Brian Cushing Releases Statement On Failed Substance Test

by Tim on May 9, 2010 12:56 PM CDT in News

"I was substance-tested randomly by the NFL during the 2009 season. The results of those tests indicated the presence of a non-steroidal banned substance. The League acted to suspend me based on those results, which I challenged in my appeal of the suspension. I believe we presented compelling evidence during the appeal process to challenge the test results, and I disagree with and am disappointed by the suspension. Bound by the decision of the League, I regret the situation it presents to the Texans' organization, my teammates, and our fans. My dedication to a championship season in 2010 continues undeterred."

So...some unknown non-steroidal substance (as Jay Glazer said) triggered the test, and Cushing's "compelling evidence" wasn't enough to persuade the League. We'll never know the whole story, but it sure would be interesting to know what the substance was and why Cushing's people thought they had enough to challenge the validity of the results.

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As you stated

and I paraphrase, that statement doesn’t tell the whole story.

I suppose if all of the stars, moons and planets align it could be possible, but what are the chances of that?

by Rip Jersey on May 9, 2010 1:12 PM CDT reply actions

What banned substance could it be?

Here is the NFL’s banned substance policy and a list of those substances. I believe it is current because it includes amphetamines which were recently added to the list.

To paraphrase that list, it includes:

Anabolic agents – anabolic/androgenic steroids; hormones; beta-2-agonists; anit-estrogenic agents

Masking agents – diuretics; epitestosterone; probenecid

Certain stimulants – amphetamines (greenies, speed), ephedrine, pseudoephidrine, and so on…

I suppose if all of the stars, moons and planets align it could be possible, but what are the chances of that?

by Rip Jersey on May 9, 2010 1:29 PM CDT reply actions

It would be funny, sad, but funny, if he got suspended for taking some fuckin’ Sudafed. The pharmacy version is pseudoephedrine, isn’t it?

by OremLK on May 9, 2010 5:35 PM CDT up reply actions

Possible

Pseudoephedrine is abused by athletes (it is a mild upper), but it is eliminated from the body pretty quickly so it is difficult to detect. But is the sample was taken game day, it is entirely possible.

by kozanack on May 9, 2010 8:01 PM CDT up reply actions

Updated

Here’s the 2009 version. Contains a few more banned chemicals:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/25573712/2009-steroid-policy

On the whole, it is a good policy (e.g., uses accredited labs, split samples, etc.)

by kozanack on May 9, 2010 8:22 PM CDT up reply actions

No Furosemide?

Well, so much for my dream of being the first 48-year-old rookie in the NFL.

by LedTexan on May 9, 2010 1:36 PM CDT reply actions

I'm going to go ahead and guess it was a masking agent

but we’ll see. This is basically the same thing ever guy who gets caught says. They always say they have a case and they are surprised they got suspended.

Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.

by nolander on May 9, 2010 1:56 PM CDT reply actions

I'm going to sit here and guess it was Sudafed

Because the pollen effed up his sinuses.

by WhiskeyR on May 9, 2010 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm not sure...

I really care what Cushing took, I just want him to stop…getting caught, and come back with a vengeance when he does play. I like the fact that the Texans will once again get some offseason news, makes me feel like we are grown up finally.

GO TEXANS!!!!

Our time will come...

by Texanmaniac on May 9, 2010 2:36 PM CDT reply actions

I doubt it’s very grown up to have a player suspended for substance abuse (which for now, I’ll trust Cush and what he states), and I actually appreciated how our team was able to stay out of the news. It meant that stuff like this didn’t happen.

by J-Copp on May 9, 2010 5:29 PM CDT up reply actions

i want to believe Cush

but theres been speculation surrounding him forever

but w/e i still back him 100%

by HB23 on May 9, 2010 4:57 PM CDT reply actions

4 games

that’s all it’ll take to pass this turd of a situation and move on towards the playoffs.

On the bright side, one of them is against the Oakland Raiders…and another is against a less talented version of ourselves (Redskins) so if anything we’ll know how to prepare (yes, I know it works both ways).

I just want the damn football season to start already..

by leacheatsbabies on May 9, 2010 5:30 PM CDT reply actions

Cushing testing positive

Are you kidding me. Everyone at USC knew his nickname as “Pin Cushing”. He was well known for it under Carrol before he was drafted. Why is everyone shocked? He tested positive coming into camp. The Texans were fully aware of this when evaluating him. They had hoped he could quit or the masking drugs and the new strains were undetectable.

