White Will Return to Rams Today : He Will Be Tested Daily Under Program Set Up by Team
The Rams announced Tuesday that tailback Charles White would return to the team and to practice today, only four days after his arrest and booking on misdemeanor charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance.
The conditions of White’s return are that he enter a drug rehabilitation out-patient program and be tested for substance abuse daily for the rest of his career.
“He must not fail another test,” Coach John Robinson said.
White has been under the supervision of Ram physicians at Inglewood’s Centinela Hospital Medical Center since Friday, when he was arrested in Brea after police found the former Heisman Trophy winner wandering in a field near the corner of Brea Boulevard and Lambert Road.
White has a history of cocaine abuse dating back to his days at USC. He entered a month-long rehabilitation program in July of 1982 when he was with the Cleveland Browns.
The new program was set up for White by the Rams independent of the National Football League. Robinson said that the team will present the plan to the league office today for approval.
Coincidentally, White will be under the supervision of, and tested by, Dr. Forest Tennant, the NFL’s drug adviser. Tennant is also executive director for Community Health Projects, Inc., in West Covina, which specializes in substance-abuse treatment for out-patients. White will undergo rehabilitation there.
Tennant concluded that White’s episode last Friday was not indicative of a recurring problem.
“I have evaluated Charles and find him to show a lack of active drug dependency at this time,” Tennant said in a prepared statement. “He has entered out-patient counseling and a testing program under my care. It is my opinion that he is fully capable, both mentally and physically, to continue as a Ram player.”
Tennant, named NFL drug adviser by Commissioner Pete Rozelle in July of 1986, is an associate professor at UCLA’s School of Public Health. He also is a drug consultant for the California Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol and the Dodgers.
White returned to Rams Park at 1 p.m. Tuesday and met with Robinson, who outlined the conditions of his return.
After his meeting with Robinson, which lasted about an hour, White left the team’s Anaheim complex for an appointment with Tennant in West Covina.
Robinson made it clear that there would be no more chances for White, who signed with the Rams as a free agent in 1985.
“We will not, regardless of the player, allow ourselves to be compromised,” Robinson said. “We will not put ourselves in that position. Any falling off into that kind of behavior will be detected.”
Robinson said that the team will get results on White the day after each testing.
“We realize this situation is day-to-day for the rest of Charlie’s life, but the football team feels very strongly about him and him being on the team,” Robinson said. “But Charlie and the guys realize that he has to follow the exact rules that we’ve set down.”
Robinson said that White, barring any complications with his rehabilitation, will be at Rams camp this morning and will release a statement to reporters.
An NFL spokesman said that the league would have a statement regarding White today, after it had received the team’s proposed rehabilitation plan.
Robinson said he would not comment on possible public reaction over action taken with White.
Nor, he said, does he underestimate the seriousness of White’s drug use.
“It is indeed life-threatening,” he said of White. “He worked so hard to come back, but it can be so devastating, so fast.”
Robinson said that Tennant’s involvement made him more comfortable.
“We feel fortunate he’s here,” Robinson said. “The guy is big time, he’s great. I have extreme confidence in him. And, their laboratory’s right (near) here.”
On the contract front, another meeting between Jay Zygmunt, the Rams’ general counsel, and holdout tackle Irv Pankey’s agent has been scheduled for today, the 30th day of Pankey’s holdout.
