SI.com Retracts Raji Report

A day after word broke that Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji didn't test positive for marijuana at the Scouting Combine, SI.com has retracted it's report to the contrary.

"An SI.com report posted earlier this month incorrectly stated that Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji's name would appear on the NFL's list of players who tested positive for drugs at the NFL Scouting Combine in February," the "Correction" reads. "We regret the error."

SI.com initially removed the report from draft expert Tony Pauline, but opted not to retract it, presumably pending publication of the official list of players who tested positive. Pauline publicly said that he stands by what his sources told him.

Though legal action by Raji remains possible, it likely won't trigger a big-money outcome.  A defamation claim puts a person's entire life under a microscope, since the measure of damages is the ultimate injury to his pre-existing reputation.

Moreover, the fact that he didn't appear on the list of players who tested positive means that, in theory, the report didn't affect his draft stock.

But with the NFL delaying the dissemination of the drug test report until this week, it's possible that one or more teams who were inclined to kick Raji's tires via a pre-draft visit removed him from the board before knowing for sure whether the report was accurate. The fact that he has been cleared doesn't change the fact that it's too late to bring him to town for further due diligence.

Still, with no feasible way of defending against liability without disclosing Pauline's sources, SI.com would be in a bind, if Raji chooses to file suit.

Our guess is that Raji's people will at a minimum give SI.com a chance to resolve the case cleanly and quietly with a confidential payment to Raji's favorite charity.

You know, the charity that begins at home.