NEW YORK -- Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing has won a revote and will keep The Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award he won in January.
The second vote was taken after the league suspended Cushing for four games last week. He tested positive in September, violating the NFL's drug policy. Although Cushing said he took a non-steroid substance, the league still considers it a performance-enhancer.
Tale of Two Votes
Both in the inital vote and in Wednesday's revote, Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing was named the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year. A look at the voting totals:
Player Revote* 1st vote
Brian Cushing, Texans 18 39
Jairus Byrd, Bills 13 6
Clay Matthews III, Packers 12 3
Brian Orakpo, Redskins 3 2
James Laurinaitis, Rams 1 0
*One voter unavailable and two abstained.
The AP decided to have a revote, with a Wednesday noon deadline.
Cushing told KRIV-TV in Houston that he was happy that the majority of the voters chose to stick by him.
"It means a lot. Just the fact that people would stick by me and stay honest with me. Very, very excited and just honored. I really am," he told KRIV-TV.
That revote gave Cushing 18 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the league. Buffalo safety Jairus Byrd received 13 votes, and Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews III got 12. Washington linebacker Brian Orakpo earned three votes, and St. Louis linebacker James Laurinaitis got one.
In the original balloting, Cushing received 39 votes to six for Byrd, three for Matthews and two for Orakpo.
Cushing did lose his spot on the All-Pro second team, for which he originally had five votes and now has just one.
"I'm good," Byrd said, referring to the result. "Yeah, I'm fine with it."
One voter was not available to cast a ballot, and two voters abstained. In all, 19 voters switched from Cushing to another player, and one voted for Cushing after picking Byrd originally.
Cushing said he was nervous waiting to hear the results of the revote.
"It was stressful," Cushing told KRIV-TV. "You heard some speculations about a revote. I didn't think it would really go through.
"It did, unfortunately, but you know what nothing changed and I'm just happy again, I am."
"If I had known in January when we initially voted that Brian Cushing had tested positive for a banned substance, I might not have voted for him," said Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and president of the Pro Football Writers of America. "However, Cushing won the award in January, and I don't feel like we should revise history. I am concerned about the precedent."
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle voted for Cushing the first time and had "no problem" voting for him again.
"In good conscience, I couldn't not vote for him after voting for Julius Peppers in 2002 knowing he'd tested positive [and won the same award], and for Kevin Williams on the All-Pro team knowing he'd tested positive [in the StarCaps case].
"I also believe taking the award from Cushing would have opened up a Pandora's box when it came to players and awards. I think the AP should make it a rule that a player who tests positive is going to be subjected to a revote."
Cushing was tested last September, league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Clayton: Why I Changed My Vote
ESPN.com's John Clayton explains why he changed his vote for Defensive Rookie of the Year from Brian Cushing to Clay Matthews III. Story
After being alerted of the positive test, Cushing was tested randomly numerous times throughout the season and never tested positive again, a source familiar with the case told Schefter.
Cushing's test was positive for elevated levels of hCG, the source familiar with the case told Schefter.
HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is a banned substance that is widely used to stimulate the body's testosterone production after an athlete uses anabolic steroids.
Cushing is suspended without pay until Oct. 4, although he can participate in offseason workouts, training camp and preseason games. He will not be eligible for next season's Pro Bowl -- he made the AFC t
