...a very important player about to be suspended for a long time. Steve Russell is reporting it on the radio. No need to name the player or reason until more is known.
Lot's of comment about a potentially devestating rumor..
- Thread starter MJWilliamson
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Confirmed. Grier. Steroids
http://espn.go.com/college-football...r-florida-gators-quarterback-suspended-season
http://espn.go.com/college-football...r-florida-gators-quarterback-suspended-season
Jesse Re Simonton @JesseReSimonton 11s11 seconds ago
According to sources, #Gators QB Will Grier took the banned supplement Ligandrol.
FTR, Ligandrol is legal, but banned by the NCAA
According to sources, #Gators QB Will Grier took the banned supplement Ligandrol.
FTR, Ligandrol is legal, but banned by the NCAA
Amazing this was kept under wraps for two days!
But at least Treon has a full week with the 1's. He'll be ready.
Its a school-by-school patchwork of policies and penalties: A first-time steroid infraction would bench a Florida player for half the season but cost a Texas A&M player only a single game. Private schools such as Vanderbilt, meanwhile, arent required to share their drug-testing policies with anyone, not even the NCAA.
http://www.wsj.com/a...blem-1426792929
http://www.wsj.com/a...blem-1426792929
That is messed up - I would think it should be maybe a standard 4 game suspension - first offense
Grier suspended a year, penalized eligibility for NCAA violation
Thomas Goldkamp - 7 minutes ago 5
Florida Newsletter
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida redshirt freshman quarterback Will Grier has been suspended one calendar year from Oct. 12 for a violation of the NCAA's substance-abuse policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Florida coach Jim McElwain and Grier both said a failed test was a result of Grier taking an over-the-counter supplement without running it by team doctors first.
"Will Grier won’t play this week and obviously in the near future due to taking a supplement, an over-the-counter supplement that had something in that was on the NCAA list of things that you can’t have," McElwain said. "It’s something that he feels horrible about. It’s an honest mistake and yet can be prevented by just checking with our medical staff."
Grier and the University of Florida plan to appeal the decision, but Grier will remain ineligible for competition until the appeal is resolved. Grier is able to practice with the team but cannot travel.
In lieu of a successful appeal, Grier will be forced to sit out a full calendar year of competition. He will also be penalized a year of eligibility, meaning he would come back as a redshirt junior in October of 2016.
A successful appeal can result in a reduced or eliminated sanction. Florida will begin the appeal process on Tuesday.
"We will, as a university, appeal this and we support Will, his family, obviously in every way possible," McElwain said. "And yet, we also know that there's certain steps that go along the way when taking an over-the-counter supplement. Doesn't matter what it is. That's the way it is."
The University of Florida confirmed that no games Florida has already completed are in jeopardy of forfeiture or vacation due to an ineligible player competing, as Grier did not become eligible until the positive test was confirmed from a B sample.
McElwain said he first became aware of the results on Sunday following the Missouri game.
Grier and McElwain addressed the media on Monday afternoon, with Grier outlining how he failed the test and expressing remorse.
"So I took an over-the-counter supplement that had something in it, and I did not check with the medical staff before taking it," Grier said. "I really hope that people can learn from this, learn from my mistake. I'm really, really sorry to everyone. Just really sorry."
The NCAA drug testing procedure is to collect a sample from players and is split into two samples, an A sample and a B sample. Upon a positive test from the A sample (results take about two weeks to come back) the B sample is then tested to verify a positive. Grier's B sample came back positive, resulting in a failed test and a loss of eligibility at that time.
With Grier suspended pending an appeal, Florida turns to sophomore quarterback Treon Harris as the starter.
Harris has played sparingly this year after starting the opener and splitting reps with Grier in the second game of the season. He served a one-game suspension against Tennessee, and Grier has started every game since.
On the year, Harris is 19-27 (70.4%) passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He has also rushed 10 times for 63 yards.
The Gators will take on the Tigers this Saturday in Baton Rouge at 7 p.m. ET with a national broadcast on ESPN.
Thomas Goldkamp - 7 minutes ago 5
Florida Newsletter
0
0
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida redshirt freshman quarterback Will Grier has been suspended one calendar year from Oct. 12 for a violation of the NCAA's substance-abuse policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Florida coach Jim McElwain and Grier both said a failed test was a result of Grier taking an over-the-counter supplement without running it by team doctors first.
"Will Grier won’t play this week and obviously in the near future due to taking a supplement, an over-the-counter supplement that had something in that was on the NCAA list of things that you can’t have," McElwain said. "It’s something that he feels horrible about. It’s an honest mistake and yet can be prevented by just checking with our medical staff."
Grier and the University of Florida plan to appeal the decision, but Grier will remain ineligible for competition until the appeal is resolved. Grier is able to practice with the team but cannot travel.
In lieu of a successful appeal, Grier will be forced to sit out a full calendar year of competition. He will also be penalized a year of eligibility, meaning he would come back as a redshirt junior in October of 2016.
