/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/37856394/463806735.0.jpg)
The funny story about Wes Welker handing out $100 bills after the Kentucky Derby this offseason isn't so funny anymore.
According to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, that was the day Welker violated the league's Performance Enhancing Drug (PED) policy, and Welker was guilty of taking Molly cut with amphetamines at the race. Welker will reportedly be handed down a four-game suspension from the NFL.
Wes Welker just handed everyone $100. pic.twitter.com/mtU9eOMonx
— Jeff Novak II (@Jeff_Novak) May 3, 2014
Molly is a form of pure MDMA (and also an amphetamine) that has become recently popular in high school, college and club circles, comparable to ecstasy.
Florio notes that ongoing negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA may have made this less consequential for Welker, had it happened next year.
As happened with Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick, pure MDMA wouldn't have triggered a violation under the PED policy. The presence of amphetamines resulted in a one-strike, four-game suspension.
If the NFL and NFLPA had struck a deal on HGH testing, Welker likely wouldn't have been suspended. It's believed that the new drug-testing policies that will become effective if/when a final agreement is reached on HGH testing will result in amphetamines shifting to the substance-abuse policy during the offseason.
In other words, Welker's violation would have landed him a warning, possibly a $50K fine, and placement in the league's substance abuse policy, where he would be more rigorously and regularly tested for years moving forward. No games missed. That's the same program Matt Prater was recently found guilty of violating, also resulting in a four-game ban.
Hey, Broncos - stop putting bad &%^# in your body.