Pubdate: Tue, 24 Nov 2015
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Fresno Bee
Contact:  http://www.fresnobee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161
Note: Does not publish letters from outside their circulation area.
Authors: Edgar Thompson, Brendan Sonnone and Shannon Green, Orlando Sentinel

COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACHES GRAPPLE WITH MARIJUANA 'EPIDEMIC'

Florida State University defensive back Greg Reid was supposed to be 
a first-round NFL draft pick.

University of Florida defensive back J.C. Jackson was supposed to be 
an elite playmaker in the Southeastern Conference.

University of Central Florida running back Will Stanback was supposed 
to help carry the Knights' offense during what has turned out to be a 
dismal season.

Instead, their links to marijuana altered the trajectory of their 
promising careers.

At least 12 UF players have been linked to marijuana use by law 
enforcement since the start of former coach Will Muschamp's tenure in 
2011, and the number is not considered exceptionally high for major 
college-football programs. Arrest figures were much higher during 
former Gators coach Urban Meyer's tenure. When schools announce that 
football players have been suspended for undisclosed rule violations, 
many immediately suspect marijuana was involved.

Marijuana use among college football players is part of what Florida 
State coach Jimbo Fisher, Meyer and a long list of other elite 
coaches call "an epidemic." Many coaches say athletes enter college 
addicted to the drug that they've seen widely used in many of their 
communities or, in some cases, even in their homes. Schools are stuck 
enforcing the rules of a college football system that hasn't embraced 
some of society's growing acceptance of marijuana use.

The consequences are real, sometimes forcing coaches and schools to 
suspend or expel athletes who could most benefit from college 
football's structure and education opportunities.

Fisher said he hopes he can make it clear to his athletes that they 
simply have to stop smoking marijuana in college.

"You've got to prevent it," Fisher said. "You've got to help the ones 
you do (see test positive). ... Where they come from, a lot of times 
it's accepted. You're trying to help someone, not throw someone out. 
You can catch anyone doing anything anytime you want to, but it's 
about helping educate those kids and getting a better life for themselves."

Current Florida coach Jim McElwain said he's focused on teaching 
players how make the right decisions about everything, including marijuana.

"I would say the biggest piece is the education piece," he said. 
"We're certainly not here to be the police. What we're here to do is 
help (players make) choices, teaching the effect, knowing what it can 
do. And if there is a true, sincere problem, obviously reaching out 
to get help. You can't be naive. It's everywhere, and yet that's not 
an excuse, either."

And UCF coach George O'Leary said the lack of consistency 
disciplining college-football players for marijuana-related 
violations has perpetuated the belief that it can be acceptable.

"I think the schools and coaches need to be tougher and stop trying 
to hide," he said.

More than a dozen major college-football head and assistant coaches 
interviewed said it's not easy to deal with college football's 
growing marijuana problem.

University of Arkansas coach Bret Bielema recalls the first time he 
had to call a player into his office to discuss a positive marijuana test.

He had never dealt with the issue as an assistant coach, but he 
figured he would explain the test and penalty before talking about 
the role the athlete's family could play in getting him back on the 
right track.

"I knew this kid; I knew his family," Bielema said. "And what shocked 
me was, I kind of threw at him, 'What are you parents going to say?' 
This is something we're going to make everyone aware of and battle it 
in the future.

"And to be quite honest, the (drug) use had happened in the home. It 
threw me for a loop. I hadn't quite envisioned that. ... But in 
today's world, you have young parents that sometimes they may have 
used in the past and brought him up in an environment where they 
thought it was OK."

At FSU, Fisher said he knows marijuana was just as prevalent as 
alcohol in the homes where some of his players grew up.

"When they step into their house, people are smoking marijuana like 
you do cigarettes from the time they're 3 years old until they're 
18," Fisher said in 2012, one of many times he has spoken out about 
marijuana use among players. "They do these things their whole life, 
and then they come here, and we say, 'Now you can't do them anymore.'"

At UCF, O'Leary said marijuana use can start long before some players 
reach his program.

"It's really not a college problem, it's a high-school and 
junior-high problem," he said.

If athletes haven't been exposed to the drug by the time they reach 
college, it's typically available on college campuses.

