National Football League

DE Smith hopes to clear his image of Starcaps

Published Jun. 8, 2010 4:14 p.m. ET

Alex Marvez

During a weekend interview with me and co-host Jim Miller on Sirius NFL Radio, Smith admitted that having a possible suspension dangling over his head for use of a banned substance has taken its toll.

In 2008, Smith was one of five NFL players to test positive for bumetanide, a diuretic that also can be used to mask anabolic steroid use. Smith and the other players -- Minnesota defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams plus then-Saints Deuce McAllister and Charles Grant – said they took the Starcaps supplement only to lose weight and unknowingly ingested bumetanide because it wasn’t listed among the ingredients.

Kevin and Pat Williams sued the NFL claiming their rights were being violated under the state of Minnesota’s workplace drug-testing laws. The league was given a favorable court ruling in May, but the Williamses successfully filed an appeal that blocks a four-game suspension from being enforced. It’s unlikely the case will be resolved during the upcoming season.

While the three Saints players didn’t have the same legal recourse in Louisiana, the NFL declined to enforce the suspensions last season as the Williamses’ lawsuit was still unresolved. Asked by FOXSports.com on Tuesday via e-mail whether the same applies for this season, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello responded, “We have made no decisions on their status as we await further word from the court.”

Smith is optimistic about his status.

“So far, it looks as if we’ll be able to play the whole season,” Smith said. “But my biggest thing is to try and get this resolved so we all can put it in the past. It just keeps lingering there. I’m not speaking for the Williamses, but I know personally I would just to resolve the thing.”

Smith, who had a career-high 13 sacks for the Super Bowl-champion Saints in 2009, is concerned that the Starcaps situation has negatively affected his image.

“It’s a thorn in your foot,” said Smith, who is entering his seventh NFL season. “It’s just always there and everybody keeps talking about it. At the end of the day, we feel like we didn’t do anything wrong because it wasn’t like we were using steroids. We’re like, ‘We know we made a mistake by taking something on the banned substance list.’ We want to try and resolve it the best way we can and move forward. We don’t want it to stain our careers that any time we talk about those guys that everybody refers to the Starcaps.”

Smith is the only one of the three Saints-connected players currently with an NFL team. McAllister didn’t play in 2009 and is retired; Grant was released by New Orleans in March, but is likely to sign somewhere by the start of the regular season.

“I think Charles feels the same way I do,” Smith said. “He wants to resolve this issue also because he doesn’t want it following him everywhere he goes. It’s something in the past. It was a mistake and we want to move on.”