The agent of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner expressed the National Football League star's intention to challenge the sports league's decision to suspend him from playing next week, ESPN said in a report. Peter Schaffer said on Thursday that Browner will be filing a federal lawsuit against NFL next week.
According to the report, Browner was suspended indefinitely without pay in December last year for testing positive for marijuana. This, said the sports news channel, violated the sports league's rule on substance abuse. Browner reportedly did not play in the last two games of the regular season and his team's run to obtain the Super Bowl Championship title.
Also in the same year, Browner was barred from playing the last four games of the regular season for violating the NFL's policy on using performance-enhancing drugs.
ESPN said that Schaffer's argument will be on the sanctions NFL have imposed to the Seattle Seahawks player while he was not employed by the sports league yet. Schaffer will reportedly insist that his client was not subject to a suspension as Browner was released by the Denver Broncos over its substance-abuse policy ahead of the 2006. Moreover, Schaffer added that Browner was subjected to periodic drug testing by the NFL despite the fact that he was technically out of the league.
Schaffer added that the lawsuit will be seeking financial damages incurred by the sports star with regard to the suspension. Schaffer also expressed his plans to file a motion for preliminary injunction on behalf of his client and will be asking the court to allow Browner to gain his free agent status on March 11. It was said that Browner would have been a free agent around that date if not for the suspension.
Shaffer added that he will be filing the claims in Colorado, which is one of the two states who have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational purposes.
