DeAndre Hopkins issued a statement following his six-game suspension resulting from a positive test for performance enhancing drugs. The Arizona Cardinals wide receiver denied knowingly taking any banned substances, saying he was “confused and shocked” by the situation.
While he has attempted the league’s punishment, commenting “See you Week 7” before sharing his letter in a Twitter post Monday night, Hopkins said that he’s going “to get to the bottom of this” to see what sparked the positive test.
“I am very mindful of what I put in my body and have always taken a holistic approach, so I am working with my team to investigate how this could’ve happened,” Hopkins said. “But even as careful as I have been, clearly I wasn’t careful enough. For that, I apologize to Cardinals fans, my teammates and the entire Cardinals organization. I never want to let my team down.”
Some fans supported Hopkins, with one calling him “a man of his words” while another said the star wideout has “never taken the easy way out.”
I’m going to give nuk the benefit of the doubt . He is a man of his words https://t.co/pwWxB1zZf8
— luis sanchez (@fsanchezss13) May 3, 2022
I 100% believe and stand with this guy. He’s never taken the easy way out in 10-years and has constantly spoken about his holistic approach. Unfortunate situation but he’ll still come back #1 https://t.co/86mYQxqXSO
— Jack Easterby Fan Club (@EBlachowitz) May 3, 2022
However, others aren’t buying it because they’ve seen too many other athletes use a similar defense in the same scenario.
Every athlete who has ever tested positive for a banned substance has copy-pasted the exact same statement. https://t.co/LqCJ5JBqso
— Ross Bolen (Authenticated) (@WRBolen) May 3, 2022
Any athlete that has ever been caught for PEDs 😂😂 https://t.co/itKb6F37oL
— James Latham (@SemajPlays_) May 3, 2022
One onlooker wondered why Hopkins isn’t fighting the punishment if he truly believes the positive test was an error or honest mistake. Another isn’t counting on receiving that additional information Hopkins promised.
So shocked that you dropped the appeal? https://t.co/LmzCjnG4Sz
— De’sBetter (@DeIsBetter22) May 3, 2022
Narrator: He did not share anymore information https://t.co/OLaR9DhNVN
— John Chapman (@JL_Chapman) May 3, 2022
After posting a career-low 572 receiving yards in just 10 games last season, Hopkins will at most be able to play 11 games as he attempts to bounce back in 2022. It’s certainly not an ideal start for him or the Cardinals.
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