Patriots to Wait on Drug-Test Program

The New England Patriots backed off Saturday on their controversial decision to institute voluntary drug testing. Coach Raymond Berry said he will wait for NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle and the NFL Players Assn. to develop a plan.

“I’m extremely encouraged and hopeful,” Berry said, “because both the commissioner and the players’ association have decided to do something about it.”

The morning after their 46-10 loss to the Chicago Bears in the Jan. 26 Super Bowl, the Patriots voted overwhelmingly, at Berry’s urging, to adopt a voluntary drug-testing program.

The union said that testing violates its collective bargaining agreement. Two days later, the Boston Globe named six Patriots who, the paper said, told Berry that they had used illegal drugs.

On Saturday, 48 of the 57 players on the Patriot roster reportedly attended the first team meeting since the vote was taken.

Irving Fryar, Tony Collins and Roland James, three players named in the Globe article, showed up. The other three--Raymond Clayborn, Kenneth Sims and Stephen Starring--were absent.