A successful appeal can result in a reduced or eliminated sanction. Florida will begin the appeal process on Tuesday.
"We will, as a university, appeal this and we support Will, his family, obviously in every way possible," McElwain said. "And yet, we also know that there's certain steps that go along the way when taking an over-the-counter supplement. Doesn't matter what it is. That's the way it is."
The University of Florida confirmed that no games Florida has already completed are in jeopardy of forfeiture or vacation due to an ineligible player competing, as Grier did not become eligible until the positive test was confirmed from a B sample.
McElwain said he first became aware of the results on Sunday following the Missouri game.
Grier and McElwain addressed the media on Monday afternoon, with Grier outlining how he failed the test and expressing remorse.
"So I took an over-the-counter supplement that had something in it, and I did not check with the medical staff before taking it," Grier said. "I really hope that people can learn from this, learn from my mistake. I'm really, really sorry to everyone. Just really sorry."
The NCAA drug testing procedure is to collect a sample from players and is split into two samples, an A sample and a B sample. Upon a positive test from the A sample (results take about two weeks to come back) the B sample is then tested to verify a positive. Grier's B sample came back positive, resulting in a failed test and a loss of eligibility at that time.
With Grier suspended pending an appeal, Florida turns to sophomore quarterback Treon Harris as the starter.
Harris has played sparingly this year after starting the opener and splitting reps with Grier in the second game of the season. He served a one-game suspension against Tennessee, and Grier has started every game since.
On the year, Harris is 19-27 (70.4%) passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He has also rushed 10 times for 63 yards.
The Gators will take on the Tigers this Saturday in Baton Rouge at 7 p.m. ET with a national broadcast on ESPN.
The NCAA is out of control. Losing 12 months and the lossyear of eligibility! Smoke crack, lose a few games. Take a supplement.. Just not right.
Yeah and this is a 19 year old kid that didn't do anything criminal. But yet he's being dealt with in a harsher fashion than many who have committed criminal acts. The NCAA operates with impunity, where's their watchdog? It's an affront to common human decency that a kid's future could be this irreparably damaged for an OTC medicine or supplement. If any kid that's on any college roster can walk in a store and buy this stuff then where is the competitive advantage?
It is because it goes to the integrity of the game. It is pretty standard across all sports that PEDs are punished more harshly than other drugs.
I get that. But we're not talking about a controlled substance that's illegal to possess. We're not talking about something that requires a prescription. We're talking about an OTC product that legally and morally is no different than the Flintstones vitamins I give my kids.
I mean technically, by the ncaa's line of reasoning, wouldn't the Flintstones be considered a PED?
If NCAA rules prohibit Flintstone vitamins and they will turn up in a drug test, don't take them.
I know. And I agree that Grier made a mistake.
I'm questioning the policy on its own merit. Should the ncaa be declaring legal supplements and medications illegal? How is an athlete gaining a competitive advantage by taking something that's legal and readily available to every other athlete in the country?
I'm not trying to excuse or condone rule breaking or stupid choices. I'm just trying to point out that the NCAA is not automatically right just because nobody can challenge them or their arbitrary rulings
It does not matter. There are a lot of shit laws and shit rules. But they are the laws and they are the rules. Work to change them. But do not violate them
Again, I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm saying that I don't like the way the ncaa operates. This particular set of circumstances just highlights their assbackward policies and penalties. Fwiw some of my angst goes back to 1984 if you know what I mean.
We all know the NCAA has been wanting to push that button on UF ever since Urban started work here. Now they can say "We got ya'll".....
You say 'I get that' and then go on to contradict it. Again, legal/moral/OTCvs prescription isn't the standard. It is that it goes directly to the integrity of the game. And PEDs are VERY different than vitamins. The most significant difference is the fact that, what ever the substance is, it was on a list published by the NCAA as banned'. It is not something that they just pulled out of their arse all of the sudden.
I'm not questioning whether the substance was banned. I'm not condoning cheating. I'm not trying to excuse Grier's boneheaded decision.
I'm saying that the ncaa is a tyrant. They operate with impunity and there is no rhyme or reason to how they make rules or dole out punishment.
Let's look back at some of the things that they've done in the past. Look at some of the scandals at fsu. I mean they got caught cheating in the classroom with the aid of university employees. And what did they get?
And I'll maintain if the FDA says it's not illegal and its readily available then there's no competitive advantage. All the ncaa does is muddy the water. Make it dang near impossible to not break the rules. I mean you have to get cough syrup cleared by the medical staff,the same cough syrup that 90 year old grandmas and 5 year old toddlers are taking every day.
I'm just saying that if you consider how unevenly the ncaa deals with things then you can see why I'm pissed at them.
As far as Grier is concerned, I hope this is his scared straight moment. He did something extremely stupid. I've done a few such things myself. I hope his sentence is reduced and he learns from his mistakes and this doesn't ruin what looked like a promising future in football
