May 11 2010
Re-Vote for NFL Defensive Rookie of The Year Award Sought Due to Steroid Suspension of Cushing
A lot of people were surprised when the NFL announced that the 2009 Defensive Rookie of the Year awardee Brian Cushing was suspended for 4 games due to a failed test for steroid. Based on news reports, the Houston Texans linebacker’s positive steroid test was in September last year but the sanction will be imposed in the 2010 Season. This means that he will not be able to play for the first 4 games of the season and will be banned in the ProBowl after the season. Although Cushing can still practice with the team and play in the preseason.
Players found using banned substances are not uncommon in the league. However, Brian Cushing’s case is something that made other people voice out their concern. This is because of the title that he won in the 2009 as the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Cushing won a landslide victory when he was chosen by 50 sports writers and broadcasters across the country. He received 78 percent of the total votes while his closest rival Buffalo safety Jairus Byrd only got 12 percent.
The initiative to strip him off his award was initiated by Buffalo Bills strong safety Donte Whitner, a teammate of Byrd. The team also supported the calls to remove the title from Cushing as shown in its website. The Defensive Rookie of the Year award will definitely go to Byrd once the AP finally made its decision.
However, the Associated Press will conduct first a re-vote from media members for the title before making the final decision. Other players who are also in the list are Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews and Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo.
Some people also questioned the league in its decision to allow the Houston linebacker play in the 2009 season. According to one sports writer, why is it that it took so long for the league in imposing the sanction to Brian Cushing?
Another writer also observed that several players of the USC Trojans are involved in steroid controversies when they turned into pro. This is also another issue for the college football team’s policies on substance abuse and the values that they inculcate on their athletes. Cushing’s failed steroid test already made his achievements questionable. Cheating just to improve the performance will not give him praises but ruined his reputation.
The steroid issues against Brian Cushing is not new. In April of 2009, a website reported that Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews were found using steroids during an NFL Combine in February of the same year. USC was quick to defend its players saying that they will file a lawsuit if the site will not retract their allegation. The only problem with the site was they were not able to present concrete evidence that will prove their allegation. Their source came from inside the NFL but nobody wants to point a finger to these players. So with the recent confirmation of the league of the positive steroid test of Cushing, we can now say that this player was really taking something even before he turned pro.
[...] you like it or not, Brian Cushing retained his award as the 2009 Defensive Rookie of the Year. The AP was forced to do a re-vote for [...]
[...] The NFL was also criticized on how they handle Cushing’s case. Allowing Cushing to play even if they already have the positive result was not acceptable to some people. The media was also dragged into this controversy when Brian Cushing was voted again as the Defensive Rookie of the Year. [...]