Georgia’s problems reaffirm NCAA needs uniform drug policy
Bobby Bowden supports Georgia's drug policy but says it might leave the team at a competitive disadvantage.
ATHENS – It’s fair to start with this: There is no excuse for doing something wrong.
There is no excuse for stealing money from a teammate’s dorm room, just because you’re short of cash. No excuse for getting into a physical altercation with a girlfriend, just because there was an argument. No excuse for getting high, just because … well, just because. No excuse for exploring the cannabis culinary arts and eating Alice B. Toklas brownies, just because you were on spring break and you were hungry and, really, honest, pinky-swear, you didn’t even know that there was marijuana in them (uh, right.)
These are some of the reasons why Georgia coach Mark Richt has been suspending or dismissing players at an alarming rate lately – eight since January. This is when nobody seems to remember how many stars were by a recruit’s name on national signing day. Funny how that works.
Richt has a problem. But only part of it has to do with the fact that too many of his players are doing really dumb things. The other has to do with a somewhat unlevel playing field.
Georgia has a fairly strict drug-and-alcohol policy for its student-athletes, relative to most other universities, particularly those in the SEC. UGA suspends players for at least one game (10 percent of schedule) after the first positive test. A second positive test mandates a suspension of at least 30 percent of the schedule (or four games) for a non-controlled substance or 50 percent (six games) for a controlled substance or DUI. A third positive results in dismissal.
An examination of schools in BCS conferences by AOL/Fanhouse in 2010 revealed Georgia and Kentucky were the only two SEC members that suspended players following the first positive drug test. Only six of 68 programs overall do so (Baylor, Cincinnati, Miami and Virginia Tech are the others).
Every time Mark Richt looks up, another player is getting into trouble. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)
As a comparison, Florida has among the most lenient policies, with no suspension until the second positive test and no dismissal until the fifth positive.
How often and when, if at all, an athlete is tested also is up to each university. The NCAA, in fact, allows every school to set its own policy.
This is a problem. There needs to be uniformity among athletic programs’ drug-testing policy, not just within conferences but across the country. Anything short of that creates a competitive disadvantage for some.
Among those supporting the idea for uniformity is former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, Richt’s coaching mentor, who was in Athens on Friday for a high school coaches clinic.
Bowden had a reputation for being soft in the area of player discipline when he coached. But he acknowledges he would have to be tougher if he coached now, saying, “I would have to do a better job of educating the young men, trying to expose them to things where they would learn some moral issues that maybe they missed in their home.”
He supports Georgia’s policy, but doesn’t seem surprised Richt is having problems.
“One reason at Georgia [that] you hear so many boys getting out of line is because they’re so dog-gone restrictive,” he said. “I know a lot of schools — I don’t want to say something I shouldn’t say – but [they] don’t have to drug test. If you don’t want your boys to be caught with drugs, don’t drug-test them. And some schools do that. If you have a strict program, the way our society is, you’re going to have kids [test positive].”
Asked if he supported a universal policy, Bowden said: “Yes. That would be fair. There’s no doubt about it. … Georgia needs to do what’s best for Georgia. And you’ve got to soothe your conscience that you’re not letting bad things happen just because you don’t think somebody’s going to find out. But there’s an advantage if you’re a school that doesn’t test.”
In retirement, Bowden is able to laugh about some things he couldn’t before, such as when Florida State players were found to be receiving free athletic gear from a local sporting-goods store. Borrowing the line from his former thorn, Steve Spurrier, Bowden cracked, “You’ve all heard of Free Shoes University, haven’t you? I had a slogan on my desk: ‘This too shall pass.’”
That is all Richt can bank on right now. And maybe hope for a quieter summer.
By Jeff Schultz
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280 comments Add your comment
Gibson Dawg
March 31st, 2012
12:23 am
beast from the east, whats your address?
icedawg
March 31st, 2012
12:34 am
You are right, there needs to be a uniform policy and it needs to be strict. Drugs, drinking and driving, criminal behaviour should be strongly, strongly discouraged. Immaturity is no excuse.
Po Boy
March 31st, 2012
12:37 am
Dey jus was smokin a lil weed. Rambo ate up a few brownees. Dem blunts make you hungry as a mugfug.
kingdaddy
March 31st, 2012
4:13 am
I am fed up to here with the defensive players on this team. CTG, what the hell is going on? I thought you were the cure. I’ve never been so dissapointed in a Ga. Team in my life and you haven’t even played a game. Derrick POS LOTT, I hope you BIH you quitter. Loser. I have never been so ashamed of a Ga. Team…
A Father
March 31st, 2012
8:55 am
I think Rambo goes to supplemental route asap, nothing to gain at this point staying at UGA.
