal judge ruled that the Starcaps case of Minnesota Vikings Pat and Kevin Williams should be heard at a state court. In a 3 page order issued by U.S. Judge Paul Magnuson, the case must be heard at the District Court of Hennepin. The NFL’s action seemed calculated only to avoid trial on the merits said in the decision. The trial is scheduled on Monday and will be presided by Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson.

The case, which is already more than a year, became a big issue in the league because of the strict liability policy of the NFL. However, the Williamses argued in court that the league failed to inform players about the tainted supplement Starcap. There were reports that the league already knows that the Starcaps contain a banned substance, bumetanide. It is a diuretic which can mask the use of steroids. As a weight loss supplement, it can be purchased over-the-counter. They also contend that under the Minnesota laws, employees should be given an opportunity to explain the innocent use of an otherwise banned product and that the NFL didn’t allow them to explain their use of StarCaps.

According to their lawyer, Peter Ginsberg, the league has erratically managed the policy and kept obviously important information from the players. Ginsberg criticized how the NFL implemented its policy but still believes that there will be some changes after the trial. “We believe strongly that the NFL’s steroid policy has the potential of being the best organized sports (anti-doping) program. Unfortunately, the NFL has manipulated and mismanaged that policy, so our hope is the policy, after this trial, will be stronger and better,” said Ginsberg.

In a statement given by NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, he referred to the lawsuit as a state law end-around that can undermine all anti-doping policies in sports. “Most of the claims in the state law case have already been dismissed. But for an anti-doping policy to be effective on (a) national basis for leagues that have teams in many states, there must be uniform standards that cannot be cherry-picked state-by-state based on different state laws,” said Aiello.

The trial on Monday will summon top league officials, labor representatives and representatives from the Vikings. Some of the personalities who will be testifying in court are NFLPA player development director Stacy Robinson, Commissioner Roger Goodell and Vikings coach Brad Childress.

Other labor law experts believe that the Starcaps case will affect several sports organization in implementing their anti-doping policy. According to Professor Angela Cornell of Cornell Law School, the lawsuit could make it more difficult for the NFL and other leagues to uniformly enforce their drug policies. However, the case could help clarify issues on privacy rights. “Certainly we all want to have uniform drug policies in major league sports, because that would be helpful. But that doesn’t mean that we want to deprive states of their ability to pass threshold protection for employees,” she said.

Aside from the dispute on the anti-doping policy of the league, the players are also asking for moral damages and lost economic opportunities. In a statement given to the AP, Ginsberg said, “As a result of the way the NFL has handled its testing and its responsibility to keep confidential certain matters, Kevin and Pat’s reputation has been tainted. They have been lumped with steroid users, people who have tried to mask steroid use.”

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