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Thursday, December 5, 1996

Cowboys deny having team-wide drug problem

By Jean-Jacques Taylor / The Dallas Morning News (Dec. 5, 1996)

DALLAS (KRT) - In the past two years, the NFL has handed out seven suspensions involving members of the Dallas Cowboys for violation of the league's substance-abuse program.

No other team has had more than two suspensions in that span, which leads to the question: Do the Cowboys have a team-wide substance-abuse problem?

Leon Lett, a 6-6, 290-pound defensive tackle in the midst of his best season, became the latest member of the Cowboys to be suspended by the NFL. The league on Tuesday banned him for a minimum of one year after he tested positive for cocaine. He also was suspended for four games last year.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said one instance of drug abuse is too much. "There have been a lot more instances in the last two to three years than we want to have," Jones said, "but this is not something that's a team-wide thing. It's still up to people to make individual choices."

The Cowboys' players insist their team is a microcosm of society and its ills. The players insist they are no different than any other NFL team.

Still, the Cowboys, who have won an unprecedented three Super Bowls in four years, are destroying themselves.

Dallas began the season without its best receiver. It will finish the season without its best defensive lineman. In both cases, violations of the league's substance-abuse policy have robbed the Cowboys' roster of Pro Bowl performers.

"The kids need to start policing the kids a little bit more," running backs coach Joe Brodsky said, "but I think Leon has let Leon down. Let's not take him out of the mix."

Linebacker Jim Schwantz said maybe it's time for some players to tell others to "slow it down a little bit."

That's not a foreign concept.

It happens in other sports. The Mavericks signed veteran point guard Derek Harper in part because they wanted him to show young stars like Jim Jackson, Jamal Mashburn and Jason Kidd how to behave and perform like professionals.

The Rangers signed first baseman Will Clark in November 1993 because he could hit .300 - and provide a strong locker room presence. They added players like designated hitter Mickey Tettleton and reserve catcher Dave Valle for the same reason.

Linebacker Darrin Smith said each person is responsible for himself. The Cowboys, he said, are no different than any other team.

"I don't think this team has a problem, because there are a lot of players on this team who don't have (substance-abuse) problems," he said. "You can't get mad about the team being hurt, because, obviously, the person has a problem.

"You wouldn't get mad at a member of your family; you'd try to help them because you care about them. It's the same way with us."

Linebacker Broderick Thomas has played with four teams, three in each of the past three seasons. The only difference between the Cowboys and other organizations, he said, is talent.

Safety Bill Bates, in his 14th season, said it's disappointing that the Cowboys' image has become so negative in the past few years.

Drug suspensions and scandals have involved only a few players. Most players, he said, have been good citizens.

"One thing you don't hear much about is how many great guys we have on this team," Bates said. "Some people do so much for their communities and to help other people it's a shame that our star is tarnished some by these other incidents.

"It's unfortunate we have so many guys getting in trouble. It's too bad some of the good guys can't help the other guys out."

Defensive coordinator Dave Campo said he's tired of dealing with the suspensions and the turmoil they leave behind.

"I'm frustrated from the standpoint of the young man, not how it affects the Dallas Cowboys. ... I feel badly for him because he is a good person," he said. "I just feel it's unfortunate that society has this problem and we are a part of society."

(c) 1996, The Dallas Morning News.

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