Systematic Cheating on Drug Tests at USC : College athletics: McGee acknowledges the problem, says that task force will try to tighten enforcement.

In the aftermath of quarterback Todd Marinovich’s arrest for cocaine and marijuana possession, The Times has learned of a pattern in which some USC football players regularly cheated on their drug tests.

A two-week investigation has shown that some USC football players have learned how to get around drug testing by devising elaborate schemes to substitute “clean” urine for their own and also by using masking drugs.

Two days after Marinovich’s Jan. 20 arrest in Newport Beach, USC took an official step toward addressing the problem. It formed a task force to investigate drug testing at the school. The group, chosen by Athletic Director Mike McGee, consists of Mike Garrett, Ron Orr and Barbara Thaxton, plus two others McGee declined to identify because they do not work for USC. Garrett is associate athletic director at USC, Orr assistant athletic director and Thaxton associate women’s basketball coach.

The group, only getting started, has yet to offer any recommendations.

McGee, in an interview Friday, acknowledged that he was alerted to the problem more than a year ago but was unable to stop the practice.

“We heard in the fall of ’89 that one of our athletes may have cheated on a test--not how it was done,” McGee said. “At that point, we put into motion what we thought were some extra precautions that involved, in addition to a technician, a university administrator to be an observer.”

Nevertheless, the word among USC football players is that the test can be beaten and that someone is always willing to teach how it is done. Interviews with more than 15 players indicate the following has happened with some regularity since the program was started in 1985:

--Urine believed to be “clean” is acquired from athletes and other students on campus.

--If little scrutiny is expected, the urine is brought to the testing area in a vial, bottle or package and simply poured into the testing cup when the observer isn’t looking.

--If the player expects to be watched, a bladder pack filled with “clean” urine is strapped to a part of the body not visible, under an arm or under a shirt, for example, with a tube running to the pelvic area in order to simulate urination.

--The attention of testing officers is diverted by athletes, allowing other athletes to pour “clean” urine into the testing cup.

--A number of masking drugs, available at so-called “head shops” in Southern California, are purchased by athletes and these are taken with moderate success. “Head shops” are stores that sell, among other things, drug paraphernalia and non-prescription drugs allegedly to be used for health enhancement.

--If given 24 hours notice, athletes have consumed vinegar, cranberry juice and/or water in large quantities to flush illegal substances out of their systems.

Most athletes interviewed for this story would talk only on the condition their names not be used. An unwritten code of silence exists among USC football players since the Marinovich arrest. They fear being ostracized and fear having their name identified with drugs.

They also say that cheating on drug tests happens at every major university.

One player who was willing to address the subject on the record was Brandon Bowlin, a former USC defensive back.

“The situation was such that it seemed that they (tried to) catch those who they wanted to catch,” Bowlin said, referring to the frequency with which some athletes were tested. “I didn’t get tested all that often because I was a bit player. . . . But it was possible to get by on USC’s drug test.”

USC, among the first schools to institute drug testing, started testing all of its athletes in 1985. Initially, 10% of the athletes failed the test. USC says only 2% of the athletes now fail drug tests.

“Players get around drug testing all the time,” said one former linebacker who has been out of USC’s football program for two years. “(At USC) they were pretty flexible. They would watch you, but if you had the standard surgical tubing running down, you could fool them.”

A former offensive player explained it this way: “(Players) would take someone else’s . . . (urine) and have it in a bag that was taped to their back. They would then run an IV tube down between their legs. Then, they would have a clamp at the end that released the urine when you took it off . . . like you were really going to the bathroom.”

Because there is no known study on beating drug tests, it is difficult to determine if this problem is unique to Southern California.

“There are a lot of drugs out there in Southern California,” said one starter from last season’s team. “I’ve been offered cocaine and marijuana a lot of times. People have come up to me at parties and just handed me a gram (of cocaine) for free. People want to give it to you and party with you because you’re an athlete.”

Another recent offensive starter said that USC testing procedures were so lax that it allowed cheating.

“Some of the guys knew how to beat the drug testing,” he said. “They would take a small bag and put some clean (urine) in it and hold it under their arm. It didn’t matter whose you had as long as it was clean. (USC) kind of slacked off in administering the test after a while, and the team knew it. The person who would be responsible for watching you would walk into the stall, but never knew if you cheated or not. I really don’t think USC knew about this.”

