Cowboys Collins fights suspension in court, Prescott testifies over bribe

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Cowboys right tackle La’el Collins had a hearing in federal court Friday afternoon as he continues to battle a five-game league suspension. Collins is seeking a temporary restraining order that would allow him to return to the field before the end of the suspension that was imposed on September 10 for violating NFL drug addiction policy.

The defense launched by the NFL contained unsavory details of an alleged bribe offered by Collins to the tester responsible for collecting urine samples in accordance with league policy. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott served as a witness at the arbitration hearing after being called to testify and answered questions about the alleged bribe; he also provided colorful testimony to his own interactions with the collector.

The league arrived at Collins with an all-out blitz in the front row of his opposition brief, shared online by Daniel Wallach, legal analyst for Athleticism.

According to the league, Collins had “taken the second step” of drug policy in December 2019. During this offseason, he allegedly gave the league’s collection provider insufficient information and, in some cases, false information about his whereabouts for testing purposes.

The much-discussed bribe is said to have taken place in November 2020 when it arrived at the testing facility the day before the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving game against Washington.

According to the collector, Collins asked to speak to him “man-to-man” to tell him that he felt like he was being over-tested. Collins then, according to the statement, “asked the collector if there was anything ‘we could do’ and offered him $ 5,000, then $ 10,000.”

Prescott also testified because he also knows the collector, identified as “Roy” in court documents. The quarterback introduced Roy and Collins (and Prescott himself) as being quite sympathetic in their dealings with each other.

“I’ve always played with Roy,” Prescott said, “and Roy kind of laughed and took it as it was, and joked. And like I would say, Roy, I mean, wants to be there. friend of everyone in a way.

Prescott would go on to give a colorful example of how players interacted with Roy. As for the bribe, Prescott testified that he had never seen anything like it.

Question: “Did you ever hear on the 25th that Mr. Collins told you that he was going to bribe Roy so that he did not pass a test?” “

Prescott: “No, I’ve never heard of La’el or anyone thinking of anything like that. “

Question: “Have you ever seen or heard that La’el did this on November 25, 2020?” “

Prescott: “No.”

Question: “Did someone even mention it to you, like, wow I just did, and he said no or did you see La’el with $ 10,000 cash in his shorts? sport ?”

Prescott: “No. Of course not. Of course not.”

Question: “Have you ever seen La’el with $ 10,000 in cash in the locker room when he goes to see the tester?” “

Prescott: “I didn’t.”

The NFL Board of Management argued that Collins’ bribe attempt and previous failures to show up for testing warranted a “lack of cooperation” suspension.

Collins’ lawyer attempts to argue that “irreparable harm will occur if Collins cannot play this weekend as it could result in the loss of @dallascowboys” tweeted Amy Dash, Legal Analyst and Founder of League of Justice.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Friday that “there was no plan in place” for Collins to play against the New York Giants. With game lists already submitted to the league, tackle’s lawyers finally admitted to the judge that Collins is unlikely to play on Sunday even if the ruling is favorable to him.

The arbitrator in the case, according to Wallach, “found that Collins” did not appear seven times “, and Dr. Brown, in the exercise of his final and binding discretion, found that these breaches without proper excuse were policy violations. “

Judge Amos Mazzant’s decision could take place as early as Friday evening.