NFL Mexican Meat Warning Must Be Hard To Digest For Raiders Returning From Mexico City
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- How do you spell indigestion?
Hopefully the players who attended last weekend's Raiders' Mexico City fan fest didn't eat too much meat. Just hours after the festivities ended, the NFL Player's Association sent out a memo warning that eating meat produced in Mexico and China can lead to positive Performance Enhancing Drug (PED) tests.
According to the memo, the meat may be contaminated with clenbuterol, an anabolic agent banned by the NFL. The substance once used to beef up livestock has been banned in the U.S., Mexico and China, but apparently not everyone is in compliance.
"Players are warned to be aware of this issue when traveling to Mexico and China," reads the memo. "Please take caution if you decide to consume meat, and understand that you do so at your own risk." It goes on to reiterate the NFL Policy for Performance-Enhancing Substances: "Players are responsible for what is in their bodies."
Thanks for the heads up. If you have a few steak dinners on vacation your screwed ???????? https://t.co/SLde2ho8gj pic.twitter.com/e0g53BfsIE
— Steve Smith Sr (@89SteveSmith) May 3, 2016
The memo must have been tough to digest for the Raiders who flew down to Mexico City to kick off the festivities leading their Nov. 21 game against the Texans at Azteca stadium. The entire weekend was all about the silver and black, as players, cheerleaders and thousands of fans celebrated the Raider Nation. Former quarterback Jim Plunkett was even there to announce the teams fourth round pick, QB Conner Cook.
NFL Español tweeted pictures of Taiwan Jones, Justin Ellis, T.J. Carrie, Malcolm Smith and the Raiderettes dancing on stage.
Negro y Plata, colores que @RAIDERS le pusieron al @EstadioAzteca https://t.co/9UuwvzQdcJ @danfridmans @IliJimeneza pic.twitter.com/Xg9mGzp8uB
— NFLEspañol (@NFLEspanol) May 2, 2016
This video on the Raiders' Twitter feed was pretty hilarious too...
Looking for Mexico City tour guides?@TaiwanJonesNFL, @MalcSmitty, @JeLLy_ThaDON, + @tj_carrie might be your guys:https://t.co/cr6DhGpSUY
— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) May 2, 2016
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All that was before the memo hit. Failing a PED test is not funny at all. Social media literally lit up as folks reacted to the warning.
Were the #Raiders given this warning before sending some players down to Mexico for the draft? https://t.co/cJJLGqew8X
— Jimmy Durkin (@Jimmy_Durkin) May 3, 2016
@NFL @NFLPA Sure would have been nice to have the contaminated meat warning before @RAIDERS players went to Mexico for the draft coverage...
— LoveItHateIt (@LIHIpdx) May 3, 2016
Hope the Raiders players who just went to Mexico City to promote game for NFL and team didn't eat too much meat https://t.co/3H6nYGf5j6
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) May 3, 2016
@kirkmorrison So I'm assuming the NFL will be providing all meat for the Raiders and Texans when they play in Mexico City...
— Nick Beach (@MrNickBeach) May 4, 2016
So far, the Raiders have not said anything official about the memo or any meat consumption last weekend. The Raiders are one of the most popular NFL teams in Mexico. And while they may hesitate to eat the meat in the future, they would never insult their fans south of the border.
Here's a YouTube video shot by a fan during the festivities:
