Report: Brandon Browner declines lesser suspension
Dec 6, 2013, 6:20 PM | Updated: 6:22 pm
By Brent Stecker
Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner will continue to appeal a suspension handed down by the NFL after turning down a deal to shorten his ban, according to a report by Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo.
 Browner |
Browner, who was given a one-year suspension last week for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, reportedly declined a deal to have nearly three months reduced from his suspension.
Browner, 29, will be a free agent after the 2013 season, and his stock would take a major hit if he has to sit out the beginning of 2014, which would have been the case if he had agreed to the shortened suspension.
According to Garafolo’s sources, Browner is disputing how the test he failed this September was carried out. Browner claims the cup used his drug test was damaged and that the urine collector poured his urine into another cup. Browner, who sat out four games with a drug policy violation in 2012, is also disputing his advancement to stage three of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy because he was playing in the Canadian Football League from 2007 through 2010 and was not notified of the NFL’s requirement to continue drug testing.
A decision from an arbitrator on Browner’s appeal could take a few more weeks, according to Garafolo.
Browner has missed the Seahawks last two games with a groin injury, and has been ruled out for Sunday’s game at San Francisco.
