During the Saints- Packers game, the announcers constantly referred to Garret Hartley's four game suspension at the start of the year. I feared the worst -- steroids, or perhaps some illicit street drug. I don't know whether to feel happy or sad that it was only prescription stimulant Adderall.
With a little digging through the Sports Illustrated Archives at SI.com, I found an article about Hartley's suspension over the summer. He obtained the Adderall prescription pills from a former college friend and used them to stay awake while driving at night from Dallas to New Orleans for an offseason workout.
SI.com reports Hartley said he learned of the failed test in a recent letter from the league, and did not plan to appeal. The NFL considers players' drug tests confidential and does not comment.
"My sincere apology goes out," Hartley said at SI.com. "There would never be anything that I would do that would try to hurt the team or definitely my reputation." He was unaware that Adderall was on the NFL's banned substance list. But he stressed that ignorance "was not an excuse... This is definitely a setback," said the 23-year-old Hartley. "I'm trying to start off my career the right way. This is a bump in the road, but we're going to overcome it."
Well, he's over that bump now with one good kick.
I doubt that he'll have any trouble staying awake for the next two weeks. Getting sleep might be the problem. Is Ambien on the banned substance list?
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