Brandon Smith: minimum 6 games second offense, he flunked drug test prior to Florida last year.
Lott was a really good player and needed for our Defensive Line Depth. Our fat boys are exhausted after three plays, anyone carrying that kind of weight shold be exhausted.
The worse is still yet to come, Butts Mehre is in Flames!!!!!!!!!!!
Jay
March 31st, 2012
9:10 am
“am as sick as anyone about what has been happening @ UGA with the drugs, but this article is right on target. Smoking marijuana is a cultural thing and ”
Yeah black culture. And it’s no surprise their culture is the reason why they are the poorest, commit by far the most crimes and have by far the most kids out of wedlock with multiple partners. Gee connect the dots. What CMR is doing is trying to help them NOT become wastes of society. Most people who smoke weed are lazy and wind up doing nothing with their life.
Gus
March 31st, 2012
9:29 am
Jeff why not an article that says the ncaa needs a uniform academic policy!
Bryan
March 31st, 2012
9:36 am
Old Recreational drug use implies usage no more than once a week. Today it’s 4-5 x a week. And the pot is laced today and much stronger than stuff from 10 sef 20 years ago.
Scott
March 31st, 2012
9:38 am
1ST – UGA IS CONSIDERED AT TOP PARTY SCHOOL. YOU NEED TO HAVE STRICTER GUIDELINES IF YOU WANT TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF INCIDENTS INVOLVING DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. THERE ARE TOO MANY TRAGIC STORIES OF STUDENTS WHO PARTIED TOO MUCH. YES, I PARTIED IN SCHOOL, BUT YOU STILL NEED SOME GUIDELINES FOR IT.
A Father
March 31st, 2012
9:55 am
Jay well written:
Many past teammates who are black that did not project a thug image, got a degree and does not smoke weed or have alcohol problems are very successful. The very fact that GA / Mark Richt recruits a player with no rules discussed prior to signing is where the problem starts:
Mandatory Understanding To Play Football At Georgia:
Go To Class and Persue Education —
Project Image At All Times– No long hair or dreads, facial hair, baggy pants, etc.
Discipline– No list of penalties as stages or per bad deeds, your off scholarship on one, on two your off team
These GA fans that want to accept 10 -4 season as successful should be fine with this. I demand more from our leadership at GA which is non existant. I wonder if Michael Adams is even alive today, it has been two years since he has taken responsiblity for the Athletic Department of which he controls as President. Sickening need some hard core questions and reporting
Big Al
March 31st, 2012
10:10 am
Just call UGA Pothaid U. Mighty fine human beings those mangy Dawgs. LOL
techie pansy schedual
March 31st, 2012
10:25 am
TO UOAD (MEMBER OF TECHIE DOUBLE DUMB ASS CLUB) i DID NOT NOTICE TECHIE NAME ON THE DRUG CHECKING LIST. BUT i THEN REMEMBERED THAT TECHIE DOES NOT CHECK ANYTHING NOT EVEN GRADE SCORES SO THEY ARE ALWAYS PLAYING PLAYER THAT HAVE FAILING GRADES AND THIER ANSWER WAS THEY DID NOT KNOW THEY DID NOT HAVE PASSING GRADES SO WHY WOULD THEY CHECK DRUGS. THE ANSWER IS THAT MOST OF THE PLAYER ARE ON DRUGS ARE THEY WOULD NOT GO TO TECHIE.
bsg3003
March 31st, 2012
10:27 am
Jay- are you kidding me? white people smoke it too. get your racist head out of your a**. I am actually a BLACK teenager who goes to a mixed school, and trust me, there is no cultural thing with marijuana. EVERYBODY DOES IT. (except me) Remind me what drugs white people used in the 60’s/70’s?- LSD, Shrooms, and oh right, WEED! all of them are hallucinogens. Don’t come at me with that BS again.
Dawg Tired
March 31st, 2012
10:28 am
Apparently “Creed” actually went to Auburn given his inability to think rationally.
George
March 31st, 2012
10:38 am
Steve are you serious????? Good god y’all Are dumber than I thought. Please explain to me how we cheated with cam. Do you know something the FBI,irs,and 24 NCAA investigators don’t?? If so please enlighten us. Otherwise give it a rest and worry about your pathetic program instead of trying to make false accusations against the relevant sec teams. And when was the last time auburn was on probation? Alabama?lsu?usc?ut?uga?
