Texans owner: More info needed on suspensions
Houston Texans owner Robert McNair says he'd like more information to be provided to the team when a player has a league suspension pending.
McNair said Monday he knew during the 2009 season that linebacker Brian Cushing had ``an issue'' with the NFL. McNair was given no details by the league of what it concerned.
McNair criticized the suspension and appeal process.
``The club is left completely out of the loop on that,'' McNair said. ``We're not even notified, it's the league and the player and the players' union. All we know is what's been announced at this point in time.''
Cushing is suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2010 season, even though he said he took the substance in September, the first month of the 2009 schedule. He appealed the ban and a final decision was handed down last week.
n to be in because we're the guy that's got the investment in the player. The league doesn't have any money invested in the player, the union doesn't have any money invested in the player, and yet they get the information and we don't.
``So it's a sensitive area because it is sort of like medical information and there's confidentiality and this sort of thing. But I think it's something that needs to be addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement.''
``Brian, what he has said, is he's been taking the same supplements ... for the last 10 or 15 years and he's been checked umpteen times and it hadn't shown up to be any kind of problem,'' McNair said. ``So what happened, I don't know. He doesn't know at this point in time.
``The fact (is) that he didn't think he would get the suspension, but that's the way it is at this point in time and we accept it and we need to move on.''
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