It's rare that appeals cases pertaining to the NFL substance- abuse program go public.

It's rarer still the ones that do surface result in a positive outcome for the player, as it did Tuesday for Travis Henry when the league announced the Broncos running back did not have to serve a one-year suspension.

"I don't think anybody's won a third-strike hearing before," said Denver lawyer Harvey Steinberg, who argued the case on behalf of Henry at a Nov. 16 hearing in Phoenix. "I've won them before, but never on a third strike.

"But I felt the hearing went as well as it could have gone, and if there was any fairness to the system, that I would win. And it turned out that I was right."

The decision ended weeks of waiting and wondering for the Broncos and Henry, who had been notified early this season of his latest positive test and since has been wrangling legally with the league and in federal court.

Coach Mike Shanahan staunchly had defended Henry in recent weeks, saying tests of the player's hair samples and by lie detector jibed with the running back's contention he was innocent and the test must have been administered improperly or a mistake had been made.

Shanahan maintained he would have released Henry if he'd have thought otherwise and the threshold of the chemicals in marijuana that would register a positive test was too low for Henry's to have been anything but secondhand inhalation.

The team released a statement that said the Broncos were "pleased with this outcome and happy that Travis has been absolved of any wrongdoing with respect to this matter," while also looking forward to Henry's continued contributions on the field.

Henry, in spite of the decision, remains subject to testing up to 10 times a month and will face a one-year suspension with any further misstep.

Still, a negative outcome in this case likely would have had a devastating effect on his career and his prospects for future earnings.

Henry now is eligible to collect a $6 million bonus he was owed under the free-agent deal he signed with the Broncos in March.

Henry did not return phone messages seeking comment.

"Travis Henry will remain in the substance-abuse program, must continue to adhere to all aspects of it, but will not be suspended following his appeal," spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement from the NFL.

"The defense of hair samples and lie-detector tests was irrelevant and unconvincing, but our substance-abuse program is based on meeting the highest standards and respecting player rights in all phases of its administration."

The breadth of that announcement angered Steinberg, who believes anything other than a straight announcement was "gratuitous, inappropriate and a cheap shot" from the league.

"They're not supposed to discuss it," Steinberg said. "And Greg Aiello ought to keep his mouth shut."

Further, Steinberg said, everything was a factor in the decision, including the lie-detector and hair-sample results.

Negative drug tests several days before and after Henry's positive result also were taken into account, he said.

And, critically, according to Steinberg, the fact the league "withheld testing results" played a pivotal part in the decision- making process.

"The NFL got caught hiding evidence," the lawyer said. "They can't hide evidence from players."

Henry was facing the one-year suspension because he had been suspended under the league's drug policy for four games in 2005 and needed to remain clean for a two-year period that was scheduled to end Oct. 1 under Stage 2 of the substance-abuse program.

Aside from the Phoenix hearing, which commissioner Roger Goodell attended, along with other officials, Henry also is involved in a lawsuit against the league, which still is ongoing, regarding portions of the drug-testing program.

The NFL filed a motion that the lawsuit be thrown out of federal court. Henry's attorneys now could drop the lawsuit, given the positive outcome.

"He's very, very happy and relieved," Steinberg said of Henry.

On the field, Henry has missed four games with injuries but still leads the team with 629 rushing yards on 143 carries. He has scored three touchdowns.

In Sunday's loss at Oakland, Henry finished with 15 carries for 49 yards, with a fumble and a botched handoff exchange.

Shanahan said Henry was supposed to get only 10 carries in returning from the knee injury. Henry had to play more because Selvin Young suffered an injury.

"He carried the ball too much," Shanahan said at his news conference Monday. "But when he was healthy, he was leading the National Football League, so just because he's hurt doesn't mean the guy can't play."

Up-and-down season

Broncos running back Travis Henry has ridden a roller coaster this season.

August

* Reports surface he has fathered nine children by nine women across four Southern states.

September

* Starts the season with three 100-yard rushing games in his first four starts and leads the NFL in rushing through the first month.

October

* Word surfaces he has tested positive for marijuana, so he faces the potential of a one-year suspension.

* Officially is notified of the positive test by the NFL in a letter, which begins the league's disciplinary proceedings.

* Suffers a rib-cartilage injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 21, then misses next game against the Green Bay Packers.

November

* Injures left knee Nov. 4 against the Detroit Lions. Out next three games.

* Appears at appeals hearing in Phoenix on Nov. 16.

December

* Rushes for 49 yards on 14 carries Sunday on a sore knee in a loss against the Raiders.

* Notified Tuesday his appeal was successful and he will not be suspended for a year. But he will remain in the league's substance-abuse program and is subject to testing.