The dope on diuretics

Eagles defensive back Joselio Hanson might not have known the pill he ingested to combat bloating contained a diuretic, but he, like every other NFL player, knew diuretics are as damning a substance as any.

Diuretics can be used as a masking agent for steroids by diluting the urine used to test for steroid use.

Hanson, through attorney David Cornwell, issued a statement in which he claimed he ate Chinese food before the NFC Championship Game last season, felt bloated and took a pill, then tested positive for a diuretic after the game. Yesterday, Hanson began serving a four-game suspension for the positive test.

It's not as if diuretics are an unknown evil in the world of sports.

Since just before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, world-class gymnasts, swimmers and even an Italian fencer have tested positive for diuretics and faced penalties. So did Titans defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson last season, according to his agent; Vickerson was suspended for four games.

Notably, a weight-loss supplement called StarCaps allegedly contained enough of a banned diuretic to produce positive tests in several players in 2008. Two Minnesota Vikings players had their suspensions stayed due to labor-law issues in that state until a trial is held to determine the validity of the suspension process (other related suspensions also have been stayed).

Because of the ramifications of the labor-law challenge - athletes in the NFL and other sports in states with similar laws also might be exempt - a congressional committee, which most recently made hay over baseball's muddled steroid- testing policies, this month told commissioner Roger Goodell that Congress might consider legislation to standardize testing procedures throughout the states in which the leagues conduct business.