J. Taylor Says Steroid Suspension Should Eliminate Merriman from Defensive Player of the Year Consideration
Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor says that San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman shouldn't be eligible to be the NFL's defensive player of the year because Merriman was suspended for four games this season for violating the league's steroids policy.
"You really shouldn't be able to fail a test like that and play in this league, to begin with," Taylor said in a conference call Wednesday with reporters in Indianapolis as the Dolphins prepare to play the Colts this weekend. "To make the Pro Bowl and all the other awards, I think you're walking a fine line of sending the wrong message."
Taylor, Merriman and Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher are among the favorites for the award.
Merriman has said that his positive test stemmed from unwittingly ingesting a banned substance in a supplement he was taking.
By Mark Maske |
December 28, 2006; 10:17 AM ET
| Category:
Chargers
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Dolphins
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Posted by: Anonymous | December 28, 2006 10:43 AM
Nice SLANTED headline there, "Taylor Takes Shot At Merriman"...he's not taking shots at LIGHTS OUT, he's BLASTING the Pro Bowl voting process...but of course, without that HEADLINE nobody would bother to read it in the first place.
Posted by: Izzy Stradlin | December 28, 2006 11:13 AM
why suspend him if he can still be player of the year . No cost to cheating
Posted by: cheating | December 28, 2006 11:18 AM
why suspend him if he can still be player of the year . No cost to cheating
Posted by: cheating | December 28, 2006 11:19 AM
It's nearly sacrilege for a Bills fan to agree w/ a Dolphin on anything, but I gotta go with Jason Taylor on this one.
If I was voting, I couldn't vote for him THIS YEAR.
After that, you've got to let the guy get over it.
Posted by: Bills Fan | December 28, 2006 11:27 AM
Assuming the stuff is no longer in his system, Merriman is still putting up monster numbers. I would never take steriods but I would like to see some conclusive evidence on what they really produce. It appears some of these athletes from the various fields get suspended for things in common cold medicine. I will never forget Ben johnson smoking Carl lewis and christie. That guy was on a different planet that day. What was he on, versus these other things that supposedly work to repair and buildup muscle?
Posted by: RobGreg | December 28, 2006 11:27 AM
Merriman has served his time, done his duty as a player and excelled all the same. As stated before, the NFLPA has determined these penalties and had not decided to force a player to be excluded from Awards as part of the deal.
My initial response was to agree with Taylor, but after thinking on it I think this is a good case of sending a message about repentance and reformity.
Posted by: Matthew 7:1 | December 28, 2006 12:10 PM
It would be ridiculous to reward him based on his chemically enhanced stats. Get real.
Posted by: deadbird | December 28, 2006 12:52 PM
Merriman has been tested 11 times this year. The first 4 tests were negative. Test 5 was positive and he served a 4 game suspension as per league/player assoc. rules. He has been tested 6 times since his suspension and they were all negative.
You can't say all of his stats are invalid because of the limited time he had steroids in his system. Only those stats in between tests 4 and 5.
Otherwise, look at yourself in the mirror:
If you have ever been under the influence of alcohol and driven a vehicle then, by your once-guilty-always-guilty mindset, you are now a drunk driver for life and should never be allowed to have a drivers license for the rest of your life.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 28, 2006 2:39 PM
reformity?
Posted by: DYPHE? | December 28, 2006 3:16 PM
Brian Urlacher is over hyped and over rated. No way is he Defensive Player of the Year. What a joke.
Posted by: Adalius Thomas | December 28, 2006 3:40 PM
How can a league condone eligibility for "Player of the Year" for a guy who got caught on steroids? The fact that he got to play for 4 weeks (with 'roid muscle) while the case was "appealed" is bad enough. Merriman benefitted from the advantage of the drugs to obtain the stats that put him in the PotY category. Ricky Williams smokes weed and gets banned for a year. Merriman takes drugs that IMPROVE his on field performance, and gets 4 games AND 6 votes for Defensive Player of the Year. You Americans sure do love your sports hypocrisy.
Posted by: Ian Shack | January 5, 2007 2:44 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Jason Taylor is treading on thin ice with this one. The NFL Players Association (of which he is a member) established the penalties for all infractions in conjunction with the NFL owners. Now he thinks that additional penalties should be applied to Merriman after he has served the penalty agreed upon by the owners and NFL Players Association.
Sounds like he is getting a little nervous that a guy is going to have a better year and stats playing 12 games than he is going to have playing 16 games.