A former NFL executive is in a brewing legal dispute with former Clemson star DeAndre Hopkins.
Former Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has retained legal counsel to address public allegations made by Hopkins.
Hopkins recently published, and subsequently deleted, a social media post accusing Keim of being involved in manipulating a drug test that resulted in Hopkins’ six-game suspension in 2022 for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
Hopkins claimed he was “set up” and implied Keim was connected to a “contaminated drug test” that cost him $13 million while Keim was his general manager in Arizona.
“I got set up when I played for his team and lost 13 million. Skeme Slime was my GM, contaminated drug test go figure how that happened,” Hopkins said regarding Keim, via Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic.
In a statement released Wednesday, Keim strongly denied any involvement or tampering with the drug test, calling the accusation “completely false,” and he formally retained attorney Raees Mohamed, Esq., to address the matter.
His legal team began reviewing and preserving relevant evidence for potential civil litigation, and Keim stated he will not litigate the issue over social media.
“DeAndre Hopkins recently published and then deleted a statement falsely suggesting that I was responsible for contaminating or manipulating the drug test associated with his 2022 NFL suspension,” Keim said in a statement.
“That accusation is completely false.
“I did not contaminate, alter, manipulate, interfere with, or cause anyone else to interfere with DeAndre’s drug test or its results. I did not ‘set him up’ for a suspension, and I had no involvement in causing the test result that led to his suspension.
“Accusing someone of deliberately interfering with an NFL drug test is an extraordinarily serious allegation. It attacks my integrity, my professional reputation, and the work I spent decades building in the National Football League. The fact that the statement was later deleted does not undo the damage caused by publishing it to a large public audience.
“I have retained counsel, Raees Mohamed, Esq., to aggressively address this matter and to protect my reputation and legal rights. The relevant evidence is being reviewed and preserved, and this matter will be handled through the appropriate channels.
“I have no intention of engaging in a public back-and-forth or litigating this issue on social media. But I also will not remain silent when I am falsely accused of conduct that I did not commit.
“DeAndre’s accusation concerning my involvement in his drug test is false. I unequivocally deny it.”
Keim traded for Hopkins in 2020, bringing him to the Cardinals from the Houston Texans. The 2022 season, when Hopkins received his suspension, was the final year for both men with the franchise. Keim stepped away from his general manager role in January 2023, and the Cardinals released Hopkins later that offseason.
The 34-year-old Hopkins, a 13-year NFL veteran, said recently he has not retired from the NFLv despite joining Georgia Tech’s coaching staff as an assistant wide receivers coach under head coach Brent Key.