But, as McGee said Friday, USC was alerted to possible problems more than a year ago. Apparently, the problem was not easy to solve.

“What you had was a testing program that was run amok from the very beginning,” said a drug-testing expert familiar with USC’s program. “(USC) wouldn’t follow scientific procedures. . . . The scientific collection aspects were not utilized in the testing program. I was never aware they did it in the appropriate manner. . . . (They) tried to do what was right, but they didn’t have all the things at their disposal to make it work.”

The recent events seem to have brought that point home to McGee.

“Maybe we don’t have the latest understanding of techniques that might be used to cheat on tests,” McGee said.

But McGee said if USC’s program has deficiencies, so do others.

“You’re saying our problems are in observation,” he said. “My point is, we’re not the only ones that have been fooled or not fooled.” For instance, the NCAA was testing Trojan football players for postseason games.

“If I’ve said anything that makes you think we have all the answers, I’ll be the first one to say we don’t,” McGee said. “But we are committed to a testing program. We think it has value.”

TODD MARINOVICH

The rumors started about Todd Marinovich as soon as he arrived on campus in 1987, even though, at that time, he had never been arrested or charged with any drug-related offense. USC also says that Marinovich never failed a drug test.

But the rumors persisted and the athletic staff targeted him for the maximum number of tests--seven in the past year, four by USC and three by the NCAA.

McGee said there was one athlete on last season’s football team who was tested seven times but would not identify him. “But he never complained about testing so much, even though he had recourse to appeal it,” McGee said.

After Marinovich’s arrest, USC officials privately said that he had been tested seven times.

Marinovich has maintained his innocence when it comes to drugs. Friday, during a telephone interview regarding his decision to apply for the National Football League draft, he said he has never taken drugs or cheated on a drug test.

But McGee acknowledged that Marinovich’s arrest was the impetus to form the task force. That concern was echoed by Marvin Cobb, assistant athletic director and the administrator of USC’s drug-testing program.

“After Todd’s arrest, I received several phone calls from current and former student athletes,” Cobb said. “They felt bad at what happened to Todd. And they felt guilty to a certain extent and wanted to make me aware of things that were going on at the point of collection by a small group of athletes.

“It actually fit with my suspicions. There were lots of rumors and there seemed to be cause to be suspicious.”

Cobb said changes in testing are planned for next season and he hopes the Student Health Center will rejoin the testing process.

But currently, his concern is with Marinovich.

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to Todd, but I feel it is really important to be honest with himself at this time,” Cobb said. “And my prayers are that he does what is best for him.”

TESTING PROBLEMS

The USC athletic department took over responsibility of collecting urine samples in 1989, but the problems started well before then. Student Health Services was initially given the task of collecting samples, but it was far too understaffed to handle 50 football players at once.

Frequently, only two employees were there to administer the tests. A student trainer was assigned to complete the necessary paperwork.

“They were overrun,” said the drug-testing expert familiar with USC’s program. “They would take one (player) back to the bathroom (to be tested) and two or three others would show up in the bathroom and say they couldn’t hold it anymore. . . . ‘I’ve got to go now.’ And so, the guys couldn’t possibly watch all of them at the same time.”

When the athletic department took over the testing, no one from American Chemical Laboratories of San Diego, which analyzed the tests, was asked to train the new collectors. USC’s athletic department did not realize this service was available.

Nondice Ginpher, a technical manager of American Chemical, when asked to describe in general terms her company’s program, said the firm trained all its clients in the proper procedure and how to catch cheaters. She suggests that the collector must watch the individual urinate in a cup. The cup is then sealed in front of the person and legal tape is placed over the cap. Ginpher said the laboratory will reject any sample with torn tape.

A chain of custody is established for each sample in which paperwork notes the date, time and place of collection. The paper is signed by the collector and the person who submits to the test. The sample is identified with a number. Only a designated person can match ID numbers with names.

Each person who handles the specimen during transport also must sign for it. The urine is stored in a locked facility at the laboratory.

Ginpher suggests that wash basins should be turned off so that no one has access to water to dilute samples. She cautions that even the most trustworthy person can be fooled.

“People have managed to bring into the restroom Clorox, rubbing alcohol and other masking agents,” Ginpher said. “When it comes into the lab, we can smell it. Salt has been touted as a way to foil a drug test. I know on the market they sell herbs and compounds that will mask the presence of drugs in the urine. There is even clean urine for sale.

