Ingram disagrees with suspension: 'I fought it hard'

New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram spoke publicly for the first time since being issued a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Ingram was suspended on May 8 following the best season of his career in which he rushed for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns, adding 58 receptions for 416 yards during the 2017 campaign.

While the veteran running back disagrees with the ruling, he's doing his best to move on from the sanction.

"I fought it hard," Ingram said Tuesday via Herbie Teope of NFL.com. "I don't agree with it, I'm going to serve my suspension and I'll be back.

"The decision was made. The ruling was made and I'm going to serve my suspension."

Ingram formed one half of arguably the most dangerous running back tandem in the league last year alongside Alvin Kamara, steering the Saints to an 11-5 record and the NFC South title.

Although he disagrees with the suspension, Ingram is confident that Kamara and the rest of the running group will perform admirably while he's out of action.

"Just keep pushing, keep grinding," Ingram said. "It's not the end of the world. I'm going to be back, I'm going to be ready and those guys need to step up. Alvin is going to do a great job, I'm sure of it, and the rest of the guys are going to do a great job of preparing and putting themselves in position to have success. I'm going to be rooting for my teammates real hard and hopefully, we're 4-0 when I come back."