Former Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim has retained legal counsel after former wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins accused him of manipulating a drug test.
According to NFL insider Ari Meirov, Keim hired attorney Raees Mohamed, Esq., after Hopkins claimed in a deleted social media post that his former executive set him up for a six-game suspension in 2022.
Hopkins, an All-Pro wide receiver who played three seasons in Arizona, published the allegation on Instagram before deleting it, according to the Arizona Republic. In the post, Hopkins wrote: "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."
Keim publicly denied the allegations in a statement released on Tuesday, calling the claims completely false and confirming that he has taken formal legal action to protect his reputation.
In his statement, Keim wrote: "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. That accusation is completely false."
Keim added: "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."
Legal Action and Statements
The former general manager stressed the impact of the accusation on his professional standing in the league. "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," Keim said.
Addressing his next steps, Keim confirmed: "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."
Keim stated that while he refuses to engage in "public back-and-forth" or "litigating" the incident on social media, he would "not remain silent" regarding the allegations.
Suspension History and Future Steps
The ongoing feud relates to the 2022 season, when Hopkins served a six-game suspension for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The Cardinals struggled during that campaign, finishing with a 4-13 record after star quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a season-ending torn ACL.
Keim, who originally traded for Hopkins during the 2020 season, left his position as general manager in the ensuing offseason after ten years leading football operations for the franchise.
Hopkins last played in the NFL during the 2025 season with the Baltimore Ravens before taking a role as an assistant wide receivers coach at Georgia Tech. He has not made an official announcement confirming his retirement from professional football.
