Pubdate: Wed, 03 Aug 2005
Source: State, The (SC)
Copyright: 2005 The State
Contact:  http://www.thestate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/426
Author: Joseph Person, staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

USC'S REVISED DRUG POLICY GIVES ATHLETES MORE CHANCES

Instead Of '2 Strikes' Rule, Players Can Test Positive 4 Times Before
Dismissal

USC's athletics department implemented a revised drug testing policy
this week that gives athletes who test positive for recreational
drugs, alcohol and anabolic steroids more chances to remain on their
teams.

The previous wellness program featured a "two strikes and out" penalty
phase, calling for the automatic dismissal of athletes who tested
positive for a banned substance a second time.

The revised program, which took effect Monday, works on a "four
strikes and out" basis.

Other elements of the program - types of banned substances tested,
frequency of the testing and the tolerance levels signifying a
positive test - remain unchanged.

USC first-year athletics director Eric Hyman says the revised policy
is fairer than the "two strikes" clause.

"I've dealt with this for many years, and that's pretty restrictive,"
Hyman said Tuesday. "You can't be carte blanche, either. There needs
to be some punitive action that takes place. People make mistakes. The
key is to learn from them."

In a highly publicized decision in March, USC dismissed football
player Demetris Summers for an undisclosed violation of athletics
department policy. Sources confirmed for The State that the sophomore
tailback from Lexington had tested positive for marijuana.

Athletes suspended under the terms of the former policy are not
eligible for reinstatement, Hyman said.

Under the new program, athletes will be penalized as
follows:

. A warning from Hyman and regular testing for a minimum of a year for
a first positive test

. A suspension for 25 percent of the team's competition for a second
positive

. A one-year suspension for a third positive. During that time, the
athlete is allowed to remain on scholarship and practice with the
team, but cannot travel to or dress for games.

. A dismissal for a fourth offense

Suspension and/or dismissal for any positive test is at the head
coach's discretion.

As in the former policy, USC athletes will be subject to random
testing and nonrandom testing for reasonable cause during the season,
offseason and summer school. Athletes who are arrested on drug-or
alcohol-related charges must submit to testing shortly after their
arrests.

Athletes will provide a urine sample while being supervised to ensure
validity, and the samples will be tested by an independent agency, USC
head athletics trainer Rod Walters said.

Walters, who has overseen the testing program since 1999, said
adjustments are made to the policy each year. Several months ago,
former USC athletics director Mike McGee organized a committee to look
at revising the drug testing program. Walters says the revised policy
is "very much in line with many schools that we've seen."

Drug testing has become a hot-button topic in the Southeastern
Conference. During the league's annual spring meetings in Destin,
Fla., several football coaches, including USC's Steve Spurrier, opened
a dialogue with SEC commissioner Mike Slive about the need for
uniformity in drug testing policies among the SEC's 12 schools.

"I just think we ought to be in line with other conference schools,
simple as that," Spurrier said Tuesday. "Not any easier, not any
harder, just right in line with what most state universities do."

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said coaches want to see a "level playing
field."

"I can live with just about anything. I'd hate to see a 'one strike,
you're out.' I wouldn't be for that, naturally," Nutt said recently.
"'Three strikes, you're out' or the 'fourth one, you're out,' that's
fine with me."

The State asked every SEC school for its drug testing policies this
summer. Of the five that responded, Florida was the only other school
with a "four strikes" policy.

Georgia and Vanderbilt both dismiss athletes after a third positive
test, while LSU athletes are suspended for a year after a third offense.

Slive's office is collecting data from each SEC school to study how
their policies work. But Slive said he does not envision adopting a
conferencewide testing standard when the SEC's athletics directors
meet this month.

"What I anticipate doing is looking to see what each school does in
detail, sharing that, and then if schools wanted to say, 'Well, we
ought to try to be in confluence with one another,' that'd be up to
the institution."

While acknowledging the more lenient penalties, Hyman said USC tests
its athletes much more than TCU, where Hyman worked before taking over
for McGee on July 1. Under the revised policy, Hyman will be more
involved in the process when an athlete tests positive.

"I don't want to delegate that to somebody else. I feel I've got to
give it my best shot, too."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin