Real Blame is on FDA

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As he returned today from suspension, David Vobora said all of the right things, taking responsiblity for taking a banned substance. Utimately, it is his responsibilty what he puts in his body--and he was in violation of NFL policy and thus suspended for four games.

But the story isn't that simple.

Vobora is merely the latest victim of not bad NFL policy, but bad policy by the FDA.

Supplements should be regulated.

When you buy a gallon of skim milk, you expect it to be skim--not whole or 2% but skim. Why?? Because the label says so and the FDA ensures the label tells the truth.

So why do supplement companies play by a different set of rules??

With no regulation by the FDA, supplement companies are on their honor to provide the products with the ingredients as advertised--not with anything extra or less.

Do a quick Google search and see the amount of lawsuits for false claims against various manufacturers. Many of those suits are regarding diet products, but there have also been cases of items such as creatine powder having a lower amount--or even none--of what is listed on the label.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against supplements. On the contrary, I find them useful for a snack when you can't fix a meal and are a great training asset. And there are several reputable companies out there--EAS and MHP are two that stand out.

But we should be able to have confidence that a product is what it's supposed to be.

EAS has the sponsorship deal with the NFL, but even if a player uses only those products, he will still be suspended by the league if a positive test is triggered.

The NFL has little choice. Zero tolerance takes away the loopholes.

The player's only hope would be that he still had some of the tainted supplement on hand and could have it independently tested--but there would be little way to prove he hadn't taken anything else to trigger the result.

Basically, players are resigned to the fact that a positive test will be a suspension--even if they do their best to follow the rules.

At least in the case of Vobora, he did have a remainder of the supplement which has been tested and will be used as evidence in litigation against the manufacturer.

Maybe the Starcaps case will help, but not likely.

The real change that needs to happen is on the shoulders of the FDA.

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