Cowboys' Randy Gregory Gets 1-Year Ban For Substance Abuse
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FRISCO (105.3 The Fan) — Last week, Randy Gregory recorded his first NFL sack.
Today, he records his third NFL drug suspension.
That may be seen by some as a harsh perspective on the brief, star-crossed career on the second-year pass-rusher from Nebraska. But as badly as the NFL botched Gregory's most recent appeal — ruled upon and denied on Thursday afternoon, just hours after he finished up a practice with the team inside The Star in Frisco — Gregory is the main culprit here.
He seems more clear-eyed in media visits now than he did a year ago; the too-cool-for-school attitude is gone. He's also a favorite of veteran teammates who have come to recognize him not as a "problem guy,'' but as a guy with a problem, who relies — or relied — on marijuana, and may now be successfully winning that fight.
Nevertheless, Gregory, who has failed or missed six drug tests during his time associated with the league, now has himself a one-year suspension for this third violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy.
Gregory served a stacked total of 14 games for two separate suspensions earlier this season but was, for reasons that don't fit any logic, was allowed to return to play the final two regular-season games. The Cowboys made a pair of roster moves to accommodate Gregory's presence, something that would've been unnecessary has the NFL employed a simple tenet of United States law: "Right to a speedy trial.''
But now the trial is over. And so, for at least a year, is Randy Gregory's NFL career.
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