Daily or near-daily marijuana use was reported by 5.9 percent of 
college students in 2014, the highest rate since 1980, according to 
the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study. The rate of 
use is up from 3.5 percent in 2007. The study, which was compiled 
from a series of national surveys, indicates that 1 in 17 college 
students is smoking marijuana daily or near-daily.

"Whether it's prevalent on campuses or not, it doesn't make any 
difference until someone changes the rules and the laws," UCF's O'Leary said.

O'Leary said his staff does extensive research about every recruit 
and strives to identify any history of drug use before offering 
athletes scholarships.

"I think when you recruit, recruit the right kids and ask them the 
right questions," he said. "It doesn't change. The kids don't just 
come to college and start smoking marijuana. They've been doing it. 
. I think it's important to get the best players in, but I think 
there's a certain culture of characteristics that you're looking for 
in recruiting, and I won't change my opinion about what we need here. 
We've turned down some better players because there were character 
issues, and they (are now) at other places and, lo and behold, they 
ended up getting those schools in trouble.

Even though coaches are aware marijuana use can be common among 
college students and athletes, it isn't necessarily easy to stop.

Former FSU star Greg Reid is a prime example of how marijuana can 
derail a promising career.

The cornerback and punt returner at FSU was on the radar of NFL 
scouts and executives entering his senior year, but that changed on 
July10, 2012.

Reid was pulled over by a Georgia patrol officer while driving to 
Tallahassee from his hometown of Valdosta, Ga., for window-tint and 
seat-belt violations. During a search, the officer found less than an 
ounce of marijuana on Reid and marijuana paraphernalia.

Reid, who did not respond to a request for comment, was charged with 
marijuana possession. Soon after the arrest, FSU expelled Reid.

"I let it become a habit," Reid said of his marijuana use in 2013.

He transferred to Division II powerhouse Valdosta State later that 
summer, but his college career ended within weeks after he tore his 
anterior cruciate ligament. He underwent a second surgery to repair 
the knee injury in May 2013.

Fisher embraced Reid's return to Tallahassee in March 2014 when Reid 
participated in the Seminoles' pro day for a second year in a row. 
The talented athlete worked out for more than 70 NFL representatives.

"I hope Greg gets a shot, because I'm going to tell you that's as 
instinctive and one of the best football players I've ever been 
around," Fisher said in 2014. "For him to be able to battle back 
shows how committed he is. He's done a great job with his life; he's 
being very successful right now. I think if somebody gets him in 
camp, they're going to be very happy."

The St. Louis Rams took a chance on Reid later that month, signing 
him to a contract. Reid's legal problems, however, followed him to the pros.

He was arrested a week after joining the Rams for violating probation 
stemming from his 2012 arrest. The Valdosta Police Department said in 
a news release that he was a passenger in a car that was pulled over 
because the driver was not wearing a seat belt. Reid had an active 
arrest warrant for failure to comply with his probation agreement and 
was cut by the Rams on Aug. 30, 2014.

Reid was signed by the Jacksonville Sharks of the Arena Football 
League in April and was named the league's rookie of the year despite 
joining the team six weeks into the season. Exhibiting the 
explosiveness that made him an All-American candidate at FSU, Reid 
totaled 70.5 tackles, nine interceptions and had a touchdown on a 
kickoff return.

It was a glimpse of what could've been.

While Reid's career has fallen short of expectations, some athletes 
have missed out on playing opportunities when marijuana was present 
during other incidents.

Florida starting cornerback J.C. Jackson, whom Muschamp praised as a 
uniquely gifted defensive back at a school known for recently 
producing exceptional defensive players, was arrested in April in 
connection with an armed robbery.

According to a Gainesville police report, Jackson called the resident 
of the apartment and spoke to him about "hanging out and smoking 
cannabis." The resident was a suspected drug dealer.

Jackson entered the apartment followed by two men, according to the 
report. The victims told police Jackson then left the apartment to 
take a phone call, while the other men pulled a gun and robbed them 
of $382, marijuana and two video-game consoles.

The State Attorney's Office has charged Jackson with three counts of 
home invasion with a deadly weapon and one count of burglary of an 
occupied dwelling.

