STRIKE TWO : Lett Incident Merely Latest Bomb on Cowboy Team Some Say Is Ready to Explode

How ‘bout them Cowboys?

Penthouse magazine is now required reading to follow America’s Team, and while others might not be able to write it off on their expense report, it’s a job, and someone has to do it.

This month’s glossy-paged treatise on Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin, “Addicted Just As Much To Sex As He Is To Drugs,” is accompanied by photos of Rachelle Smith, the topless dancer who was with Irvin when arrested on drug charges earlier this year.

How embarrassing, some might say, until the Leon Lett story begins to unfold. Lett, who was on his way to being the NFL’s defensive player of the year, had not only been suspended by the league last season for four games, but had been tested for drugs as often as 10 times a month since that time.

While no one is talking in Dallas or at NFL headquarters in New York because of confidentiality restrictions, this much is known: Lett can count.

According to reports, after passing his 10th drug test last month without a problem, another test--exceeding the NFL’s drug policy guidelines--was given and he came up dirty. Lett, the Cowboys, and the Cowboys’ legal advisors argued this was not fair, but the NFL responded by banishing Lett from playing for at least one year.

The one-year suspension, which is delivered under the third step of the NFL’s drug policy, suggests Lett has had previous problems on at least three occasions. An NFL spokesman said the league could not comment on Lett’s situation in any way.

Lett’s situation, however, cries out for comment.

“If the Cowboys make it to the Super Bowl, I wouldn’t go if you gave me a free ticket,” said Art Taylor, associate director of Northeastern University’s center for the study of sport in society. “Is it true they signed Albert Belle? Maybe it’s only a rumor, but it would be consistent with the way they do business.”

Albert Belle, the temperamental baseball player, signed with the Chicago White Sox, but major league baseball players previously have been known to change their mind and play for the Cowboys.

“This is an organization out of control,” Taylor said. “Is this really America’s Team? It might be the extreme way we perceive America by what we see on TV or in the movies, but I don’t think this has ever really been America’s Team.

“Isn’t this the University of Oklahoma again in the ‘80s with Barry Switzer as head coach? Do you see any parallel at all? You have an organization that went from a very firm coach [Jimmy Johnson] to a real loosey-goosey approach with Barry Switzer. You put that together with a team that has won, and you have people who think they are invincible. You need someone to bring them back to earth, and that’s not happening.”

The Cowboys have crashed and burned and continued to win--three Super Bowls in the last four years. In addition to all the accolades thrown the Cowboys’ way, there has been a book detailing the married Jerry Jones’ alleged womanizing and another book dealing with problems between Switzer and quarterback Troy Aikman.

“It’s hard not to be critical of what’s going on,” said Tom Landry, former Cowboy coach. “It’s very disappointing. It’s one thing to ignore what’s happening, but I guess that’s what has taken place. Jerry Jones says no one told him anything about [Lett], but he’s the last one to hear about it then.

“The game’s changing, and it’s different now with so much money involved. It was a team sport when we played and coached, but it doesn’t look like that to me any more.”

In addition to books, criticism of Switzer’s carefree way of coaching and Jones’ unique approach to NFL ownership, there have been a series of off-the-field indiscretions by players:

--In 1994, their best offensive lineman, Erik Williams, pleaded no contest and received two years’ probation on a misdemeanor drunk-driving charge after crashing his car and suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Williams had been accused by a 17-year-old topless dancer earlier of assaulting her, but a grand jury did not charge Williams after the youngster refused to cooperate following an out-of-court settlement with Williams.

--Defensive back Clayton Holmes was suspended for a year last November after a positive drug test.

--Defensive lineman Shante Carver, who wrecked his car his rookie season and then reported it stolen, was suspended for six games to start this season because of a drug violation.

--Wide receiver Cory Fleming, released after Super Bowl XXX, will face a suspension for violating the substance-abuse policy if and when he signs with another team.

