FOXBORO, Mass., Dec. 20 -- The New England Patriots Wednesday suspended Ty Law for the final game of the season Sunday against Miami after the Pro Bowl cornerback was found with a small amount of the party drug ecstasy by customs inspectors at a Niagara Falls, N.Y., border crossing.
Head coach Bill Belichick said the disciplinary action was for violating team rules, but would not elaborate.
Law on Tuesday apologized for embarrassing the team and his family, but said the illegal drugs were not his and belonged to a cousin.
Law said that when he left with the team for Sunday's game in Buffalo, N.Y., he grabbed a bag that had been used by his cousin who occasionally lived with him and was unaware there was any contraband inside.
Law and teammates Terry Glenn and Troy Brown, citing fear of flying in a snow storm, asked for and received permission to stay in Buffalo Sunday night rather than fly out on the team plane during a blizzard.
They took a commercial flight Monday morning, but arrived back in Foxboro late for the team's scheduled 1 p.m. meeting.
The reason they were late was because Law had been detained by U.S. Customs agents just before 6 a.m. Monday on the American side of the Rainbow Bridge. Because of a mix-up involving the registration of the rental car and the license of the woman driving it, agents searched the woman and reportedly found a marijuana cigarette. That prompted them to search Law's baggage as well, where they found a small bag of pills they determined to be the drug ecstasy.
Law was not arrested but had to pay a $700 administrative fine. The woman also paid a small fine and both were released.
After skipping the team flight, the three players had gone to the Canadian side to visit an adult strip club. Law said Glenn and Brown were not in the car with him, despite earlier news reports to the contrary. They had left the club earlier and later reunited with Law at the Buffalo airport.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Lawagreed that his story that the drugs belonged to a relative sounded "stupid" and "unbelievable."
"I want to make it absolutely clear that these drugs did not belong to me," Law said. "I grabbed the bag, not knowing what was in the bag. I had no idea that these drugs were in my bag and in my possession."
"I think that people who know me well know that I'm not a drug user," he said. "I have never done illegal drugs in my life."
He said he took a voluntary drug test to prove he was "not dirty."
Glenn and Brown were not suspended.NEWLN:
