Former NFL general manager and league executive of the year Steve Keim is being implicated in multiple defamatory schemes, but he has yet to respond to those except to friends and business associates he’s communicated with.
Keim, the former Arizona Cardinals general manager, is being accused by former Cardinals player DeAndre Hopkins of somehow setting him up for a failed NFL test that returned positive results for performance-enhancing drugs.
That test eventually led to the Keim and the Cardinals releasing Hopkins in 2023.
“I got set up when I played for his team and lost 13 million,” Hopkins wrote in a reply to an Instagram post over the weekend. “Skeme Slime was my GM, contaminated drug test, go figure how that happened.”
CARDINALS CUT DEANDRE HOPKINS BUT OTHER TEAMS ARE INTERESTED
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 03: DeAndre Hopkins #10 of the Arizona Cardinals reacts to an offensive pass interference call during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on January 03, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Hopkins was suspended for the first six games of the 2022 season after violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. An independent expert concluded the banned substance likely came from a “contaminated” supplement, but the NFL upheld the suspension because players are strictly liable for prohibited substances found in their systems.
The suspension had significant financial consequences beyond the six-game NFL penalty. Because his contract contained maximum forfeiture language, the suspension cost Hopkins approximately $13 million in guaranteed money.
The suspension also voided Hopkins’ no-trade clause, giving Keim greater flexibility in eventually moving on from the five-time Pro Bowl receiver.
Keim, could not be reached for comment, but has been apparently upset to learn his former player leveled accusations against him for that long-ago incident and apparently answered Hopkins on Instagram.
But both the Hopkins comment and the Keim reply have since been deleted.
Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim looks on before a preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on August 12, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Keim was on a flight and unavailable Monday afternoon but he has told multiple NFL people he has no connection to the Hopkins issue.
“It would make no sense to do that to my player,” Keim told one source who relayed it to Fox News Digital.
It doesn’t end there for Keim, who has other fires to address.
Barron’s reported in mid-July that Keim tied himself to Mohamed Coulibaly, who allegedly authored a scam to cheat NFL players out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by persuading them to invest in fake Shopify stores.
The report went largely unnoticed until Keim’s name surfaced publicly in the Hopkins allegations.
General Manager Steve Keim of the Arizona Cardinals watches pregame warm-ups prior to the game against the New Orleans Saints at State Farm Stadium on October 20, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Barron’s reported that Keim participated in investor calls involving the alleged e-commerce scheme and was even on the so-called pitch deck shared with potential clients for Motion Ventures.
The deck identifies Keim as the chief operation/growth officer for Motion Ventures.
Multiple NFL players have privately told Fox News Digital that they are routinely approached by companies pitching investment opportunities but they typically view these with skepticism.
The problem with the Motion Ventures pitch is apparently that Steve Keim’s name being included gave players comfort that a known NFL executive was involved, suggesting the company could be trusted.
No player who spoke with Fox News Digital with the understanding their name not be used alleged they had spoken to Keim directly.
Keim spent time after he left the Cardinals as the general manager of the Klutch Sports talent representation agency football division.
NFL EMPLOYEES’ TROUBLING DRIVING INCIDENTS MOUNT, COSTING JOBS AND PUTTING OTHERS AT RISK
That job banked on Keim using his name recognition and NFL reputation to give the agency’s new football division gravitas.
Fox News Digital contacted Klutch Sports for comment but a source said Keim is no longer employed at the agency.
Keim in 2018 pleaded guilty to extreme DUI when he delivered a .93 result in a sobriety test. He was suspended five games and fined $200,000 by the Cardinals with the fine going to Arizona chapters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
After taking an indefinite health-related leave of absence in December of 2022, the Cardinals announced on Jan. 9, 2023, that Keim was stepping down as general manager and that the two sides had mutually agreed to part ways. The announcement came one day after the Cardinals finished a disappointing 4-13 season.
Keim is still welcome in NFL circles. Since the start of training camps around the league, he has being traveling to various practice sites and been talking to general managers and other members of team front offices and coaching staffs.
FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO
