Lane Johnson Believes He Will Be Suspended
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — It's been a nightmare that Lane Johnson has hidden the last few weeks under a sanguine face. The front was intended to connote nothing was wrong. So he put on an act, answering all of the perfunctory rhetorical questions, the typical hunky-dory blah, blah, blah that often comes with an NFL training camp.
Yet, the fourth-year Eagles tackle knew there was something lurking. He's actually been steamed. He's felt betrayed. It's why there was a fiery resolve in Johnson's eyes that came to the surface on Saturday as he walked right up to the media gathered at the NovaCare Complex after the Eagles finished practice.
The Eagles' starting right tackle is facing a 10-game suspension for testing positive for PEDs for a second time, though nothing is conclusive.
According to Johnson, his situation is dire.
His A Sample has already tested positive. When asked what his confidence was like that his B Sample could be negative, Johnson replied, "Not very confident."
"I did everything on my part to be tested. That's all I got so far. It's supplements [other players use]. It's amino acids. It's the most basic thing as far as recovery that you can take. Like I said, I have nothing to hide. I told the Eagles to take everything I have and go test it. That's what they're doing right now. [The Eagles] are testing the supplement.
"Every supplement that I've taken has been approved by an Aegis Shield app, which the NFLPA (National Football League Players' Association) gives us. Having said that, I talked to the NFLPA and they do not test the products, so there is no backing from them. That's all I know right now.
"I'm waiting for my B Sample to come in, and that will probably be two or three weeks from now. That's all I got. Everything that I told you was approved by the Aegis Shield app. That's the only thing the NFLPA gives you to test online products."
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If suspended, which it now appears Johnson will be, it marks the second time in two years he's violated the NFL banned-substance policy. In 2014, Johnson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2013 draft who started all 16 games at right tackle his rookie season, missed the Eagles' first four games when he "mistakenly and foolishly" took a prescription drug while training in April 2014 and failed to clear it with the Eagles' athletic trainers or check the banned substance list.
Johnson was accountable that time.
This time, Johnson says it's not his fault.
"The first time, I knew I was at fault," Johnson admitted. "There's no worse feeling than having to go through this again. This is something that I desperately wanted to avoid. It's nothing I ever wanted to be a part of again. I learned my lesson and I feel like the players have no rights. I feel the supplement industry is not regulated, so you do not know what's in it.
"It's hard to believe I know coming from a second-time offender. I want it to be clear that the NFLPA does not stand by its players. They don't check the supplements that give us in the [Aegis Shield] app. When you call them and ask them when you test positive for something that they approve, it doesn't matter.
"Everything I did was approved by the NFLPA app called the Aegis Shield, which every player uses now a days. If you send it to a trainer of your team, all they do is read the labels, because it costs a lot of money to test each individual product. I thought the NFLPA gives us the app to make sure supplements are prohibited. USADA uses this, the NHL uses this and a few other sports."
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Johnson suggested the supplement he took could be tainted.
"But that doesn't matter, I'm still going to get suspended. Like I said, the NFLPA gives you this Aegis Shield app, but they do not test the products, so if you do test positive, it's at your own fault. The last thing I want to be labeled as is a cheater. My son looked me in the eye and told me, 'Hey daddy, what have you been doing?' I have nothing to hide. From that standpoint, I'm moving forward.
"The FDA doesn't regulate supplements. Every supplement I bought, I bought online. I sent the supplement to my lawyer and they're going to an independent lab and I'll know here in a few days. Even if it does come back contaminated, there's nothing I can do. The NFL says that you're responsible for what you put in your body.
"After my first suspension, the [Aegis Shield app] is what I've been using ever since. Turns out in the long run the [NFLPA] doesn't have your back. They don't test the supplements, so what is the app ever used for? That's where I am right now."
