Jackson Free Press

New Orleans Saints running back and Jackson businessman Deuce McAllister faces a possible four-game suspension for testing positive for Bumetanide, a drug on the NFL's list of banned substances. The drug is a powerful diuretic that professional athletes sometimes use to lose weight, but it can also be used to mask the presence of steroids and other drugs.

Two other Saints players who tested positive, Charles Grant and Will Smith, have joined McAllister in filing an appeal with the league. All three say that the Bumetanide came from StarCaps, over-the-counter weight-loss pills that do not list the banned substance as an ingredient.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, McAllister says that he had taken StarCaps for at least four years and that he submitted the pills for testing when he began using them.

At training camp in Jackson this summer, McAllister arrived weighing 227 pounds, eight pounds below his usual weight. At the time, Saints head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees both praised McAllister's work ethic.

McAllister sat out most of the 2007 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He missed most of the 2005 season due to the same injury in his right knee.

This is the first drug offense for all three players. McAllister, a nine-year veteran, is widely respected within his team and around the league for his leadership and charity work.

Saints spokesman Greg Bensel declined comment. David Cornwell, an Atlanta attorney representing the three Saints players, did not return calls on Tuesday.

McAllister's and Smith's positive tests were first identified in a report by Denver television station FOX 31. In that report, an unnamed NFL source revealed that between six and 10 players had tested positive for Bumetanide or a similar diuretic. Subsequent reports by FOX Sports and ESPN identified other players with drug violations from the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans.

According to FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer, McAllister, Smith and Grant's joint appeal is set for mid-November.