“That’s one reason for observation. It is easy to smuggle urine and swap it out. There’s always somebody who will try to beat the system. I don’t think that much gets through, however. It boils down to you setting up the best collection system you’re capable of and eventually you are having to trust somebody along the line to see that it is done right.”

ONE MAN’S DILEMMA

In the fall of 1989, USC’s drug-testing program fell into the hands of Marvin Cobb, an assistant athletic director who once was a standout football and baseball player for the Trojans.

Drug testing was part of Cobb’s responsibilities when he was hired in 1986 to replace Stan Morrison, the USC basketball coach and assistant athletic director who helped implement the program.

Players said that, at first, Cobb administered collection alone, but later was assisted by Ernie Bullard, USC’s onetime track and field coach.

Although McGee says the administrators were qualified to handle the program, it was a difficult endeavor.

“If you could imagine 50 football players all anxious to use the bathroom and a full set of paperwork to be completed on each, you can see it is not a simple task, even for two people,” Cobb said. “And if a student athlete is intent on not being caught, he can be very creative.”

Even before Marinovich’s arrest, Cobb said he had planned to change the collection procedure. Primarily, he was going to make sure that athletes were not hiding foreign urine.

He said that, in light of recent developments, even more changes are needed. For instance, he is recommending that the school use trained observers who will continually watch athletes deliver their specimens.

Despite deficiencies, Cobb wholeheartedly defends the program. He said it has benefited many more athletes than people realize.

“Probably one of the most difficult things that I did was help an athlete stop using crack cocaine,” he said. “I’ve dealt with cases of athletes being compulsive gamblers, alcohol problems . . . with eating disorders.”

Because he is on the front line, Cobb said athletes have sought his advice for myriad problems.

“Sometimes they self-disclose or come to tell me about a teammate, a roommate or even someone in their family. Just the existence of the program has helped a lot of student athletes maintain abstinence.”

ONCE YOU’RE CAUGHT

USC has an elaborate three-strike plan to deal with athletes who test positive. However, implementation of the plan was shaky at first.

One former offensive starter tested positive two times in a six-month period and received little or no counseling.

“Nothing was done and I’m not sure why,” said the drug-testing expert close to USC’s program. “They just didn’t follow through. I know they confronted him over it and just told him not to do it again. That was it. Drugs just don’t quit because you ask them to quit. You’ve got to have some type of intervention and structured counseling. There wasn’t any.”

That problem appears to have been corrected. The current plan is that when an athlete tests positive for drugs for the first time, he or she is suspended for one week and required to attend counseling sessions. That athlete also must submit to drug tests for the remainder of his or her college career.

Only USC administrators and the athlete are notified of the positive test. The athlete is not ostracized because the results are kept confidential.

“Just seems as though players wouldn’t hear about it right away,” said a former USC defensive back. “When someone was caught, it was up to the individual player to let everyone know.”

The counseling for the athlete is a basic drug-awareness program, created to discourage any further drug use. The dangers of drug use are also discussed, usually one-on-one with a counselor.

When an athlete tests positive a second time, he is given a longer suspension and is required to attend even more counseling sessions. That athlete also might be required to take a weekly drug test, depending on the evaluation.

If an athlete tests positive for a third time, he or she is dismissed from school.

“The first year, we had three athletes (dismissed),” McGee said. “Two of them tested positive three times and one was charged with distribution of an illegal substance. The person is dismissed, just as if he tested positive.

“It was in the second year that the message was really understood and then we had small instances of positives. We even changed the level of testing. In year three, I think we relaxed a little. Halfway through the year, we started seeing some positives again. We started thinking about other things. We didn’t hammer on drug use as much. We then made a conscious decision to redouble our efforts. We have seen some positives, but they are a fraction of that from the first year.”

McGee said the cost of testing athletes is not a factor.

“I’m not saying we’re perfect,” McGee said. “That’s one of the reasons we’re going back to look at it.”

The examination process will be painful and emphasizes McGee’s dilemma.

“I don’t want to catch them, but I do want to catch them,” he said.

* This story was reported and written by Times staff writers Elliott Almond, Jerry Crowe and Lonnie White and Times Associate Sports Editor John Cherwa.