Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

[homeslice5484]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/08/19/merriman-case-is-closed-before-it-was-even-opened/

On Thursday, a Buffalo-centric website created a stir with a report that authorities at the Canada-U.S. border found steroids in the possession of Bills linebacker Shawne Merriman.

Merriman took to Twitter last night to deny the allegation. He provided more details to the Buffalo News.

“No problem,” Merriman said. “I came across as I normally do. I go there to get some massage therapy work done. They just questioned me about some bags and stuff I had. I was stopped and that was it. I was coming to camp. I had suitcases and stuff like that. They just wanted to go through all my stuff.”

He said nothing was confiscated. “I had stuff coming to camp,” Merriman said. “They went through all my suitcases and that was it.”

And that apparently will be the end of the story. Government officials had nothing to report, according to the Buffalo News. There’s no prosecution, and Thomas Russert of the U.S. Border Patrol (I’ve got a sawbuck that says the guy is related to Luke) said that, unless there’s an arrest or criminal charges, no other information can be released.

Of course, that leaves a donut hole into which the BuffaloSportsDaily.com report theoretically can fit. Per the original report, Merriman wasn’t arrested or charged. And if no information will be released by U.S. Border Patrol unless someone is arrested or charged, we’ll never know with certainty what was or wasn’t found in Merriman’s possession.

That said, one of the fundamental assumptions of the BuffaloSportsDaily.com report is deeply flawed. “He was not arrested and booked because from what I’m told,” the report states, “simply being in the possession of the substance is not technically illegal.”

The problem is that possession of steroids is illegal, absent a valid medical prescription. (Indeed, if Raiders receiver Louis Murphy can be busted for possessing Viagra without a prescription, Merriman can be busted for having steroids without a prescription.)

And so the absence of an arrest means that Merriman wasn’t in possession of steroids.

[Jan Reimers]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

I'm not positive (pun intended) that we've heard the last of this, but I sure hope we have. If healthy, Merriman can be a force.

[superbills]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

I'm positive that I'm so tired of bloggers and would-be reporters throwing good journalism out the window in search of the next big story. I'll be the first to eat crow if anything comes of this, but right now, I'm pretty pissed that we're bringing more negative media attention this organization and, as it looks now, for something that is patently false anyway.

[DBrown77]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

He should be embarrassed. He now has zero credibility in my eyes and a lot of others.

[ChristopherWalken]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

I'm positive that I'm so tired of bloggers and would-be reporters throwing good journalism out the window in search of the next big story. I'll be the first to eat crow if anything comes of this, but right now, I'm pretty pissed that we're bringing more negative media attention this organization and, as it looks now, for something that is patently false anyway.

Completely agree with this statement. Let the real media do their job.

[camelcowboy]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

He list this site as a partner I wouldn't want to be lumped in with this tool.

[OpIv37]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

He should be embarrassed. He now has zero credibility in my eyes and a lot of others.

You mean Moran, or Merriman?

I hope you mean Moran because I've had similar experiences at the border on several different occasions.

[camelcowboy]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

You mean Moran, or Merriman?

I hope you mean Moran because I've had similar experiences at the border on several different occasions.

Moran even went as far as saying he was so confident in his story he'd wager his 8 year olds life. "May they be hit by a car" I find that despicable, its one thing to make a mockery out journalism but leave ur child out of it.

[Night Train]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

Maybe he has a side busines as a bail bondsman and needed the $$.




I'm tiring fast of self invented bloggers with no real information. The internet is already saturated. Die already.

[don137]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

I am guessing Merriman may of had some kind of supplement but that supplement could of been a legal supplement. It is a far cry from steroids. I think Moran loses a lot of credibility and unless something major happens that proves his story true his career as a journalist is over. You cannot make accusations like that and be only half right.

[Dude]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

He list this site as a partner I wouldn't want to be lumped in with this tool.

We are not affiliated. He wanted us to be their message board of choice, but then he threw up a whole bunch of other sites and there was no benefit to us. We told him as much, so I have no idea why he continues to list us as a partner.

[OpIv37]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

Of course, that leaves a donut hole into which the BuffaloSportsDaily.com report theoretically can fit. Per the original report, Merriman wasn’t arrested or charged. And if no information will be released by U.S. Border Patrol unless someone is arrested or charged, we’ll never know with certainty what was or wasn’t found in Merriman’s possession.

That said, one of the fundamental assumptions of the BuffaloSportsDaily.com report is deeply flawed. “He was not arrested and booked because from what I’m told,” the report states, “simply being in the possession of the substance is not technically illegal.”

The problem is that possession of steroids is illegal, absent a valid medical prescription. (Indeed, if Raiders receiver Louis Murphy can be busted for possessing Viagra without a prescription, Merriman can be busted for having steroids without a prescription.)

I think this is the telling point right here. Moran saw his opportunity to break a story and make a name for himself. He got too excited and failed to see that the reason no one else broke the story is because that it really isn't a story. People get randomly stopped and searched at the border all the time because that's how Border Patrol conducts business.

[better days]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

I am guessing Merriman may of had some kind of supplement but that supplement could of been a legal supplement. It is a far cry from steroids. I think Moran loses a lot of credibility and unless something major happens that proves his story true his career as a journalist is over. You cannot make accusations like that and be only half right.

Well, I'm guessing as Merriman said, he was stopped as people are every day & found to have nothing in his possession that should be confiscated.

Moran lost no credibility with this story, because he had none to start with.

[Jeff1220]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

I get pulled out of line and searched just about every other time I fly internationally - news at 11.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

Re: Merriman case is closed, before it was even opened

Not to continue this story, hopefully it is done, but Russert is from US Border Patrol and they would have nothing to do with something that happens with US Customs and Border Protection. Let's hope nothing comes from this and it is just dropped.