Bills RB has three-game suspension upheld

NEW YORK, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch lost his appeal Monday of a three-game suspension assessed by the NFL in April.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who confirmed the suspension being upheld through a league spokesman, issued the ban without pay for Lynch violating the league's personal conduct policy involving a weapons charge Feb. 11.

Lynch was arrested in California on the weapons charge and pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor count of carrying a gun in his vehicle. It was the second incident involving Lynch, who was driving a vehicle that struck a woman in Buffalo May 31, 2008, in a hit-and-run case.

The suspension lasts from Sept. 5-28 and will cover the first three games of Buffalo's 2009 regular season.

Lynch, who ran for 1,036 yards and eight touchdowns last season, can participate in training camp and Buffalo's pre-season games before the suspension goes into effect.