College Bowl Season
ARLINGTON, Tex.–Dexter Lawrence found out the bad news yesterday. Clemson’s 6-4, 350-pound junior defensive tackle who was selected first team All -ACC and made Sporting News first team All American, has been ruled ineligible to participate in the Tigers’ national semi-final game against Notre Dame after the NCAA determined through a second sample that he and two other Tigers’ players showed trace amounts of a banned substance.
“This evening, Clemson Athletics received confirmation from the NCAA of suspensions of tight end Braden Galloway, offensive lineman Zach Giella and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, all three of whom will be unavailable for Saturday’s game against Notre Dame,” Clemson director of athletics Dan Radakovich said in a statement. “The athletic department will have no further comments on this matter this evening as it considers all of our options, including appeals.”
The Tigers had been preparing for its Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic matchup with Notre Dame assuming Lawrence would not play. Lawrence, who is widely projected as a future first-round NFL draft pick, has not practiced with the team since Clemson learned of the initial positive test last week.
Lawrence was excused from Thursday’s media day but asked to speak with reporters anyway. He said he had no idea how the substance got into his his system and how he ingested a substance that resulted in a positive test. He denied ever taking performance enhancing drugs.
.“I’m not the type of guy to do a selfish act like that,’’ he insisted to a crowd of reporters surrounding his table at the Cotton Bowl media day at Cowboy Stadium. “I have too much pride. I love this team and my family too much to put a substance like that in my body. It’s not like I need to get any bigger. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know how it got there. I was raised different. If I did do it, I’d own up to it. All I can say is honestly don’t know what happened, where it came from.
“We get tested regularly and we know not to do anything stupid or selfish like that,” Lawrence said. “That’s why this is such a shock.”
Lawrence, along with freshman Galloway and junior Giella, now faces a suspension of up to one year, pending appeal. That probably means the end of Lawrence’s college career, although he said Thursday he had not made a final decision about his NFL prospectsLawrence answered every question posed to him during a 30-minute interview session. He speculated his positive test could be the result of something that entered his body in an energy drink or even hair gel. Clemson head Dabo Swinney notified Lawrence, offensive lineman Zach Giella and tight end Braden Galloway Sunday the NCAA had discovered traces of ostarine, a muscle growth substance, in their drug tests.
The substance is on the World Anti-Doping list of prohibited substances. “They have no clue how this got into their systems,’’ Swinny said. “It could have come from hair products. I could have come from a cream. It could have come from protein. It could have come from a product you buy on line that you think there’s nothing wrong with it. It could be anything. Literally, it could be a drink. Something in a drink. We; doing everything to figure it out. Heck, I don’t know. They all will have legal representation.’’
When Swinney first called Lawrence, the player thought it was a joke. “I stick to a strict routine,’’ he said. “I’m confused. I’m mind-boggled. When coach Swinny called me, I was shocked.’’
So was Swinny, who learned of the test results last Thursday and wanted to be as transparent as possible because he believes his players didn’t intentionally take a banned substance. “The only thing I know is these guys have not intentionally done anything,’’ Swinny said. He has treated their absence like an injury and moved his focus to preparing for the Irish.
