BERRIAN SAYS NFL STEROIDS HOTLINE DOESN’T ALWAYS REPLY

Vikings receiver Bernard Berrian shifted some of the blame for the league’s supplement scandal to the operators of the NFL’s steroids hotline. “You’ve got to take some responsibility and call into that hotline [to inquire about the legality of certain products],” Berrian said on Sirius Radio, per the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “But I know one thing about that hotline. I’ve called twice before and actually never gotten a hold of anybody sometimes. So even when you try to do the right thing sometimes it is still hard to get a hold of somebody and really find out what you’re really taking.” Vikings defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams are among a group of players possibly facing four-game suspensions for popping water pills. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the paper that the league plans to “follow up” with the toll-free hotline after learning of Berrian’s comments. According to Aiello, the hotline is run by an independent group and manned during “extended business hours.” Players are supposed to get return calls when they leave messages and can also send e-mails with questions about whether supplement violate the NFL’s policy. Advice to NFL players: Don’t assume the supplement in question is OK if you don’t get a return call from the hotline folks.