NFL, NFLPA: Reid not targeted for drug tests
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A joint investigation by the NFL and NFL Players Association determined there was no evidence that Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid was targeted in the performance-enhancing drug testing program.
Reid claimed after a Dec. 17 loss to New Orleans that he’d been selected for testing for the seventh time since signing with Carolina in late September. He implied that the tests were not random as stated in the collective bargaining agreement and that he was being targeted because of his collusion grievance against the league.
The NFL and NFLPA responded by asking John Lombardo, the administrator of the performance-enhancing drug testing program for 28 years, to look into the matter.
“There is no evidence of targeting or any other impropriety with respect to his selection for testing,” the two organizations said in a joint statement released on Wednesday.
The NFL and NFL Players Association have asked the administrator of their independent drug-testing program to look into allegations by Panthers safety Eric Reid regarding the number of times he has been tested this season, sources told ESPN.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera said that if his name came up for random drug testing as many times as Eric Reid says his has, then “I’d buy a lottery ticket.”
Panthers safety Eric Reid said the NFL’s drug-testing system is “obviously not” random, and a source told ESPN that the NFL Players Association is looking into his allegation that the league is targeting him with excessive testing
The NFLPA filed the grievance against the league on Reid’s behalf in May. The grievance alleged team owners and the league, influenced by President Donald Trump, colluded to prevent Reid’s employment because of his protests against social injustice during the pregame national anthem.
Reid was unemployed until the Panthers signed him after safety Da’Norris Searcy was placed on injured reserve.
After that point Reid began being selected for post-game testing at a rate that eventually raised eyebrows for Carolina coach Ron Rivera.
“I guess there was something about some mathematician saying it’s highly improbable, but definitely possible,” Rivera said after Reid said he was tested a seventh time. “But I’ll say this: If my name came up that many times, I’d buy a lottery ticket.”
Reid, the first player to join former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick in kneeling during the anthem, did not drop his grievance after signing with Carolina. He also continued to kneel during the anthem.
Reid’s grievance is scheduled to be heard after the season. Reid made it clear he and his representatives are “taking notes” about everything that has happened the past few months.
Reid also has suggested his four fines for hits during games and ejection for his hit on Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roelisberger during a Thursday night game have been part of the league targeting him because of the grievance.
The joint investigation was based solely on Reid’s attack of the drug testing program.
“We take any claim questioning the integrity of our collective bargained performance-enhancing drug policy seriously,” the joint statement said. “We will not breach any player’s confidentiality but can confirm that the report documents the dates he was randomly selected for testing and the actual dates of the drug tests.
“The report also demonstrates that Mr. Reid’s tests were randomly generated via computer algorithm and that his selection for testing was normal when compared with the number of tests players were randomly selected for throughout the league during the time that he was on the active roster. “