Kent Babb has a fine article in the Kansas City Star this morning regarding the steps that led up to Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe being suspended weeks 10-13 for taking a banned NFL substance.
Babb tells us that after reporting to camp overweight, Bowe asked his grandmother to send him something for the cramps he had been getting from all the running in Haley's camp. His grandmother unknowingly sent him water pills, not "cramp medicine". Bowe quickly lost nine pounds.
"I was real light," he said. "I was like, ‘How did I lose all this weight?’ "
Realizing something might be up, Bowe called his grandmother to make sure she sent him medicine for his cramps, and not a diuretic. Neither were sure what he took.
Weeks later, Bowe had a note in his locker.
"Instead," Babb writes, "he was told that a drug test from training camp had been flagged. It had shown traces of a substance among those banned by the NFL. Bowe says he offered to take another test but that he was told the league would make a decision based on the one he’d submitted in camp.
"Bowe was suspended four weeks, and despite a season in which he’d shown progress, the third-year wideout now had more questions to answer. Serious questions now about his judgment, maturity and training regimen."
If you've got a few minutes, check out Babb's full story at the Kansas City Star.