Tamba Hali Update
The mystery around the suspension of Kansas City Chiefs OLB Tamba Hali is starting to get unraveled.
Earlier today the NFL confirmed to Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star that Hali’s suspension was unique and was not really covered under the NFL’s Substance Abuse Policy. Now more details are emerging and it appears as though Hali may never have even failed a drug test.
"The decision of the NFL to suspend Hali for one game under the substance-abuse policy has created plenty of confusion, given that the substance-abuse policy as written doles out suspensions only in four-game and one-year chunks.The exception arises when the player has violated the law.In Hali’s case, the league office attributes the Hali suspension to just that — violation of the law that was previously unreported and undisclosed. This means that Hali has been arrested at some point for something relating to alcohol or marijuana or some other substance, and that the player, the team, and the league managed to keep the media from finding out about it."
PFT goes on to say that a source with knowledge of the situation has told them that Hali’s trouble likely involved marijuana.
This whole thing is really strange. If Hali was arrested and charged there should be a public record of the incident.
Whatever happened, it appears this was not a case of Hali trying to gain a competitive edge. That may be of little consolation to fans but I for one would rather cheer for a person who made a mistake than a cheater. But that is me.
Hali has been a great player for the Chiefs and he is by all accounts, a standup guy. I imagine he will put this behind him rather quickly.
Now let’s just hope the Chiefs can win without him.