Dead Man's Words May Sink Fowler

How do you defend yourself against the words of a dead man?

That's the conundrum Titans linebacker Ryan Fowler is facing. Apparently David Jacobs named Fowler as one of the NFL players who Jacobs named as a recipient of steroids, which is enough evidence to likely nail Fowler with four-game suspension.

But since then, Jacobs and his girlfriend have been found dead in his house. The police have ruled Jacobs' death a suicide--although the fact that he was shot twice, once in the chest and once in the head, would seem to ensure that there needs to be a thorough investigation.

Any death is a tragedy, but for Fowler, Jacobs' death also means that it will be very hard to defend himself against the charges. If the NFL takes Jacobs at his word and considers that sufficient evidence to suspend Fowler, there's not really much of a chance for Fowler to clear his name after all how do you prove that you didn't do something.
His attorney, Peter Ginsburg, is strongly trying to make the case that without further evidence, the NFL doesn't have enough to suspend Fowler. But it's not clear whether the NFL is buying what Ginsburg is selling.

"Ryan has never tested positive for banned substances," Ginsburg said. "There seems to be an admitted felon who spread some unsubstantiated rumor about Ryan and now the NFL is trying to use that to punish and compromise Ryan's professional career. It's disturbing, it's disappointing and it's in violation of Ryan's rights."

If you want to parse words, Ginsburg didn't say that Fowler didn't use steroids, just that he never tested positive for them. That doesn't mean that Fowler did use steroids, but it may mean that Ginsburg is playing it safe, just in case further information comes forward.

If Fowler is suspended, Tennessee is reasonably well equipped to survive a four-game suspension. He missed the final couple of games of the season last year with a shoulder injury, and the Titans survived that, and his backup Stephen Tulluck has some starting experience.