RAIDERS' LINEMAN IN TROUBLE OVER ECSTASY

Russell In Hot Water Over Ecstasy - Raiders' Lineman Could Miss Year If He
Failed Drug Test

The Raiders might learn as early as today whether starting defensive tackle
Darrell Russell will receive a one-year suspension by the NFL for failing a
third test for illegal substances, this time for the mood-altering drug
ecstasy.

An NFL source, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated the league
might move quickly against Russell, who returned to action Oct. 14 after
being suspended in August for four games for a second failure to comply
with the league's substance-abuse policy.

In that case, the 6-foot-5, 325-pound fifth-year lineman said he wasn't
home when the mandatory test was scheduled to be administered, and
complained he was being unfairly targeted because he failed only in
notifying the league in a timely manner.

Though Russell forfeited about $448,000 in salary during that suspension,
this latest incident could signal an end to his Raiders career. Russell is
in the fifth year of a six-year contract; the No. 2 pick overall in the
1997 NFL Draft out of Southern California originally signed a seven-year
contract worth about $22.05 million.

Asked whether this latest brush with the drug policy was a distraction,
Russell was vague.

"I was just concentrating on the Cardinals, on playing good team defense,"
said Russell, 25, who had a season-best 11 tackles yesterday in the
Raiders' 34-31 overtime loss at home to the Arizona Cardinals. "I really
don't deal with that stuff. Until (a suspension) happens, I'm a football
player. I'm a Raider lineman.

"I'm an Oakland Raider, until they tell me I'm not."

Asked why he is always under scrutiny by the NFL for drug matters, Russell
stared back blankly. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "I
know I just played the Cardinals today. There's nothing surprising me,
except this loss."

Later, Russell dismissed specific questions about the incident. "If you
want to know anything more, ask (agent) Leigh Steinberg," said Russell,
methodically peeling double-stick tape from his shoulder pads. "Right now,
I'm an Oakland Raider."

With the sting of the Cardinals result still fresh, the Raiders had little
or nothing to say officially about Russell's impending departure.

"I don't have a comment until I get information that I can make a comment
on," Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. "I don't have any information about
that whatsoever."

Said Raiders senior assistant Bruce Allen: "We're at the end of the chain.
We're the last ones to know."

Teammates were equally reticent to comment. "Obviously, if we lose Darrell
it's a huge blow," cornerback Eric Allen said. "But I don't think it's the
right thing to comment, because I don't really know exactly what's
happened. I'll have to wait and let the team handle it, if that's possible."

The case was first reported by CBS Sports and later confirmed by The
Chronicle. All indications are that Russell will appeal the suspension on
Thursday. He will be permitted to play until a ruling is made on his appeal.

The NFL began testing this season for ecstasy, a mood-altering drug popular
on the nightclub scene, as part of its wide-ranging monitoring of illegal
drug use and abuses of alcohol as well as prescription and over-the-counter
medications.

Although the league does not publicly disclose details of substance-abuse
violations, Russell's second-strike became known when he received the
mandatory four-game suspension earlier this season. A third strike brings
about a one-year ban.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined to comment on Russell's case.

Ecstasy, the increasingly popular party drug, affects serotonin, a brain
chemical that regulates mood, emotion, sleep, appetite, memory and sexual
behavior. The drug typically induces feelings of euphoria, increased energy
and sexual arousal.

The illegal drug, known scientifically as methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or
MDMA, is also said to suppress the need to eat, drink or sleep, making it
possible to party for two or three days.

However, in high doses it can cause a sharp increase in body temperature,
leading to muscle breakdown, kidney and heart failure, and death.