Drug testing has been in the news recently and many students and athletes may question what the rules and regulations are at Dixie State.
Any athlete will face suspensions if failing a drug test.
Julia Bell quoted DSU athletic director Jason Boothe last week in an article. Visit http://www.dixiesunnews.com/ for information on other sports scandals.
“If they test positive, they are done for good,” Boothe said. “There are no second chances.”
Boothe mentioned how well the NCAA does with its tests.
“The NCAA comes in at least once a year to test for performance-enhancing drugs,” Boothe said. “But the athletic department has the ability to do random drug tests to any extent it wants.”
According to the NCAA, the penalty for positive tests of both performance-enhancing and street drugs is strict and automatic. Student-athletes lose one full year of eligibility for the first offense (25 percent of their total eligibility) and are withheld from competition for a full season.
“I will receive an email from the NCAA telling me that they will arrive within 24 hours,” Boothe said. “The email will have a list of which athletes are to be tested. I am responsible to get the athletes the next day rounded up for the test.”
A second positive test for street drugs results in another lost year of eligibility and a season withheld from competition. A second positive result for PED usage will render the student-athlete permanently ineligible.
Boothe said it is rare that there are any problems at Dixie State. He also said DSU doesn’t do many tests because he feels the NCAA covers it well.
No college athlete is exempt from the consequences that follow if he or she fails a drug test.
The University of Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham suspended a starting player for three games in 2012 after he failed a team drug test. The player wasn’t suspended for the entire year because it was not issued by the NCAA or the university.
According to USA today at http://www.usatoday.com/, Ole Miss basketball star Marshall Henderson was suspended indefinitely in July for failing of a drug test. Reports say it was street drugs that caused the suspension.
“There’s too many athletes for the NCAA to catch all the cheaters,” said Ross Decker, assistant cross country coach. “But they shouldn’t have to. The coaches should know their athletes well enough to know if they are taking drugs and should discipline them.”
