Colts linebacker Robert Mathis is going all-out to defend himself in the wake of his suspension for performance enhancing drugs. And that means taking on the NFL directly.

Mathis received a four game suspension for failing a drug test, but Mathis says the banned substance he used was a fertility drug taken to help him and his wife conceive a child.

The NFL didn’t budge after Mathis’ seemingly reasonable explanation for the failed test, releasing a statement saying the drug Mathis used isn’t FDA approved for men and in any case is still a banned substance per NFL rules.

Now Mathis’ agent is shooting back at the NFL over what he says was a misleading statement.

“They released a statement, which the NFL never does, and even in their statement, they’re misleading the public,” Hadley Englehard said on Mike & Mike Monday morning (via Pro Football Talk).

“There’s many drugs that are not FDA approved for certain things and are used for other things, and the doctor, in direct and cross examination, even talked about that: He’s been using this as a fertility drug for 20-plus years. There’s not one shred of evidence, there’s not one shred of testimony, that says anything but, Robert used it not for anything but fertility.”

If past experience is any indication, this will be a long, dragged out affair that ends up in the courts and probably takes years to resolve. Unless Robert Mathis wants to just get it over with and serve his suspension this year. Which might be the easier path for him, even if he is totally in the right.

You can’t fight city hall or the NFL. Al Pacino said that in a movie once I think.

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