Ted M
March 31st, 2012
11:01 am
Jeff – Was it, in fact, Richt who set those standards? Or Evans or someone else? Would a new coach have to abide by them? Or could he change policy?
just curious.
HighTech
March 31st, 2012
11:04 am
What interest does the NCAA have in this? They apparently already give schools the ability to make their drug policy as harsh or as lenient as they want. I could see the NCAA taking an interest in performance enhancing drugs, but recreational drugs? Would a team that passed the doobie before a game have a competitive advantage over a team that didn’t? Someone mentioned Liberty University. If Liberty suspends a player for premarital hand holding or dancing, should the NCAA impose similar rules on other schools or should they set a more lenient policy for Liberty U?
One gripe I have is these policies should be set at a certain number of games. For instance one game, two game, or five game suspension for each offense. Suspending someone for a percentage of games seems ridiculous. I’m all for simplification.
juice sourcer
March 31st, 2012
11:04 am
Cannibus is bascially legal in California. There are actually cannibus growing warehouses in downtown San Fransisco…..not illegal…. yet college football players are being suspended for taking a drag. Absurd!
HighTech
March 31st, 2012
11:14 am
What interest does the NCAA have in this issue? The NCAA apparently allows the schools to be a harsh or as lenient with their drug testing as they want. I could understand their interest in performance enhancing drugs but not recreational drugs. Does a team taking the field while high give them a competitive advantage over a team that is not? Maybe if the other team is drunk.
Someone mentioned Liberty University. If Liberty suspends a player for premarital hand holding or dancing, does that mean the NCAA needs to impose the same rule on other schools or make a policy for Liberty U that is more lenient so they are not at a competitive disadvantage?
Why it is SO QUIET at GT on this subject
March 31st, 2012
11:17 am
GT men are the Right Stuff. Our men stay home and watch Little House on the Prairie re runs and study and that is very easy to do …………………..when you have no gal pals or friends.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
March 31st, 2012
11:26 am
auburn is the without a doubt the most cheating program in college football but they’re good at and have been since 81! The FBI isn’t in auburn today to go to church with Rev Chette!
Gorilla Biscuit
March 31st, 2012
11:30 am
Speaking of Liberty University, again, I used to work with a guy who was recruited to play football for them. He got kicked out of school for having a girl in his dorm room. Talk about tough policies.
And for the guy who lumped Marijauna in with hallucinogens, dude, that wasn’t MaryJane you were smoking.
Gorilla Biscuit
March 31st, 2012
11:34 am
The only thing pot ever made anybody hallucinate was that a bag of Cheetohs was a steak dinner. Kinda like in cartoons.
SawThat1nce
March 31st, 2012
11:37 am
Ted M @11:01…….raises a good question, who sets the policy, standards, or rules, for the drug tests?
Is it Rev. Richt, or the University?
Trey Mehrebutts, Proud UGA Alumnite
March 31st, 2012
11:53 am
Just make excuses for them. Why should they respect themselves and the university enough to exhibit good conduct? Let ‘em slide, Clyde. They are just boys being boys. What did you do when you were in school? Did it involve suspensions and the Clarke County Jail? Cut ‘em some slack. Bring in inspirational leaders like Grantham who can be a moral compass. Hahahahahaha! I am an alumnite but I don’t like this behavior.
DawgNation
March 31st, 2012
11:54 am
SawTaht1nce,
Who cares? The policies, standards and rules are in place and are conveyed to every athlete signing with UGA. There should be no surprise’s to any athlete about this, and the consequences of failing to follow the set policies, standards, and rules. This is not Mark Richt’s or the Universities fault. The blame, and ensuing punishment, belongs with the offending students. I hate it for the program but I applaud the resolve by the entire UGA athletic department to maintain a higher standard for its athletes.
GDAWG65
March 31st, 2012
12:04 pm
Schultz you are right the NCAA should establish a meaningful punishment line for violation of controlled substance abuse; but the school should be able to raise the bar of the punishment at its discretion.
hind tit
March 31st, 2012
12:04 pm
What good will a nation wide policy do if other schools order the police to look the other way. I know that UGA don’t recruit all the stupid thugs since all the schools recruit the same players. They are one of the few schools that don’t look the other way.
SawThat1nce
March 31st, 2012
12:22 pm
11:48……Well Dawg, good for you.
