Pubdate: Wed, 31 May 2006 Source: Beacon Herald, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2006 Beacon Herald Contact: http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1459 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) DRUG-TEST DODGER Thirty years ago, American draft dodgers found refuge from the Vietnam War in Canada. Now, here in the 21st century, the Great White North seems to have become a haven for disgraced drug offenders from the National Football League, One could argue that in the case of draft dodgers, we were opening our doors to people who could not or would not fight in an unjust and ill-conceived war halfway around the world. It's tougher to justify the current trend of putting out the welcome mat for players who have worn out their welcome in the NFL because they can't stay off drugs. This week, the Toronto Argonauts signed Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams who has been suspended from the NFL for the entire 2006 season. The most recent failed test, the one that resulted in his current suspension -- not his first, by the way -- is for an undisclosed substance. Williams came out of the University of Texas with great expectations and he was supposed to be one of the great running backs of our generation. In fact, the New Orleans Saints traded all their picks in 1999 and their first and third round picks in 2000 to get the U.S. college star. But he was a bust and ended up in Miami as a Dolphin where he failed four drug tests, the first three for marijuana use. The signing of Williams has garnered the most attention, but it is important to know that he is certainly not the first disgraced and suspended NFL player to find a job in the CFL. In fact, earlier this month, Minnesota Viking Onterrio Smith was suspended by the NFL and found employment with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. And the Argonauts have two other former NFL first-round draft choices who have been barred from that league for violating its substance-abuse policy too many times: receiver R. Jay Soward and defensive end Bernard Williams. The Argonauts also have receiver Robert Baker, who spent 10 months in prison for distributing and trafficking cocaine. Reports after the Argos signed Williams said his acquisition will put the number of currently suspended NFL players in the CFL at nine for the upcoming season. CFL teams have taken chances in recent years on troubled players like running back Lawrence Phillips and quarterback Todd Marinovich. Another U.S. college great who came to Canada to play football for the Argonauts says enough is enough. Joe Theismann came to Toronto from the University of Notre Dame and was a CFL player before going on to have a great career in the NFL. He has always had a certain affinity for the Argos and the CFL and this week he let loose about the signing of Williams. He said the signing was a "disgrace to the game" and added he is "embarrassed now to be a Toronto Argonaut." And Theismann didn't stop there, blasting the organization. "This is a feeble excuse for the Toronto Argonauts to sell tickets." Argos coach Pinball Clemons defended the organization. "Someone much smarter than I, a former president (Roosevelt), suggested it's not the critic that counts," Clemons said. "It's not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or how to do their deeds, (how they) could have done them better. The man who counts is the man who is in the arena. Right now, we are in the arena and I think we are doing a great job." And that's the situation in a nutshell. If the Argos and the CFL are trying to provide a place to play for someone who is aimed at turning their life and career around, it is admirable. But if it is merely a move to improve the chances of your football team and sell tickets while turning a blind eye to the previous indiscretions of the player, it is far less honourable. Given that there are now three players suspended by the NFL on the Argos alone and possibly as many as nine in the league, the latter is more likely the case. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman