Doug Sanders, the brand manager of Cardinals star DeAndre Hopkins, issued a statement via text message on Monday in the aftermath of the receiver’s six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s perform-enhancing drug policy.
In the text, obtained by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Sanders describes how “completely shocked” Hopkins and his team were by the discovery that led to the NFL’s decision to discipline the 29-year-old on Monday. Sanders noted that Hopkins’s October and December tests came back negative, and the team is investigating how his November test sparked a positive result.