Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against the NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA). This was confirmed in a statement by Lane Johnson's lawyer Steve Zashin to ESPN's Adam Caplan.
"Lane also filed a complaint against the NFLPA with the Department of Labor ("DOL") under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act," the statement reads.
"During Lane's appeal, it became apparent that the written words in the collectively bargained Performance-Enhancing Substances ("PES") Policy, under which Lane was disciplined, are meaningless."
The charges stem from Lane Johnson's violation of the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy in August of this year. As a result, he was suspended 10 games this season. Lane Johnson tried to appeal his suspension but was subsequently denied. He described the process of appealing as "eight hours of bickering back and forth and discussing league policy."
Lane Johnson is now currently serving his 10 game suspension and has 4 more games remaining having served 6 games already since mid-October. Lane Johnson would be eligible to return to the team when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the New York Giants in the Eagles' Week 16 game on December. That's the Philadelphia Eagles second to the last game of the season.
According to Lane Johnson, 26, the positive result of the drug test was due to the amino acid that he took. Lane Johnson believes that the amino acid, which he bought online, was contaminated. He further added that before he took the amino acid, he checked the contents on the label with an app that was provided by the NFLPA.
"They don't check the supplements. They give us an app," Lane Johnson said. "Then if you call and ask them if you test positive for something they approve, it doesn't matter."
The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Lane Johnson out of the University of Oklahoma. He was the 4th overall pick in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. This is Lane Johnson's second violation of the NFL's PED policy. The first one was back in 2014 where he was suspended for the first four games of the season.
