| | LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Jim Miller says he was only trying to
save some money on a dietary supplement. It ended up costing him a
suspension for the rest of the season and about $100,000 in pay.
The Chicago Bears quarterback was suspended for four games by
the NFL on Wednesday for violating its drug policy in what he
admits was a "dumb mistake."
| |  | | | Miller |
Miller contends he did not read the label on an over-the-counter
dietary supplement that his agent said contained nandrolone. The
banned substance is listed in the league's policy under anabolic
and androgenic steroids.
"It was in no way, in any means done knowingly," said Miller,
who has gone from third string to starting quarterback this season.
"And I think anybody who knows me knows I would never take
steroids or anything like that, obviously playing the quarterback
position. ... I'm normally very conscientious. I made a dumb
mistake.
"I can't explain how disappointing this is. ... Of all the
people to let the team down, I thought I would be the last to do
it."
Miller said in late September he ran out of his normal
over-the-counter supplement he used before working out. He said he
decided to wait for a 20 percent discount at a nutritional center
before replenishing the supply.
During the four-day wait, he turned to another supplement he
had. Several days later on Oct. 4, he underwent a random drug test.
On Nov. 10, he was notified he had tested positive.
He and agent Joe Linta requested a second test, allowed under
the league policy. They were informed Monday night that it also was
positive, meaning that Miller was under suspension.
Linta said traces of the banned substance came from Miller's
limited use of the backup supplement, which neither he nor Miller
would identify.
Miller was earning $400,000 this season, so missing four games
costs him about $100,000.
"So I'm paying for more than that, and my teammates are paying
for more than that," Miller said.
Linta said there would no appeal, because "we don't believe in
lying and making up excuses."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said he thinks Miller is the first
quarterback to be suspended under the league's drug policy.
Miller is also the third player to be suspended for drugs in the
last two weeks. The others, both for steroids, were to New York
Giants rookie safety Lyle West and New York Jets tackle Jason
Ferguson.
The NFL's policy on steroids and related substances says
"players are responsible for what is in their bodies."
Bears trainer Tim Bream said all players receive a list of
banned substances during the offseason. He said approved
supplements can be used to help the body recover from weight
lifting and reduce the buildup of byproducts in the body.
Miller's improbable rise this year has been one of the team's
success stories. He started one NFL game before this season and did
not play a down in 1997 or 1998.
Shane Matthews, who won the starting job to begin the season
before being injured, will start Sunday against Green Bay with
rookie Cade McNown the backup.
Miller told most of his teammates Wednesday his season was over.
"I think the team was in shock today," Matthews said. "Jim
handled it in a first-class manner. It was tough on him. He didn't
do it to hurt the team. It was an honest mistake."
Miller, 28, had started the past three games,
averaging 327 passing yards a game. In a 27-24 overtime loss to
Minnesota, Miller was 34-for-48 for 422 yards and three touchdowns.
It was the biggest passing day for a Bears quarterback in more than
30 years.
Miller was claimed off waivers in 1998. He was drafted out of
Michigan State by Pittsburgh in 1994 and spent that season with the
World League. He played with the Steelers, Atlanta and Jacksonville
before joining the Bears.
"You understand where the league is coming from. The policy has
to be strong and can't waiver," Bears coach Dick Jauron said,
adding he seldom reads labels on vitamins or food.
"In this situation he should have read the label. He does feel
he was at fault and he was technically at fault. But it's nothing
all of us haven't done."
Miller had the sympathy of the quarterback he would have faced
Sunday. Brett Favre once spent time in a rehab center for an
addiction to painkillers.
"I don't think what he was taking was making him play any
better or any worse," Favre said. "There has got to be some
leeway here. A dietary supplement? That's something that 99 percent
of the American public takes." | |
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jim Miller talks about illegal drugs.
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