Commish addresses possible suspension of Redskins WR Moss
ASHBURN – The Redskins haven’t expressed outward concern over a suspension involving Santana Moss. But NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is still investigating the matter.
And that’s not just because of Moss; numerous other NFL players have been linked to arrested Canadian doctor Anthony Galea. He’s been charged with smuggling illegal drugs into the country and injecting pro athletes with these substances. Moss has admitted receiving treatment from Galea, but has denied taking human growth hormone, which are banned in the NFL.
Goodell said they’re not specifically looking at Moss in this situation. However, he said his office has not spoken with Moss or his representatives. They did not talk about it during the commissioner’s visit to Redskins Park on Wednesday.
“It’s part of an overall criminal investigation that we’re cooperating with and following closely,” Goodell said. “When the determination is made we’ll determine our next steps.”
If Moss, or any other player, is found to have used HGH, they would be suspended for four games. But Goodell is not ready to rule on any suspensions.
“I’d like to know the facts first,” he said.
Moss told the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, “That ain’t nothing I care to discuss.”
Goodell said he’d like the NFL to test for HGH. He touched on several other topics with the Washington media:
Super Bowl in Washington
New York will become the first outdoor northern city to host the game in 2014.
“We made our big step this year playing the Super Bowl out in the elements,” he said. “That’s the way the game is intended to be played and it’s on the world’s biggest stage of New York. Let’s see how our experience is in 2014 and go from there.”
A lockout in 2011
“We have a lot of work to be done,” he said. “But there’s time. … Timing is critical for us as we get into the season and making sure it gets done before we have people get disenchanted with the game and disenchanted with what we’re doing. We know the ramifications of any kind of work stoppage.”
18-game regular season
“It’s one of the things we’re focused on,” Goodell said. “We recognize the quality of the preseason isn’t up to our standards. The fans have spoken very loudly on this and so have the players. The players don’t want to play in preseason games and fans know that. And they don’t want to pay for it.”