I want to know, that is why I asked the question.
SawThat1nce
March 31st, 2012
12:24 pm
make that 11:54 at the Dawg.
SawThat1nce
March 31st, 2012
12:29 pm
Could the “higher standards” of UGA, be one of the reasons, that so many native-Ga. athletes, defect to out of state schools.
Sid
March 31st, 2012
12:32 pm
Barbicide
March 30th, 2012
2:30 pm
First. The reality is that marijuana is the modern day equivalent of a six pack. Something has to give or Georgia will suffer as a result
***********************************************************************
That has nothing to do with the policy. And in this state you are in illegal possesion if you have alcohol in your system under the age of 21. So instead of trying to legitimize the offense obey the law and thus the rules. It’s not like they don’t know the penalties from Richt if they want to chance it. It’s tough and should be tough. Making it universal in the NCAA is fair. You want a paid education, obey the rules.
King Gator
March 31st, 2012
12:42 pm
Georgia late to the party on this one – Snoop Dawg
Jason
March 31st, 2012
12:46 pm
So where is the article detailing how the ncaa needs a uniform admissons policy. This is typical liberal thinking. Always gotta have someone in control over everyone or everything.
Tide Rising
March 31st, 2012
12:50 pm
“I don’t think Coach Richt will put up with it much longer.”
A famous dog quote from around 2008. 4 years later it gets rehashed again and again.
brad
March 31st, 2012
12:50 pm
juice just because a bunch of far left wackos in california legalize a harmful drug, doesn’t make it right. you want holland, go move there. your standard of living will drop immensely.
A Father
March 31st, 2012
1:04 pm
Whispers are that Aaron Murray and another offensive player that was with him in key west may be two of the other players that failed drug test. It seems that alot of pressure has been put on the players because of some actions and photo’s during spring break. Alot more going on inside than being reported, Schultz, dig in and get the real scoop behind this, may be some threats coming toward the Georgia program from some parents — hint hint
Hey Hey Hey We're the Monkees
March 31st, 2012
1:43 pm
If everyone who ever drank some beer or took a toke off a doobie while on springbreak Had it written up in the Ajc, The newspaper that day would be as thick as a New York City phonebook.At a lot of school they don’t do tests or it would have been pushed under the carpet.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
March 31st, 2012
2:21 pm
Well another Dog bites the dust today! UGA is on a roll for sure with players seeking playing time elsewhere. You should be able to sign about 50 players and friends of players on NSD 2013 maybe even some uncles or aunts if needed.
I knew we (fans of other teams) better stop laughing because Karma is just around the corner for us as well. With the type of characters coming into the player pool we’re all going down in the end. Just a matter of time. Even as tuff as Nick Saban is in addition to amount of time and effort spend trying to weed out the bad parents and players bad apples will slip thru the crack and embarrass the program.
Nativebird
March 31st, 2012
2:56 pm
The Georgia policy is good, and so is any school that endeavors to hold young men to a standard. The notion that “they all do it anyway” is a lie. They don’t all do it. There is nothing wrong with saying, if your going to represent this institution, then you are not going to use drugs.
dan
March 31st, 2012
3:11 pm
Good points Jeff.
The reality is that kids today are in such a fish bowl with all this social media. They aren’t necessarily doing dumber things than previous generations, everything is just so out in the open. I think the problem with this generation of student athlete is that they aren’t taught how to use failure as a learning opportunity because they aren’t taught how to fail. There is either no consequence for failing, or the punishment is FAR too severe and it ruins their lives. The purpose of higher education and athletics is for students to fail, experience it,and then find a way to overcome it. But the problem at places like UGA is that it’s all about money at the expense of the quality of the education. Sure the top 10% succeeds and makes all the fancy alumni publications, but the other 90% is pretty much disregarded. Our schools are far too big to fail in this country, but that’s another rant.
What it comes down for the UGA football players is that right or wrong, the policies are strict. And if they choose to break them, they do so at their own discretion.
bama dawg
March 31st, 2012
8:47 pm
you can take the playa out of the hood but you cant take the hood out of the playa
Louisiana-Monroe_Anyone?
March 31st, 2012
10:15 pm
nice article schultz.
btw, when was the last time either of the AL schools ran a drug test???
Umm
March 31st, 2012
10:23 pm
The pont of this article is that UGA has tough penalties for a player smoking pot. The article points out that UGA’s policy is, in fact, as tough as Kentucky’s and one of the toughest is the SEC.
