Singing chef Nick Diamos once said, “Everybody lies, but it doesn’t matter because nobody listens.” I’m going to assume that he never met anyone directly associated with the NFL.
Dan Hanzus at NFL.com quotes new Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory:
“Gregory said he has successfully stayed away from marijuana.
“‘I haven’t touched it,’ he said. ‘I’m feeling real good, too. This is a high in itself, to be honest. I’m high on life right now, and I don’t want to lose this high.'”
And why, exactly, should we believe that?
In my opinion, Gregory was the best pure pass rusher in the draft. However,he failed two drug tests in college and one at the Combine that he absolutely knew was coming. Having said that, the failed tests weren’t the real problem.
NFL teams think they can handle almost any player issue at least to a large extent. Short of murder, anything can be spinned. Got a player with a drug issue? Send him to rehab and spin it.
Gregory’s major problem and the reason he fell so far in the draft wasn’t the failed drug tests. It was that he lied about it at the Combine, telling teams that he hadn’t lit up since November. Teams might be able to handle any player problem but they can’t do that if they don’t know about it. The guess here is that the one thing every team absolutely demands from a player is the truth no matter what. And the one cardinal sin you can commit is failing to do so, especially before they’ve even bound themselves to you with a contract.
If I’m the Cowboys, assuming I don’t have Gregory under body guard 24 hours a day, I’m having him tested on demand with the understanding that he can refuse, but any refusal to take one will be considered a failure. Because you can’t take his word for it – or anything else – otherwise.