In case you’ve had your head under a fucking rock for the last two days, you’ve probably heard the unfortunate news about #TheGuy Taylor Lewan getting smacked with a four-game suspension for failing a drug test.
The substance in question here is ostarine, which isn’t regulated or anything anywhere. I never once believed an athlete about a substance just “sneaking in” to their supplements unknowingly. That was until I read a bit on this ostarine shit. Call me naive, but it definitely seems like something that could totally slip into something else unbeknownst to the consumer.
Lewan’s responsible for this regardless, though, and he’s definitely owned it. You can call him careless if you want – I won’t jump down your throat about it. But, I don’t think it’s fair at all to call him a cheater as a lot of guys are doing right now.
But, whether you think he’s a cheater or not, that’s on you. This feels like one of those situations in which people are going to think what they think and there’s not a damn thing you can do to change their minds.
I’ll tell you how I feel – it’s dumb. It’s dumb that this slipped by Lewan to begin with. It’s dumb that he’s getting suspended for four games when RAY RICE GOT TWO FUCKING GAMES. No matter how you slice it, it’s bad – for a couple of reasons unrelated to Lewan’s guilt/innocence at all…
The NFL Sucks
First, in a broad sense, it means the NFL has really set their players up for failure. It’s entirely plausible for guys to take stuff that was approved by the NFL and end up failing a drug test because something slipped into the supplement unknowingly.
We’ve seen guys punished and suspended in seemingly arbitrary ways. There doesn’t seem to be a set protocol for anything, but now you have a situation in which the NFL is telling guys, “hey do it this way, but if it goes wrong, it’s still on you!” I know you want the players to be held responsible for their actions, and that’s fine. But, this one’s tricky. Why don’t you communicate a little more clearly and regulate this your goddamn selves instead of putting it on the backs of the people who built your entire empire?
I mean, it just seems like if you want something done a certain way, you should see to it that it’s done that way. Why can’t the NFL gather, test, and distribute the supplements? That way, if a guy fails a drug test, you have empirical evidence showing, “hey, this wasn’t in what we gave you.” Then, you avoid this sort of situation altogether.
Hell, what do I know, though? I’m just a guy who works a shitty day job to pay the bills and then throws in his two cents on the Titans when he’s home. You pay really smart people to figure this shit out.
There’s also apart of me that just says to hell with it. Make everything fair game – ban nothing. If guys want to destroy their bodies, so be it. It ain’t that big of a deal, y’know?
The Titans o-line
Under a more narrow scope, it puts Jon Robinson and Mike Vrabel in a tough position. Training camp is just starting and they’re now faced with the decision of what to do with that left tackle spot. Do you let Lewan get his reps in? Or, do you go ahead and figure out what your line is going to look like without him and let that unit work together?
Lewan’s a veteran. I’d say let him work out with the team and get some reps in. But, this could be a special season in Nashville. The Titans need to be ready for those first four games without him. You could slide Rodger Saffold over to left tackle – he played there a bit at the beginning of his career. Dennis Kelly is reliable wherever you put him on the offensive line. Hell, I’ve even read people mention moving Jack Conklin to left tackle and starting Kelly at right tackle.
They have options – including going out and getting a veteran free agent to serve as a stopgap. But, it’s a shitty situation all around. Folks, this is a prime example of how the repercussions of your actions can have widespread consequences, whether it’s fair or not.
This is going to be interesting to see play out – I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this costs the Titans a couple of games, though. The way the AFC South is shaping up, a couple of games could be the difference in winning the division and finishing last in it.
And, just in case I wasn’t clear, I’m on Lewan’s side.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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