Go back and track him from the christain school, to USC and then to the combine. Pay close attention to his neck, trunk and head. It all started when he missed most of his season at USC. The organization chose to draft him anyway. This is old news.

by degojoe on May 9, 2010 5:32 PM CDT reply actions

true, but I don't blame the organization for taking the Defensive ROY

They knew better than anyone that Cushing had been linked to PEDs before he went pro. They had all the information and weighed the options and took a calculated risk. The pick turned our defense into a strength, brought attitude and leadership and brought another DROY back to Houston. They’re now experiencing the negative side of taking that risk which definately sucks ass but lets keep it in perspective…trade 4 games for the possibility of having one of the better SLBs to ever play the game..an OK deal to me.

by leacheatsbabies on May 9, 2010 5:53 PM CDT up reply actions

doubtful he was known as "Pin Cushing"

and doubtful he was injecting steroids or anything else. He would have been caught long ago. There are legal supplements available over the counter that boost testosterone. My guess is that he was taking one or more of these supplements, and never ran afoul of any testing administered in college. The NFL has different rules and testing regimens, and that probably tripped him up.

by kozanack on May 9, 2010 7:47 PM CDT up reply actions

Looking over the 2009 PED policy...

there are a lot of over the counter substances that are very functional hormonal mass gainers (prohormones) and some steroids ( Superdrol, chemical name methyldrostanolone, and Epistane, chemical name Methylepitiostanol, along with quite a few others ) that do not appear on this list… Looking at the banned substances list, one could easily design short term growth cycles or even longer term “maintenance” cycles with all of the proper estrogen blockers/health maintenance that would never appear on a test. It blocks lots of the major injectables, but a lot of the orals are simply disregarded.

Many people will disregard anything that doesn’t come in a needle as not a real steroid, but that would be unwise. I have seen superdrol lead to explosive gains (20+ lbs, ~15 lean muscle) on as short as a 3 week 10/20/20mg cycle, along with hair loss, gynocomastia, testicular atrophy, complete loss of sex drive for months, lipid imbalance, mood swings, and other fun things. Available at supplement shops, no a back alley bro hustling roids. All easily available to any trainer in the know who is willing to put his clients long term health at risk in exchange for great short term games.

The strong do what they have to do; the weak accept what they have to accept

by Riott on May 9, 2010 9:24 PM CDT reply actions

You had me at:

testicular atrophy

Ick.

For any of y’all going to UT, I strongly recommend taking one of Terry Todd’s classes. The man knows physiology, and he’s got a very interesting back story.

We had a couple people come in and talk about how their testicles shrank to the size of raisins.

A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com

by bigfatdrunk on May 9, 2010 9:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Their testicles shrank to the size of raisins?

Why, did they get married? (I keed)

by kozanack on May 9, 2010 10:02 PM CDT up reply actions

Yep

Must’ve married my wife, too.

A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com

by bigfatdrunk on May 9, 2010 10:05 PM CDT up reply actions

BFD your testicles aren't the size of raisins

your wife just has them on her key-chain she showed me…

"Your mother is a hamster and your father smells of elderberries! Now Go away or I shall taunt you a second time!"
Go Texans!

by Taco Joe on May 10, 2010 2:14 AM CDT up reply actions

I even took a picture..

"Your mother is a hamster and your father smells of elderberries! Now Go away or I shall taunt you a second time!"
Go Texans!

by Taco Joe on May 10, 2010 2:16 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

The blue ones are mine!

Why does BFD’s wife have my balls on a keychain? I demand answers!

by Bryan72076 on May 10, 2010 9:08 AM CDT up reply actions

Don't worry, Bryan

Yours aren’t being used, either.

A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com

by bigfatdrunk on May 10, 2010 9:18 AM CDT up reply actions

Thread hi-jack

I’m sure many need a good laugh.

In another Cushing thread there was a nice Colts fan who was talking back and forth with some of us…..they made mention of some issues with our best friend BBS. Apparently, this hasn’t been a good off-season for BBS, and it culminated in a fanpost calling him out and then a response from BBS.

I don’t encourage flaming or getting involved (I strongly discourage it), but it’s still funny to read BBS’s response to his haters…

Why People Hate BBS as written by BBS

Want a taste?

•Some of my colleagues hate me because when they’ve written articles insulting the Colts, Peyton Manning, or anything related, I’ve bashed them for being the ignorant sacks of pigshit that they are.

Of course, dude’s never wrong….check it out if you wish, I found his article amusing. The scoreboard of recs is 21 on the anti-BBS post and 5 on the pro-one.

"Lord, beer me strength."

by TexansDC on May 9, 2010 11:13 PM CDT reply actions 3 recs

lol nolander and i repylied to the fanpost

the same thing here was mine…

HERE COMES…

"Your mother is a hamster and your father smells of elderberries! Now Go away or I shall taunt you a second time!"
Go Texans!

by Taco Joe on May 10, 2010 2:13 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Fucking proofread BBS...Jesus! (or better yet, have someone else do it)

I made the mistake of clicking over to that idiot’s post at Stampede whatever.

“What is not fun is when I have write articles bashing Bill Polian”

“Work has me sit in on those before-mentioned meetings, listing to people tell me how much of a dick Bill Polian was to them, or how the Colts have an awful reputation in league and media circles.

“What many people do not know if that we fans are, quite effectively, sheltered from much of the big business aspects of pro football.”

“In some case, an annoying, “necessary evil.”"

“This is a scout reporting report on Thomas from a fan website”

I guarantee I missed some other stuff, but honestly, I don’t know if I can make it through the rest of BBS’s post. It might be worse than pancakes, and that’s saying something.

by Barrett on May 10, 2010 9:32 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs