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Actually I am won’t be surprised if this item is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a special exhibit named the, “Performance Enhancing Era” some day. Kind of surprised that the NFL did not bid on the item since it opened up the flood gates for drug testing in the NFL.   The notoriety surrounding the Whizzinator was really Puck Technology’s (the manufacture of the Whizzinator) downfall.   The owners have since shut down their business and pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges.

Remember “The Original Whizzinator,” a device designed to beat drug tests made famous by former Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith?
The Shakopee Auction Center sold the device for $750 Friday night, along with other items that belonged to Smith.

The winner was a broker who purchased it for a local businessman, who was not revealed. It is unknown what he plans to do with the device.  “We’ve never sold anything quite like this before, and probably not again,” said Jennifer Sexton, the owner and auctioneer of the Shakopee Auction Center. “I can’t imagine there are too many Whizzinators out there for sale.”

Smith, who dubbed himself the “Steal of the Draft” after the Vikings selected him in the fourth round in 2003, led the Vikings in rushing with 544 yards in 2004. But Smith ran into problems in May 2005 when he was caught at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with “The Original Whizzinator.” In June he was suspended for the entire 2005 season, and the Vikings released him in April 2006. He signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but was released within a month. Sexton said she has a client who purchases property at lien sales. The items they are selling were in a storage container somewhere in the Twin Cities, Sexton said. Three of the items are identified as training camp playbooks.

Asked if he were concerned about usually sensitive information like that leaking out, Vikings coach Brad Childress said: “Not a lick. “It probably would make a good doorstop, though.” Childress also told the reporter who asked the question, “I hope you don’t pay too extensively through the nose for that or anything.” Childress presumably doesn’t care because the playbook was from the previous regime, led by Mike Tice. Since taking over in January 2006, Childress has implemented a version of the West Coast offense.

Sexton said her company talked about whether to sell the Whizzinator and even consulted an attorney. She said they decided not to sell more personal effects, including legal papers. As for what someone would want with Smith’s Whizzinator? “You buy it, you show it to your friends, then what?” Sexton said. “It’s not like you’re going to get it framed and hang it in the basement.” The buzz drew about 100 people into an area that fit about half that size. But only a handful of people actually bid on the items, and two engaged in a bidding war for the Whizzinator. The big-ticket item from Smith’s belongings was a Hublot watch that sold for $3,000 — about $7,000 below the price on several Web sites. Smith’s helmet went for $100, and his contract netted just $60.

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“Drug testing was originally designed to test for illegal drugs.   In 1987 Minnesota legislators enacted a law that would prohibit companies from taking action against employees that tested positive for legal or perscribed substances.   This law allowed football players Kevin William and Pat Williams to continue to play football with the Vikings.   They tested positive for bumetanide which is  a diueretic used for weight control.    As as a side affect it can possible mask steriod use.   Shouldn’t the burden be on the lab?  If bumetanide can tamper with results from the test then the testing procedure needs to be improved.   This abuse is what the Minnesota law was designed to protect.”

If Brett Favre decides to buy that condominium in Edina and move to Minnesota to play quarterback for the Vikings, he may be legally entitled to block the National Football League (NFL) from testing him for steroids and other drugs under the NFL’s current policy.

That is the potential consequence of a recent ruling by Judge Gary Larson in Hennepin County District Court in which he ruled that the NFL was temporarily restrained from suspending Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams for testing positive for bumetanide, a diuretic which may mask the presence of steroids.

Judge Larson based his ruling on a unique Minnesota law passed in 1987 known as the Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace Act (DATWA), as well as another Minnesota statute, the Lawful Consumable Products Act, which prohibits employers from taking adverse action based on an employee’s use of lawful products, such as alcohol or nicotine, so long as it is off hours on the worker’s own time. As the Vikings, Twins and other sports teams wrestle with the use of performance-improving drugs, Larson’s decision also highlights the need for all employers to be wary of drug-testing employees in Minnesota and for the Legislature to reform defects in the law.

The workplace act is probably the most complex drug-testing law in the country and creates a briar patch of liability for unsuspecting employers. The law permits drug testing only in limited circumstances, such as:

• When the subject is a job applicant.

• As part of a routine physical examination no more than once a year.

• On a random basis only for “safety-sensitive” positions (or professional athletes).

• When the employer has “reasonable suspicion,” for example after an accident or injury.

• Following the employee’s participation in a treatment program.