--Lett, who signed a $12.8-million contract last season, will not be allowed to visit the Cowboys’ Valley Ranch practice facilities and will not be paid until he applies and receives reinstatement.

--Earlier this year, Irvin pleaded no contest to drug charges and was put on four years’ probation, fined $10,000 and then suspended for five games for conduct detrimental to the league.

In the Penthouse article, Smith is quoted as saying, “Irvin couldn’t get enough cocaine into his body.” She claims Irvin always had drugs, even during the season, and would keep them in his sock or in a little black overnight bag. She said he once did a car commercial while allegedly high on drugs.

Irvin denied ever using drugs, but after Smith testified, Irvin pleaded no contest to drug charges. Smith’s boyfriend, Johnny Hernandez, was later accused of plotting to kill Irvin.

“If I was the owner of the team, I wouldn’t have let Michael Irvin come back this year,” Taylor said.

“The worst impact it has is on the kids. They see those guys using drugs, and they think there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be doing them. I know it’s naive, but it’s all about losing the wonderful kind of purity and the belief that sports is good.”

At the Irving (Texas) Recreation Department the kids are still wearing Cowboy jerseys--Irvin’s No. 88 and other stars like Aikman’s No. 8 and Emmitt Smith’s No. 22.

“The kids don’t care about Leon Lett because they don’t have his jersey and don’t care all that much about people they don’t know a whole lot about,” said Darryl McKnight, a recreation department employee working with the youngsters. “The kids talked about Michael Irvin and his problems, but the bottom line was he’s a great player. All the kids want is the Cowboys to win.”

Landry has noticed the same thing, he said. “We have a new generation of fans coming up, and the younger ones don’t seem concerned about things like the Irvin thing and the drugs. As older fans, we resent that.

“There are still some good guys on the team you would like to see be successful, but a number of them that you would not like to see. And I guess it would be the wrong thing going out there if they do go on to win.”

When the Lett story began to surface almost two weeks ago, Jones shot it down, although league officials reportedly notified the Cowboys by mail of Lett’s problem and had already met with him to discuss the situation.

“It’s totally without foundation--there is no story, no nothing,” Jones told the media. “This is a big lie.”

On Tuesday, after the league’s announcement, Jones missed his weekly radio show and weekly media luncheon.

“Look at the response: Jerry Jones was outraged that Leon Lett was caught or couldn’t get out of it,” Taylor said. “Right now he’s got to be thinking about changing things and getting this organization back on track before it implodes.”

On Wednesday Jones spoke, and while aware of the speculation surrounding Lett, he said, he insisted he knew nothing about Lett’s problem until the very end.

“I was disappointed and was concerned for Leon,” said Jones, who has recommended to the league that teams police themselves regarding drug abuse. “It was a surprise.

“This is a reflection [on the team] because one incident is one too many. We can do better and we want to do better and we’ll stop at nothing to get better.”

But he said, “There is not a sense that this is a team-wide thing. It’s still up to individual choices, and adults can make mistakes.”

The Cowboys are tied with Washington and Philadelphia for first place in the NFC East Division, and instead of condemning Lett for failing them at this time of the year, they are now talking about using his loss as a positive: something to build on, something to bring everyone together, something to overcome.

“For whatever reason, controversy always makes this team play at a high level,” safety Bill Bates said. “We’ll come out of this fighting. It hurts to lose somebody who would probably have been the NFL defensive player of the year. But this team is still going to be good.”

And the battle cry as delivered by Switzer: “We all know what type of intensity we need now. This team thinks it can win the Super Bowl again.”

And what if the Cowboys do win the Super Bowl again? Will a victory validate life as some of the Cowboys live it? Will it be sending the wrong message?

“You look at the San Francisco 49ers, and they run the whole thing as a family with strong coaches and a very moral view, which they share with the players,” Taylor said. “They make their players understand that their public lives should be as classy as the team they are playing for. In San Francisco they appear to anticipate and avoid problems; in Dallas, they appear more intent on covering them up.”