BILLS: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell personally informed Buffalo running back Marshawn Lynch on Monday at the Bills’ training camp in Pittsford, N.Y., that he won’t be disciplined by the league for a hit-and-run accident that left a woman injured.
Goodell based his decision on the fact that Lynch eventually agreed to plead guilty to a traffic violation, which is not a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Lynch initially faced more serious charges.
Goodell warned Lynch of the importance to act responsibly because he represents NFL players, the Bills and the league.
The Bills starting running back and 2007 first-round draft pick lost his license after pleading guilty to a traffic violation last month. As part of the plea agreement, Lynch admitted speeding off in his Porsche Cayenne SUV after striking a female pedestrian near Buffalo’s downtown bar district on May 31.
The victim, a 27-year-old woman from suburban Toronto, was treated and released from the hospital later that day after sustaining a bruised hip and cut to her thigh that required seven stitches.
GIANTS: Recently signed New York Giants offensive tackle Shane Olivea said Monday that he was addicted to painkillers while playing for the San Diego Chargers last season. The 26-year Olivea lost his starting job at right tackle in midseason and was eventually released by the Chargers in February, a move he said he asked the team to make.
Olivea said that he did not confront his problem until his family intervened in April, about a week before the NFL Draft. He was treated at the Betty Ford Center in California. While under treatment, the NFL suspended him for four games for failing to take a mandatory urine test. Olivea said he was never informed he had to take the test. He appealed the suspension and it was rescinded.
A rising star who only two years ago signed a six-year, $20 million contract, Olivea indicated he used prescription pain medication for relief from a number of nagging injuries.
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