Houston Texans' Brian Cushing Is Just a Small Fish in a Bigger Pond

This was a statement, a warning shot if you will. The NFL came down on Houston Texans' linebacker Brian Cushing and made more of a statement with their four-game suspension.

Brian Cushing was someone the NFL used as a poster boy for what might happen to the bigger fish who just haven't been caught yet. This wasn't the NFL coming down on Cushing, it was a slap on the wrist and a letter that said in part, "we still like you Brian but you made for a good example for our policy."

The runaway defensive rookie of the year last year came in to the NFL with rumors that he took steroids or HGH but Cushing denied it time after time and even tested negative several times.

Maybe it was an oops, maybe it was a "just this one time" kind of incident for him but, as they say, it only takes one time.

Now, there are people wondering if he should be stripped of his NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award from last year. Let me roll my eyes and shake my head first and then say, absolutely not. Though Cushing tested positive it wasn't for steroids or HGH, it was for a fertility drug called HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) and it was a low-level positive at that.

HCG, according to ESPN reports , is taken by steroid users to help restart the production of natural testosterone. It’s also apparently used to induce ovulation and treat ovarian disorders in women.

For those of you who seem to think HCG sounds familiar, it should. It's the same drug that landed Los Angeles Dodgers' outfielder Manny Ramirez on the 50-game suspension list last season. Brian Cushing, however, isn't exactly Manny Ramirez.

Before you accuse me of being an apologist for Cushing or being on his "spin cycle" public relations team, let's remember that after that low-level positive back in September of last year, he tested negative several times after that. Had he tested positive even one more time, than I could see your complaints or arguments.

As it stands, I'm not really willing to listen to it. Am I really the only one that really doesn't understand why this is a big deal? Will anyone really remember that Cushing is suspended for four games when the NFL season gets underway?

I'm not condoning players that take drugs to mask taking steroids and I'm in no way saying it's okay. What I am saying is, I think the NFL is trying to make a statement to the bigger fish in the pond. Four games is a slap on the wrist compared to what others might end up receiving.

Even Texans' owner, Robert McNair, criticized the lack of information given to teams when a player tested positive and wants the issue addressed in the next collective bargaining agreement.

NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith almost admitted as much in an email response to McNair. Not exactly saying, "you're right the system sucks," but it kinda sounds like it.

“Sport is at its best when fans can witness great achievements under the rules of fair play. Players who break those rules cheat the game, cheat the fans and cheat themselves. The players want a clean game as well as a clean process for enforcing those rules. We intend to address both in the collective bargaining process to make the system better.”

Make the system better? If that isn't an admission of, "yeah it could be better," I don't know what is.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if that four-game suspension was lessened to two games by the time the season rolled around.

But, as we often say, "this too shall pass." Cushing will go back to being a dominant linebacker for the Texans and the fans will forget he was even gone. Heck, if Ray Lewis can have a street named after him several years after being on trial for murder, Cushing can end up being a Hall of Famer by the time his career is done.

Okay maybe that's stretching it a little, but my point is that no one will remember a guy by the name of Brian Cushing tested positive. Like I said before, he's just a small fish in a big pond.

The NFL has bigger fish to fry.