June 29, 2004

Steroids In The Ivy League

FROM NEW ENGLAND’S BUCOLIC WHITE MOUNTAINS comes word of two Dartmouth football players being indicted for possession of performance-enhancing steroids, narcotics, and other illegal substances.

Usually associated with mega-millionaire pro baseball and football players, steroids apparently have not yet taken hold on campuses (mostly due to a lack of funds by college athletes?).

But if they have turned up at “non-competitive” Ivy League Dartmouth, can Stanford, Syracuse and Duke be far behind?

Who knows?

One student--Steven DeMarco--was charged with four counts of possession of cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone, and anabolic steroids. All the charges are felonies, except marijuana possession.

The other student--Sheanon Summers--was charged with possession of anabolic steroids and marijuana.

Dartmouth's football coach, John Lyons, said, “We talk to our players constantly about all kinds of performance-enhancing drugs. We talk to them about how to train, to make sure they get enough rest, and what they should and should not eat, and what they should and should not do."

Should random drug testing be next, coach?

(this 170 word excerpt was extracted from a 483 word article in The Chronicle Of Higher Education of 6-29-04)