Will Grier suspended rest of season for taking PEDs

[MJMGator]

This is the best news all week

Florida likes its chances of winning appeal for 50% reduction of suspension.

Also interesting this says that all players are tested by ncaa once a year and UF tests once a semester. I had not heard any reports saying the ncaa was that proactive, seems everyone else says tests are very rare.

http://gridironnow.com/florida-feels-relatively-good-that-will-griers-appeal-will-be-granted/

It says the NCAA randomly tests at least once per year...not that they test all athletes once a year.

 

[Instigator]

Good news here.

http://gridironnow.com/florida-feels-relatively-good-that-will-griers-appeal-will-be-granted/

 

[Yankeetown]

I do not have any special knowledge of the NCAA appeals process, but I am not optimistic on this appeal, at all. The "12 months mandated" provision seems locked down (i.e., not discretionary), and the "ignorance is no excuse" aspect is something that the NCAA subcommittee will be extremely unwilling to give ground on, because of the precedent that would set.

The only chance this appeal could succeed, IMO (and I am not an attorney), is if they can show that whatever OTC product Grier supposedly used was clean in the past, but just recently changed to contain prohibited substances. In which case he could say "I asked about this in 2014, and was told it was okay; it never occurred to me that I should ask again in 2015 for a product I'd already been told was okay."

I find it distressing that neither Grier nor UF has yet publicly identified the OTC product and the banned ingredient by name. If this is supposed to "be a lesson for athletes everywhere," then telling everyone what to avoid, and thereby let other athletes who might recognize the product as something they'd considered realize how close to the brink they perhaps were, would be some value from this unfortunate situation.

Not naming the product specifically leaves open the possibility that people are desperately searching, at this very moment, for some product that plausibly fits the excuse offered above. And that would be very, very, very wrong.

 

[GatorStud]

If Will can compete and play next Fall opener, I would consider him/us fortunate, grab it and disappear into the night. Fricking NCAA is like the IRS... you get nicked, fix it, get cleared, then run like hell.

 

[Go Gata]

Too me, the NCAA hypocrisy is on full display when you compare Grier's situation to say, De'Andre Johnson's. Shouldn't the off-the-field issues merit a several games ban, as well? By not enforcing such rules, they basically say that is okay if you beat a woman because she took your spot at the bar, just make sure you don't make us all look bad on the field.

Given this, I don't buy that the NCAA gives two drops of piss about a college athlete's academics, either. I'm starting to agree that these guys should be getting paid.

 

[LagoonGator68]

Too me, the NCAA hypocrisy is on full display when you compare Grier's situation to say, De'Andre Johnson's. Shouldn't the off-the-field issues merit a several games ban, as well? By not enforcing such rules, they basically say that is okay if you beat a woman because she took your spot at the bar, just make sure you don't make us all look bad on the field.

Given this, I don't buy that the NCAA gives two drops of piss about a college athlete's academics, either. I'm starting to agree that these guys should be getting paid.

The NCAA is us. The member schools decide the rules and director and budget and points of emphasis.....but it's a giant bureaucracy that is past it's useful life. The big schools need their own regulatory body.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

The NCAA is us. The member schools decide the rules and director and budget and points of emphasis..

The NCAA is Hoffstra, Arkansas Ft. Smith, and New Haven. It's 1200 lil dwarves voting to make the rules, many if not most of which don't apply to themselves.

 

[LagoonGator68]

The NCAA is Hoffstra, Arkansas Ft. Smith, and New Haven. It's 30,000 lil dwarves voting to make the rules and many of which don't apply to themselves.

Football Rules Committee
Legislation: Thirteen members on Association-wide committee. Six Division I; three Division II (2 coaches); three Division III. An additional member shall be a nonvoting secretary-rules editor who may serve two four-year terms. Quota of 25 percent administrators: 3. Quota of 50 percent coaches: 7. Two from each geographical region: Region 1: Districts 1 and 2 Region 2: District 3 Region 3: Districts 4 and 5 Region 4: Districts 6, 7 and 8Policy: Each division will adhere to the 50 percent coaches independently.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

There are a bunch of committees. Dozens. Compliance is more powerful than rules. Association wide doesn't do much. As I said, most of these stupid rules, like no texting, in house limits and contact limits only apply to Div 1 football. Moreover, there are hundreds of regional committees.

A lot of the bs gets proposed by the bureaucrats and rammed through. Do you think any sane people proposed the bagel and cream cheese rule or the no brownies sales rules for poor kids to all star games rules?

 

[T REX]

I have read the only chance in hell that Grier has of getting the ban reduced is if the OTC substance in question was labeled incorrectly. Good kid or never been in trouble or any of that will not be considered in the appeals process. Remorse, regret, sorry...are not mitigating circumstances for reduction. Honest mistake means nothing in this case.

He won't be back until game 7 of next season.

 

[LagoonGator68]

There are a bunch of committees. Dozens. Compliance is more powerful than rules. And hundreds of regional committees.

A lot of the bs gets proposed by the bureaucrats and rammed through. Do you think any sane people proposed the bagel and cream cheese rule or the no brownies sales rules for poor kids to all star games rules?

You're preaching to the choir....the big boys have an option, though. Time to do it.

 

[Scott512]

I hear ya. Seems like they are treating him worse than the thugs.

