Report: Cowboys Positive for Drugs

In the aftermath of Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin being charged with possession of cocaine and marijuana in a local motel came the revelation Tuesday that several of the Cowboys’ offensive players showed positive in drug tests that were voided because they were taken outside the window established for such tests.

A report in the Dallas Morning News citing three Cowboy sources said the league had to disregard the positive tests because they were taken on April 28, 1995, before the team’s mini-camp. The testing period runs from May 1 through Aug. 20.

Dr. Laurence Brown, then the league’s drug advisor, ordered the tests without advance notice, but the results were successfully challenged by the players’ association.

No players were named in the story, and Brown refused to comment.

However, Doug Allen, the players association’s assistant executive director, told Dallas radio station KTCK that under the confidentiality demanded by the players’ labor agreement, there is no way the team should have known about the results of any test.

“The policy prevents the collection of urine samples for the preseason from any time period except May 1 to the middle of August,” Allen said. “If samples are collected outside that window, they aren’t to be used for any purpose.

“Any information about such samples for any team will only be known by Dr. Brown, and he certainly isn’t going to talk to anybody about it.”

Two Cowboys, defensive lineman Leon Lett and reserve cornerback Clayton Holmes, were suspended without pay because of positive tests last season. Lett was suspended four weeks after testing positive for marijuana, and Holmes was set down for a season after a test revealed he had used cocaine.

Former Cowboy tight end Alfredo Roberts said Tuesday that he did not betray friend and former teammate Irvin to avoid indictment on drug charges by a grand jury.

“That is something that never crossed my mind,” Roberts said at a news conference, where he spoke at length for the first time since he, Irvin and two women were involved in a motel room incident where drugs were found. He said he would not comment on specifics of the case because of a judge’s gag order.

“As far as my relationship with my friend . . . we understand what we’re going through, and the love I have for him that no one could ever imagine,” Roberts said, adding he loves the Dallas Cowboys receiver like a brother.

Irvin and two topless dancers were indicted Monday on charges of cocaine and marijuana possession. The 30-year-old All-Pro receiver is free on $5,500 bond and will await trial along with Angela Renee Beck, 22, and Jasmine J. Nabwangu, 21. No trial date has been set.

Roberts, an associate in Irvin’s “Masterpeace Ragz” line of apparel, was in the room with the trio but was not charged.

He said he never could have made a deal with prosecutors for leniency at Irvin’s expense.

“I myself did not receive, nor did not know of receiving, anything different from anyone else. . . .” said Roberts, who also played with Irvin at the University of Miami. “The facts are that I know of no other preferential treatment that I’ve received. I’ve done everything just like everybody else.”

Furthermore, his attorney Don Tittle said, “It would surprise me if he were called by the state as a witness.”

If convicted, Irvin and Beck could face two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for felony possession of four or more grams of cocaine. The felony indictment against Nabwangu was for a lesser charge of possessing less than a gram of cocaine, punishable by up to two years in prison.

As he appeared before reporters Tuesday, Roberts apologized to his family, friends and public for his involvement in the incident.

“There’s not many things I regret in my life, but I regret finding myself in this position,” he said.