Via:Yahoo.com/Sports
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Antwan Odom has been suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing substances, the team said on Friday.
Odom will be eligible to return on November 15, a day after the Bengals’ game against the Indianapolis Colts, the team said on its website (www.bengals.com).
Odom denied any wrongdoing saying he had unknowingly taken one his wife’s weight loss tablets.
The NFL accepted it was an innocent mistake but said the suspension would stand, prompting criticism of the policy from his lawyer David Cornwell.
“The decision to suspend Antwan Odom for four games highlights the need for the NFL and the NFLPA to fix the NFL’s disciplinary programs,” Cornwell said.
Odom already was likely to miss several games with a right knee injury.
The NFL also fined Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens $5,000 for tweeting less than 90 minutes before Sunday’s Cincinnati-Tampa Bay game in violation of league rules, the Bengals said.