It's sickening what the penalty is for Grier. He made a stupid mistake and gets a full year. Rest of the season? Okay. Full year? BS. Too bad he didn't steal, assault. allegedly...you know what. No I'm glad he didn't do any of that stuff. And seeing Cook go beastmode for FSU this season after what he may have gotten away with annoys the hell out of me.

 

[rogdochar]

I don't think we can drop the responsibility incumbent on Grier for a self-centered screw-up == one more
punishable than Treon's failure. Grier severely hurt his team.

 

[Scott512]

I don't think we can drop the responsibility incumbent on Grier for a self-centered screw-up == one more
punishable than Treon's failure. Grier severely hurt his team.

Yes he did in a not thinking on his feet honest mistake. It is costly. They might have won tonight with him and the flea flicker and mad hatter fake killed the Gators.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

Where's that online petition to let will play? I'm ready to sign...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NavetG8r]

They might have won tonight with him and the flea flicker and mad hatter fake killed the Gators.

If Coach Collins doesn't get our boys doing a better job of staying at home, we're going to keep getting our butts whipped on trick plays all year. 2 teams have done it to us successfully. You better bet every coach left on our schedule is paying attention because they know points don't come easy against these Gators.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

If Coach Collins doesn't get our boys doing a better job of staying at home,.

Yeah, despite all the aclaim we get, our defense is sadly quite ineffective at times.

 

[TLB]

Good news.. Punishment is still to severe even at that. Ncaa is willing to forgive you if you beat/rape a woman or steal Crablegs but not if you make a mistake and take an OTC Supplement ?

"beat/rape a woman or steal Crablegs" doesn't lead to an advantage on the field, no performance enhancement unless you plan on playing in the lingerie league or for Publix's company picnic teams.

Sarcasm aside, the 12 month ban is excessive given this case, IMO. Though as others have alluded to, and with what I've read elsewhere, it is a fairly cut and dried rule without a lot of space for interpretation by an appeal committee.

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It's sickening what the penalty is for Grier. He made a stupid mistake and gets a full year. Rest of the season? Okay. Full year? BS. Too bad he didn't steal, assault. allegedly...you know what. No I'm glad he didn't do any of that stuff. And seeing Cook go beastmode for FSU this season after what he may have gotten away with annoys the hell out of me.

Let's flip this for a moment and believe it was LF7 that accidentally took an OTC that suspended him for a year. We'd all be a bit giddy inside that he wouldn't play the rest of the season, would hope it extends to game 7 of next year, and there would have been a hope that it meant they forfeited all games earlier this season in which he played. How much cry would there be from non-LSU fans that a 12 month ban is out of whack? That the school is cheating and gets what they deserve?

Devil's Advocate says Cook wasn't 'caught', and as you say 'he may have gotten away' with something. As much as I hate FSU, Jamies, and all things Garnet and Gold (to extend to Cook), unless convicted and found guilty there is not a lot of stones that can be thrown, IMO.

Harsh penalty for WG needs to be shorted. This is an NCAA area to address. Dipshts that rape/abuse women needs to be addressed by the police, which unfortunately, do not exist in Tally. This is not an NCAA issue unless, I believe, they earn a felony conviction (not just accusation).


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Back to what I've read, and others alluded to - the appeal process is outlined in simple fashion. The athlete, school representative, and whomever else they bring in are put on a phone on one end and the committee hears them on the other end. The committee doesn't want to know the athlete, school, or sport. There is no consideration for the kid's character, honest mistakes, difficult home life, or anything. It revolves, quite simply, around an error in testing (not a course of review given WG's admission), or a lack of player awareness (did the school educate, provide resources, could the kid have legitimately been naive enough to make this mistake or was there reasonable steps taken to prevent such a mistake). I hope for the best, but have a hard time believing our UAA compliance team hasn't gone out of their way in making sure kids know what is banned and making every possible attempt to have education and resources available. This is where I struggle to see the 12 months shortened. Maybe this was a UAA test which came up positive and was reported to NCAA, such that if the UAA wasn't so aggressive it would have been out of WG's system by the time the NCAA got around to testing him (if they ever tested him at all). This is pure conjecture on my part, but maybe this is the angle getting pitched of "NCAA wouldn't have known. Kid made a mistake (NCAA doesn't care) and UAA found it and reported it (see how good we are about these things!)" But even that doesn't feel like it would get much traction. As I say, I'm hopeful, but not optimistic.

 

[TLB]

I find it distressing that neither Grier nor UF has yet publicly identified the OTC product and the banned ingredient by name. If this is supposed to "be a lesson for athletes everywhere," then telling everyone what to avoid, and thereby let other athletes who might recognize the product as something they'd considered realize how close to the brink they perhaps were, would be some value from this unfortunate situation.

Not naming the product specifically leaves open the possibility that people are desperately searching, at this very moment, for some product that plausibly fits the excuse offered above. And that would be very, very, very wrong.

First, I sincerely doubt that the NCAA doesn't already know what he took. I'm sure the UAA and our internal compliance team hasn't already secured from WG what the product was, how much he took, how much he 'threw away', where he got it, when he got it, anything else he has eaten/drunk/breathed since then that could be part of the discussion. And I'm sure that same compliance team has kept the NCAA fully aware of what they learn and when. He admitted using a banned substance - that means he knows what it was, and the UAA would as well, which means the NCAA does by now.

Any attempt to find a product to fit the excuse by others is a pointless waste of time, which they are free to do. But nobody inside the situation would be doing that at this point.

 

[OllieGator]

How much are they paying the salesman not to talk?