BREAKING: New England patriots key player test positive for hard substance…

Edelman of the Patriots performed—and cheated.

Julian Edelman’s story is undoubtedly interesting.

A short, bearded man selected in the last round of the draft who went on to become one of the NFL’s best wide receivers despite all the odds.

And now MVP of the Super Bowl.

However, we must not overlook another really significant component of this tale:

He was unfaithful.

Edelman received recognition on Monday for his impressive 10-catch, 141-yard effort the night before, which was the lone offensive bright spot in the New England Patriots’ dismal Super Bowl victory. Commissioner Roger Goodell was beaming as he gave Edelman the silver football-shaped Pete Rozelle Trophy. Five days earlier, Goodell had stated nonchalantly that Colin Kaepernick’s two-year suspension from the league for protesting social injustice was just a football decision made independently by 32 franchises.

“Deservedly so. Amazing performance, and it wasn’t just last night—his postseason play has been just phenomenal,” Goodell remarked. “Congratulations, Julian. Come on over and get your award.

The fact that Edelman tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and was suspended for the first four games of the season was not mentioned.

The wide receiver discussed the “ups and downs” the Patriots had experienced during his brief introductory words, referring to them as “just the ebbs and flows of the season.”

The first question was then posed.

The reporter remarked with a tone of awe, “You missed last year (due to a torn ACL), you come back this year and have a four-game suspension, talk about fighting back through adversity and coming out on the other end as the Super Bowl MVP.” “What did that mean to you, through all the work that you put in?”

After suffering a severe knee injury, Edelman undoubtedly put in a lot of effort to return to the field at age 32, despite many doubting his ability to play as well as he did in the past.

However, it’s also important to note that Edelman used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to give his rehabilitation an illegal boost, probably in an attempt to increase his chances of playing again later in his career.

While expressing his regret for his error and expressing the typical bewilderment that catches cheats off guard, Edelman never disclosed the specific content in question. After serving his suspension, he returned to the field and nearly equaled his pre-injury performance from 2016, hauling in 74 catches for 850 yards and six touchdowns during the last 12 regular-season games.

In the postseason, he excelled even more.

Against the Los Angeles Chargers in the divisional round, Edelman hauled in nine receptions for 151 yards. In the exciting overtime victory over Kansas City in the AFC championship game, he had seven receptions for 96 yards. At last, he ignited the Patriot offense in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever, helping them defeat the Rams 13-3.

Now, Edelman would not have had the opportunity to shine on the big stage if he had been an Olympic athlete or a player in Major League Baseball.

A clause in the MLB’s doping policy states that a positive test result bars a person from participating in the postseason in that year, even if they have already completed their whole suspension. After All-Stars Jhonny Peralta and Nelson Cruz returned from doping suspensions in time to play in the playoffs in 2014, which understandably infuriated other players, an additional sanction was applied.

Following suit, the World Anti-Doping Agency increased the possible punishment for a first-time doping offender from two to four years in an effort to guarantee that anyone discovered flagrantly abusing doping would be forced to miss the next Olympics.

However, neither the players union nor the NFL has demonstrated that they are very serious about ending doping. If a PED test is positive, players should, at the at least, be suspended for eight games, or half of the regular season, and be banned from the postseason. To help with the chronic pain that so many present and past players must experience, stricter testing regulations that adhere to international standards should also be implemented. These measures might be implemented in conjunction with loosened prohibitions on marijuana use and the legalization of medicinal marijuana.

It is imperative that those of us in the media examine whether our portrayals of people who break the law have any racial undertones.

Since Edelman is typically praised for being tiny, not as gifted as his teammates, and someone who makes up for it with brains and work ethic, it’s possible that he didn’t receive any genuine criticism for his drug offense. Fans—and maybe even media members—are sure to argue that Edelman was only demonstrating his commitment to the game by going above and above to return to action following a major injury.

While his achievements were duly acknowledged, let us not overlook that additional aspect.

He was unfaithful.