League upholds four-game suspension of Texans' Brian Cushing
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HOUSTON (Reuters) - Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing's four-game suspension for a positive drugs test has been upheld by the NFL, the league said on Thursday.
"After carefully considering all the information, including a review by outside medical experts, the commissioner finds no basis for changing the decision," the league said in a statement.
Cushing tested positive for the banned drug human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). He blamed the positive on what he called the "overtrained athlete syndrome."
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Texans owner Bob McNair met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell two weeks ago in New York in a bid to have the suspension reduced or overturned.
The NFL said no after Goodell reviewed medical information presented on Cushing's behalf.
As a result, Cushing will miss the Texans' first four games of the regular season.
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(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; editing by Pritha Sarkar)