More than 18 months after placing him on administrative leave during an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Washington Commanders rehired Doug Quon to his previous role of assistant athletic trainer.
The team subsequently placed Vermillion on administrative leave, and 10 months later, he agreed to a deferred prosecution for illegally obtaining controlled substances and distributing them to players during his time with the team. The NFL suspended him indefinitely from working with any club, and the Commanders fired him.
The team placed Quon on leave shortly after Vermillion but without clarity as was to whether the leave was tied to the investigation. He was not charged, and according to two people with knowledge of the matter, both the NFL and the NFL Players Association approved his rehiring.
“Player health and safety is our top priority, and we are pleased to continue to build up our training staff with another seasoned professional with the reinstatement of Doug Quon in the role of assistant athletic trainer,” a Commanders spokesperson said in a statement. “We are happy to welcome him back.”
The Commanders did not replace Vermillion or Quon during the 2021 season and instead relied on their remaining assistant athletic trainers and summer interns, as well as the temporary help of former Washington athletic trainer Bubba Tyer and former Capitals athletic trainer Greg Smith.
In April 2022, the team hired Al Bellamy as head athletic trainer and later added Lindsay Gately as an assistant athletic trainer/physical therapist, making her the first full-time female member of the athletic training staff in franchise history.
In 2018, Quon was a part of a Commanders’ athletic training staff that won the Ed Block Courage Award for NFL athletic training staff of the year. He was previously an assistant athletic trainer at the University of California Irvine (2013-14) and with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012. He also interned with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006 and 2007 and worked with Texas Tech’s football program while earning his master’s degree in athletic training.
In Washington, Quon maintains the team’s database of ImPACT concussion tests with the league in addition to assisting with the daily care and rehab of players and coordinating the team’s athletic training internship.