NEW YORK – It’s amazing how a small bottle of over-the-counter pills can stir so much controversy.

Roger Goodell and the NFL suspended six players for taking Bumetanide, a diuretic used for weight-loss.

Bumetanide can be used to mask steroid use and there lies the reason it is on the banned substance list for the league and why these players were sent packing for the remainder of the regular season.

Normally failing drug tests are a cut and dry situation. A player tries to cheat, gets the random call, fails a test and has no argument.

This case is different.

The suspended players who failed their test because of consuming StarCaps pills may be victims of illegal manufacturing by the company making the pills. Starcaps list of ingredients were natural and included garlic, papaya and corn spices but did not include Bumetanide.

Bumetanide is an FDA regulated drug so it is illegal to dispense it without a prescription. If that is the case and the company added it without the player’s knowledge, spiked their product in other words, these players may be classified more as victims than cheaters.

Regardless, the NFL has good justification for the suspensions backed by a letter they sent out to the players last year.

That letter contained the following warning, “There is a list of stimulants and diuretics banned by the NFL in the Policy for Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances.

However, remember that the contents of supplements may not match what is listed on the label of the bottle. If you test positive for a banned stimulant or diuretic or water pill, this constitutes a positive test. I urge you not to take products to that claim to “burn fat”, “lower weight” or other similar claims”.

The letter went on to say, “Remember that as NFL players you are responsible for whatever is in your body”.

In December 2007, the National Center for Biotechnology Information released test results taken after one Starcaps pill was taken and those results confirmed that Starcaps contained Bumetanide. See the full report here.

This scenario is far from over with all the legal paperwork that has been filed concerning the case.

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