NFL PLAYERS ESCAPED DRUG SUSPENSIONS

It's a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a major sports union,
and it's caught on tape:

An NFL players union official informing its membership that a
significant number of players had failed drug tests but were not
punished or suspended because of a secret agreement between the league
and the union.

A union official offering to instruct players on how to beat the
salary cap.

A lengthy debate about the implicit racism some union members
believed was behind the league's plan to ban players from wearing bandannas.

Candid discussions of substance abuse, including an assertion by one
official that alcohol abuse was the biggest problem among players.

The proceedings at the NFL Players Association meeting in 1995 in
Hawaii were captured on more than 40 hours of videotape by a Florida
company hired by the association to film the meetings. The intention
was to create a promotional package that could be distributed to
players and perhaps improve the union's standing with its
constituents.

After the videotapes were done, however, the NFLPA was sued by the
film company in a dispute over payment, and the union never took full
control of it. The videotapes were recently made available to the New
York Times.

The biggest revelation comes during the discussion by Doug Allen, the
union's assistant executive director, about the differences between
the league's old drug policy and the new one that was to take effect
later that year.

The tape shows Allen saying the union was informed by the NFL that a
significant number of players had failed drug tests and faced
suspensions. Allen went on to say that because of a private agreement
with the league office, the players would not be suspended and would
be given another chance under the new policy.

"I will tell you there were a number of players who were notified of
suspensions under the old policy and those suspensions were held in
abeyance until we got the new policy done," Allen said on the tape.
"We convinced them not to suspend those players."

Reached by telephone last week, Allen declined to comment because he
said the tapes were confidential.

A league official last week confirmed that players who should have
been penalized for failing drug tests under the old agreement were
not. The official, who requested anonymity, said that decision was a
concession the NFL gave to the union as part of the negotiations in
forming a more comprehensive drug policy. He put the number of players
who failed tests and should have been suspended at 16; however, one
NFL owner put the number at "more than two dozen."

At the meeting, Allen also informed the player representatives that
there were a "dozen alcohol situations" from that year. He was not
more specific on the tapes, but his words fell into the same portion
of the meeting in which he discussed failed drug tests.

The starring role in the videotapes unquestionably belongs to Gene
Upshaw, the union's director. The tape shows various portraits of the
former Raiders offensive lineman, always intelligent, sometimes
charismatic, sometimes defiant and at other times manipulative.

An intense portion of the meetings came during a nearly four-hour
discussion about a proposed rule that would have prohibited bandannas.

Upshaw said on the videotape that the only reason the league wanted to
ban the bandannas was because black players wore them. The league
office did nothing to stop white quarterbacks from wearing hats on the
sidelines, Upshaw argued on the tapes, and the hats are as prominent
as bandannas.

"It's a black and white issue," Upshaw said on the
tape.

Many of the fiercer arguments centered on Upshaw and a budget overrun
of $51,000. Upshaw faced his most vocal opposition from Tim Irwin,
then a Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive lineman. Irwin objected to the
length of Upshaw's contract extension, which was scheduled to take him
until 2000. Upshaw's new salary called for him to earn $900,000 a year.

Irwin said on the tape, "We may decide down the road we don't want
Upshaw back."

Upshaw, who repeatedly said on the tapes that he deserved even more
than the new agreement paid him, angrily retorted: "I may not want to
come back. It's a two-way street."

Finally Upshaw leaned toward Irwin and said he was not going to let
"some redneck from Tennessee" tell him what to do. Irwin did not press
the argument.