A report in the St. Paul Pioneer Press says that Onterrio Smith, Minnesota's rushing leader last season, has failed a drug test and will be suspended for this year:
Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith has been informed by the NFL that he faces a yearlong suspension for a third violation of the league's substance-abuse policy.
A person familiar with the situation confirmed that action Thursday, hours after Vikings head coach Mike Tice announced that Smith would be excused from the remainder of the team's offseason program.
The same person told the Pioneer Press that Smith's latest violation has nothing to do with an incident at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on April 21, when the third-year running back was stopped with a device — "The Original Whizzinator" — designed to circumvent drug tests.
The specific nature of Smith's violation could not be confirmed. ESPN.com, citing two unidentified Vikings employees, reported that he had missed a league-administered drug test, which under NFL policy is equivalent to a positive test.
This is probably Smith's final chance blown. Regardless of what I think about the logic of the league's anti-drug stance, Smith has given up on an NFL career through either stupidity or, er, well, just stupidity, I guess.
If Smith had managed to stay clean, play well for the Vikings this season, and otherwise be a model player, he'd have been looking at a nice multi-million dollar contract for next year. Now, he'll be lucky to be signed to the roster at all.
Posted by Nicholas at May 20, 2005 11:07 AM
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