Cowboys DE David Irving owns PED suspension, focused on season

Dallas Cowboys defensive end David Irving has heard from plenty of fans on social media angered by his performance-enhancing drug suspension. He shares that anger.

Irving took full responsibility for taking a banned substance even though he maintains he did so unknowingly. Either way, he’s accepted that he’ll miss the first four games this season.

“I was pretty upset,” Irving said. “As soon as I got the letter, I called right away like, ‘What the [expletive]? This has to be a mistake. But it wasn’t. I made the mistake.”

Irving, 23, said the banned substance came from a pre-workout drink he had been taking in the offseason. All the ingredients listed on the bottle were OK to take.

“It was supposed to be all natural, but [it had] a hidden ingredient,” Irving said. “It was a substance that actually wasn’t even listed on the bottle. When I asked about the substance, they don’t even know the substance. I guess my testosterone levels were too high.

“It gets you going. I started taking it after the season when you’re not working out with the team, you know, something to get my [butt] in the gym. It’s funny, I thought I was hitting a second puberty.”

Irving is coming off a season in which he played 15 games, including two starts, for the Cowboys.

The coaches credited him with 11 tackles, four sacks, five tackles for loss and a team-leading 26 quarterback pressures. Irving also forced four fumbles, including three in a game against the Green Bay Packers that earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 9:31 PM with the headline "Cowboys DE David Irving owns PED suspension, focused on season."