LSU Player Loses Court Bid to Have Steroid Suspension Lifted

A federal court here Wednesday dismissed Roland Barbay’s attempt to get a temporary restraining order that would have allowed him to play in today’s Sugar Bowl. The LSU defensive end was ruled ineligible by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. because traces of an anabolic steroid were found in his system.

Robert F. Carter, a U.S. district Court judge, ruled that Barbay’s constitutional rights were not violated by the NCAA’s drug-testing policy and that the NCAA is not subject to the same restrictions as state institutions. Carter cited several previous court decisions in which the NCAA’s rules were not deemed to be state actions.

Barbay, a fifth-year senior projected as a middle-round pro draft pick, is one of 11 college football players banned from bowl games after testing positive for steroids or other banned substances. He was the only player to seek redress in court.

Also at issue was whether athletes who used anabolic steroids before the NCAA rules took effect on Aug. 1 would be subject to suspension. Carter did not rule on that issue because he had dismissed the case on the constitutional question.

Barbay, through attorney Nick Noriea, claimed that he last used Nandrolone, a steroid that is injected, in March. Barbay also claimed in his complaint that a physician prescribed the steroid to strengthen his left knee, injured in 1984.

But in a deposition that was read in court Wednesday, Barbay admitted that he injected the steroid in May, not March, and that he received it from an unidentified weightlifter, not a doctor. Barbay said he injected the steroid once a week during a four-week period.

The NCAA approved its publicized drug-testing policy last January in New Orleans at its annual convention, but the ban on more than 3,000 substances did not take effect until Aug. 1.

Barbay, in the suit, said he was not aware that Nandrolone--the steroid he used--was on the list of banned substances until August. Barbay said he has not used anabolic steroids since May.

But LSU coaches and team trainer John Anderson said in depositions, read in court Wednesday by NCAA attorney Sarah Vance, that they were fully informed of the NCAA policy and all the forms of anabolic steroids on the banned list in January. In March, the NCAA sent a manual listing the banned drugs, including Nandrolone.

Barbay, who appeared in anti-drug television commercials sponsored by the NCAA, said his reputation would be ruined if he was not allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl.