The cloak of secrecy surrounding Brian Cushing's positive test for hCG and his appeal to the NFL was orchestrated by Harvey Steinberg, his Denver-based attorney. Steinberg, who has won appeals for NFL players, was brought in by Cushing's agent Tom Condon, and it turns out the Texans linebacker had two drug tests several weeks apart, according to Steinberg, and not the one test that has been reported since the NFL announced his four-game suspension May 7 for violating the policy against performance-enhancing substances. HCG is banned by the NFL because it can be used as a masking agent for steroids and it also is produced in pregnant women and can be used for weight loss and for the aging process. Steinberg told Cushing not to tell anyone about the tests, appeal or trips to hospitals in San Diego, Denver and Houston for tests to find out why his body was naturally producing hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin). "I specifically said, 'I don't want this to be revealed to anyone,' " Steinberg said Friday. "Look at the firestorm that's occurred. If we had prevailed as I felt we would, and I was surprised we didn't, then the NFL was duty bound not to release any information, and none of this would have been public. Everybody was obligated to keep it quiet." They kept it quiet from the first notification of a positive test in October until the NFL announcement, meanwhile, Steinberg based a big part of his appeal on Cushing's enlarged pituitary gland and a surgical procedure he had while at USC. "He had a pre-existing medical condition (involving an enlarged pituitary gland) that was consistent with the natural production of hCG in males," Steinberg said. "They came out in the hearing, and they were documented. We learned that he had a particular medical condition that was consistent with natural production in the body of this banned substance. We felt with the low levels at which it tested was also consistent with natural production. We did research and found out that his was a plausible explanation. We consulted an expert who suggested further testing. We became convinced that this was a situation that was naturally produced." Source: Houston Chronicle
Should have kept quiet and taken the penalty like a man. I cannot believe the AP still gave him rookie of the year its a disgrace and an affront to the players who did not cheat.:icon_frown:
