Instead of arriving in Englewood for the Denver Broncos training camp to play, punter Todd Sauerbrun addressed the media about his four-game suspension brought on by ephedra use, a banned substance in the NFL.
"I feel really sick about this," he said.
He should.
After facing problems with the Carolina Panthers, including allegations of involvement in a steroid scandal, Sauerbrun should have never played roulette with the random drug testing policy. Instead, he blamed his positive ephedra result on bad timing.
Ephedra, a substance commonly used for weight loss, remains in the body for 36 hours after ingestion — a fact which Sauerbrun admitted knowledge of. He claimed he took a performance-enhancer that contained ephedra to energize his workout one morning. The next day, he was called in for a drug test.
The real question is whether this really was the one and only time that Sauerbrun took the drug, or if it was just the first time he had been caught. If the latter is true, it was only a matter of time. Better that it happened now than in the regular season.
What's so annoying about this matter is that it was unnecessary. In Carolina, Sauerbrun was fined several times for being what the team considered overweight. This may have caused Sauerbrun to be overly watchful of the number he saw on the scale — enough to take a banned substance for the sake of losing a few pounds. But in Denver, Sauerbrun's weight was never an issue.
"I don't care if he's 30 pounds over(weight)," head coach Mike Shanahan said of Sauerbrun. "All you've got to do is punt the ball and kick it in the end zone."
Sauerbrun apologized publicly to Shanahan and his teammates on July 27, Denver's opening day of training camp. He claims he will never make the mistake again.
If history is any indication, however, that may not be the case. Sauerbrun's reputation is already tarnished with his alleged involvement in the steroids scandal. Regardless of the truthfulness of those allegations (or not), he also has a DUI arrest in his name, suggesting that he has made foolish mistakes before.
Even though Sauerbrun did apologize for the incident, his apology was weak and laced with complaints that his punishment was too harsh.
"It's not steroids," Sauerbrun repeatedly said. "[All ephedra] does is wake you up and get you ready for your workout. I just wanted to be in the best shape I could when I got here, and that's what they're getting me for."
If he were alive, perhaps Korey Stringer could lecture Sauerbrun on the dangers of ephedra, and why he should take his punishment more seriously. Stringer collapsed during a Minnesota Vikings training camp practice in 2001 and later died. His death was later linked to taking ephedra.
Is Sauerbrun really worth another chance? How many media headaches is Mike Shanahan willing to suffer for him?
The same applies for Ashley Lelie, who raised eyebrows when he didn't report for minicamp on July 7. In hopes of forcing a trade, Lelie is intentionally ditching training camp, as well. If Lelie is lucky, a struggling team will grant him his wish and sign him as the team's top starter, which prompted him into wanting a trade in the first place. Unfortunately for Lelie, no one's knocking at his door. The only sure thing for him so far is the $14,000 daily fine he is collecting for missing camp.
The Broncos don't need Lelie and Sauerbrun — or their drama — on their roster.
The Broncos signed punter Micah Knorr on July 27 in lieu of Sauerbrun's absence. Knorr is a Broncos veteran who played for the team from 2002-2004 in 36 games. Though Knorr's 33.5-yard punting average isn't as strong as Sauerbrun's 44-yard average, Knorr is still an experienced player who will quickly re-adapt into the Broncos system. He has ranked as high as 11th in punting average and set a record for the statistic as a rookie in 2000. Although it isn't likely, keeping Knorr on the roster after Sauerbrun's expected return on Oct. 9 should not be considered out of the question. The only headlines with Knorr's name on them will report his doings on the field, not off — a major plus, all things considered.
As for Lelie, it's in everybody's best interest if he leaves Denver, whether it's now or a year from now. No matter what, he won't have the chance to be the Broncos' top WR — that spot is been ably held by Rod Smith, who has shown no desire to leave Denver in his 12 seasons. If Lelie truly is good enough to be a No. 1 receiver, another team will take a chance on him — but not this season. Lelie must prove himself, and he hasn't done that yet. That's why no other team is offering him a contract. If and when Lelie proves himself worthy of his wishes, Javon Walker will have no problem filling Lelie's role alongside Smith in Denver.
August 1, 2006
Billy:
It was widely reported that while it is true that ephedra was found in Korey Stringer’s locker, the autopsy confirmed that there was NO ephedra in his system when he died.
August 6, 2006
Charlynn:
The fact that he didn’t have ephedra in his system at the time of his death does not mean that ephedra didn’t contribute to his collapse. The same thing happened with singer Karen Carpenter, who used ipecac, a syrup that induces vomiting. She used the syrup throughout the course of her eating disorder, and although she had made a valiant effort at making herself healthy in her last year of life and had no ipecac in her system at the time of her death, her use of the syrup was still listed as a cause of her heart failure. Her body had simply gone through too much and gave out.