Here is the problem for all the UGA fans wanting to cling to the supposed “unfairness.”…The penalties only go into effect if you break the rule. If the players didn’t act like idiots and do pot to begin with, then they wouldn’t be suspended for 10%, or 50% or get kicked off the team.
Louisiana-Monroe_Anyone?
March 31st, 2012
10:27 pm
Umm, you jack*ss!
read the article again…..a lot of schools don’t even drug test to identify if a penalty should even be imposed.
Umm
March 31st, 2012
10:31 pm
Louisiana,
Classy on the name calling.
“a lot of schools don’t even drug test to identify if a penalty should even be imposed.” So, umm, do you proof of that, or is that just something that all UGA fans are saying over and over until it is believed?
However, it still doesn’t change my point. If players would simply not break a rule to begin with, then you wouldn’t have to worry about it at all now would you? AND, if UGA really is testing more than anybody else, then doesn’t that make the fact that your players are failing drug test even more idiotic?
Keith T.
March 31st, 2012
10:52 pm
Umm… I see you don’t get the point. The RULE is UNFAIR to begin with, when 90 percent of the other SEC schools either don’t test AT ALL, or don’t PUNISH for failed tests until the 3rd or 4th, then how is that even close to fair. Banning pot, a natural relaxing herb, is as arbitrary (in my opinion) as banning them from eating vanilla pudding. So if Georgia suspended Aaron Murray, Isaiah Crowell, and Jarvis Jones are suspended for 8 games for eating Vanilla pudding, while players at Alabama and LSU have pudding parties where they go through dozens of vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch pudding is that fair? Because that is the honest truth to me, I don’t agree with weed’s legality, and I think it is no more harmful than a dinner mint, and suspension for it’s use is disgusting and SHOULD be called out, and the coach enforcing the suspension should be fired. There is no line drawn at UGA, and next thing we know they will be infringing more on these youngsters privacy rights as to what they do in the privacy of their own homes….UP NEXT at UGA suspensions coming for anyone caught sipping a glass of wine for dinner, having premarital relations with a female, or smoking a cigarette in a public place. Absolutely dispicable UGA!!!
The Monger
March 31st, 2012
10:55 pm
Well, Mr. Umm… I see you don’t get the point. The RULE is UNFAIR to begin with, when 90 percent of the other SEC schools either don’t test AT ALL, or don’t PUNISH for failed tests until the 3rd or 4th, then how is that even close to fair. Banning pot, a natural relaxing herb, is as arbitrary (in my opinion) as banning them from eating vanilla pudding. So if Georgia suspended Aaron Murray, Isaiah Crowell, and Jarvis Jones are suspended for 8 games for eating Vanilla pudding, while players at Alabama and LSU have pudding parties where they go through dozens of vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch pudding is that fair? Because that is the honest truth to me, I don’t agree with weed’s legality, and I think it is no more harmful than a dinner mint, and suspension for it’s use is disgusting and SHOULD be called out, and the coach enforcing the suspension should be fired. There is no line drawn at UGA, and next thing we know they will be infringing more on these youngsters privacy rights as to what they do in the privacy of their own homes….UP NEXT at UGA suspensions coming for anyone caught sipping a glass of wine for dinner, having premarital relations with a female, or smoking a cigarette in a public place. Absolutely dispicable UGA!!!
Louisiana-Monroe_Anyone?
March 31st, 2012
10:56 pm
the point of the article….as you missed, pertains to the fact that not all schools are regulating their teams by the same rules.
My PROOF is shared in schultz’s article in that only 5 other schools carry such a stiff penalty for 1st time offenders. there’s no public information on just how many times a school actually administers the drug tests. i have no idea whether UGA administers more than others or not…..though i’ll bet that they do…based on the fact that they have installed such heavy penalties for failing such tests.
a penalty should be enforced to the UGA players for breaking the rulles….but its not an even playing field when other schools don’t enforce such penalties.—–that is the point of the article.
Umm
March 31st, 2012
11:03 pm
Louisiana…
“but its not an even playing field when other schools don’t enforce such penalties…”
The problem with your supposed point is that nothing is equal in college athletics. Academic admission policies are different at schools…so is the academic standards by which you get to keep your scholarship…recruiting budgets are different…as is atheletic department incomes…as are salaries…attendance,,,facilities…etc.
You can complain about how the playing field on this one issue is not equal. However, I think it has more to do with the fact that UGA has been bitten by the doobie bud as of late.