Each charge carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 
life in prison.

Jackson has denied he was involved in the robbery. He was dismissed 
from the Florida football program and is awaiting trial.

Even at UCF, a school where O'Leary has put a priority on recruiting 
players who don't have drug histories and athletes know that any 
setbacks can significantly hinder their chances of reaching the NFL, 
marijuana can still be a headache.

Will Stanback, who won first team All-American Athletic Conference 
honors and was slated to help anchor the Knights' inexperienced 
offense, was dismissed from the team in September. Media outlets, 
including ESPN, have reported that Stanback's dismissal was due to 
failed marijuana tests.

Coaches can point to the players who have lost it all because of ties 
to marijuana, but their voices may be drowned out by others endorsing 
marijuana use.

University of Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said it doesn't help that 
athletes are seeing marijuana accepted, legalized and celebrated in 
the world around them.

"There's some states where you see it advertised on TV and they're 
selling it," Pinkel said. "It's legalized in those states. There's 
some real mixed messages out there. ... The young kids tend to 
experiment more because, shoot, if states are legalizing it, what the 
heck is wrong with it?

"The climate out there and mixed messages out there are significant 
on young people. I think that's something we all have to deal with."

Though there may be a pro-pot movement brewing, it remains illegal 
under federal law for marijuana to be consumed on college campuses 
and is against NCAA rules.

In most college towns, it's not legal to purchase or possess 
marijuana, so the drug regularly exposes athletes to people who break 
the law and can lure them into more dangerous situations. It's not 
unusual for dealers to persuade players to commit other crimes with 
far greater consequences.

The NCAA tests a random sample of football players for illegal drugs 
at bowl games, including the playoff semifinal and title games. In 
other sports, testing occurs during championship events. Positive 
tests force athletes to miss the games and half of the next season.

Most schools do additional testing throughout the year, but they are 
not required to report those results to the NCAA and instead enforce 
their own rules for positive results. NCAA officials suggest that 
allows schools to take what they deem appropriate action, including 
steering players to drug-treatment programs, to help solve the problem.

It results in varying punishment for marijuana-related offenses 
across the country.

"I always tell my players there are two things. There are two 
organizations that prohibit drug use and marijuana in particular: 
It's the NCAA and the NFL. You're in the NCAA right now, and your 
dream is to play in the NFL," Arkansas' Bielema said. "If I allow you 
to sustain this type of use and this type of behavior, I'm setting 
you up for failure. Usually that's the biggest way to curtail it.

University of Georgia coach Mark Richt said he tries to make sure 
there aren't other problems in players' lives forcing them to turn to 
marijuana.

"If you're going to do it, you're not going to do it very long here 
at Georgia," he said. "We don't tolerate. We don't condone it. We 
discipline it, and then if it gets to the point where somebody just 
can't control himself, then he won't be on the team. But we also 
educate and try to help him through if there's a problem; usually 
sometimes if you're smoking marijuana, you're self medicating, so to speak.

"Sometimes there's an underlying issue that you have to find out 
about. If there's a player, if there's a way to help this kid, you 
want to help him. But if he's just doing it as a recreational thing, 
and he thinks it's fun, he's going to have to have fun somewhere else."

Marijuana has already left a mark on McElwain's roster during his 
first year coaching the Gators.

During the offseason, current starting quarterback Treon Harris was 
cited for driving with a suspended license. Teammates Jalen Tabor and 
Jackson were in the car with Harris when police found marijuana in 
the vehicle. Harris, Tabor and Jackson weren't charged with drug 
possession because they didn't own the car.

Three weeks ago, Harris served a one-game suspension that ESPN 
reported was triggered by a failed marijuana test.

And special-teams ace Deiondre Porter was arrested last week and 
accused of firing a gun at his pregnant girlfriend. When Gainesville 
police detained Porter on Wednesday, he was a passenger in a car that 
was pulled over. While searching the vehicle, officers found the 
unidentified driver was carrying a gun and marijuana.

McElwain has tried to teach key lessons to his players as the Gators 
cope with problems common among college-football programs.

"The thing we've all got to understand is it's the rules," McElwain 
said. "We've just got to figure out how to help educate these guys."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom