Richard Sherman, the outspoken Pro Bowl cornerback of the Seattle Seahawks has made waves yet again, telling reporters that "half the league" uses the banned substance Adderall, a drug used to treat attention deficit disorder.
Sherman and his teammate Brandon Browner earned four-game suspensions in 2012 after testing positive for Adderall, and while Browner served his suspension Sherman fought his and avoided missing any time. Rumors circulated that Sherman had claimed to accidentally drink from a cup containing a crushed Adderall pill, but the actual reason for emerging from his appeal victorious was much less headline-grabbing.
Sherman said in his appeal that the cup containing his specimen was leaking, causing the specimen collector to use a second cup underneath the first one, and violate the chain of custody rules. Following his appeal win, Sherman said, "It was a weird day, and a weird testing procedure," Sherman said. "A lot of things went wrong on that day. And that's why the results came out the way they did, because he made mistakes. If it wasn't for that, there would have been no positive test. There was nothing else to it."
Sherman still maintains his innocence, and said that although he does not take Adderall, use of the drug is so prevalent that the NFL should legalize it.
"About half the league takes it and the league has to allow it," Sherman said. "The league made a mistake in my case. Obviously, I didn't do anything, but you have to go through a process to prove you didn't do anything. There are still naysayers out there who don't believe me. But I accept it. If everybody loves you, it probably means you're not much of a player."
Last season alone, several players were suspended with regards substance abuse issues at least related to Adderall. Some believe the drug is now used as a cover for steroid use.
Adderall was involved in the successful suspensions of Buccaneers defensive backs Aqib Talib and Eric Wright, Patriots defensive lineman Jermaine Cunningham, Giants defensive backs Will Hill and Tyler Sash, Packers defensive lineman Mike Neal, and Browns star corner Joe Haden.
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