Gramps McGary to NBA off failed drug test.

Integrity is the buzzword of the day.

"Being a part of a program that values integrity, it is important to let everyone know of a poor decision I recently made," McGary said in a statement released by the school on Friday morning.

Wally Fairway wrote:
So this should lead to the University of Colorado being able to recruit more one & done players, since they should be allowed to smoke weed there and better prepare for joining the National Blunt Association - amirite?

Only seniors. 21 and up is the law there.

LoneWolfSparty wrote:

Only seniors. 21 and up is the law there.

McFairy was a sophomore and like 39. So he would be ok.

LoneWolfSparty wrote:They are gonna be suck next year!

We all said that after they lost Burke and Hardaway and they win the conference outright. I'd like to hope they will suck but not counting my chickens just yet.

a college kid smoking dope??   

Robert J Sakimano wrote:a college kid smoking dope??    

Bob, is this something I should be worried about??

That is gold, Jerry, gold!

Bullshit rule but it couldn't happen to a better guy

I always loved the fact that Mary J is considered 'performance enhancing.'

Yeah, maybe if you are entering Nathan's hot dog eating contest it could be construed as such. But not if actually physical activity is involved.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:a college kid smoking dope??    

this is no joke Bob. marijuana is a gateway drug to processed foods & beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup.

The_Dude wrote:I always loved the fact that Mary J is considered 'performance enhancing.'  

Yeah, maybe if you are entering Nathan's hot dog eating contest it could be construed as such.  But not if actually physical activity is involved.

Who considers it "performance enhancing"?

And how is it a "fact"?

NigelUno wrote:

Who considers it "performance enhancing"?

Korie Lucious?

Robert J Sakimano wrote:a college kid smoking dope??    

I know there are a lot of college-aged posters on here, and to be frank, I would've said something quite different at that age as well. So with that admission, part of being a student-athlete is representing the university. Drug-testing in a professional setting, in my view, should be limited to when the performance of a job is impaired and could cause harm to others. So bus driver, physician, nurse, pilot, etc.....fair game. I'm not sure I want President Simon or Coach Izzo drug-tested, but if they're representing the university in an obviously impaired state (see Eastern Michigan) there should be professional ramifications given their roles. That extends to any university employee, I think we'd all agree.

The NCAA is very protective of their image. I get that motivation and think they're right to do so. Part of the contract with student-athletes in getting a scholarship and getting the opportunity to play collegiate-level sports is agreeing to cooperate in representing their university and the NCAA in an appropriate light. To accomplish this they have random drug testing and what would appear to be a fairly strict punishment for a first-time failed test for marijuana. The harshness, I suspect, is designed with intention to reinforce their message and promote compliance. Given the benefits that come to student-athletes, they are held to a higher standard than the typical student. Marijuana may be harmless to McGary himself, but that choice, and his making that choice demonstrates that he was not willing to hold up his end of the deal in representing Michigan and the NCAA.

Given that student-athletes are in the news right now arguing for more benefits, unions, etc., well, if there is a desire for a bit more carrot, don't complain about the stick......

y2kMgrad wrote:Well, fvck.

God...your avatar is nice

Heathens '87 wrote:

I know there are a lot of college-aged posters on here, and to be frank, I would've said something quite different at that age as well. So with that admission, part of being a student-athlete is representing the university. Drug-testing in a professional setting, in my view, should be limited to when the performance of a job is impaired and could cause harm to others. So bus driver, physician, nurse, pilot, etc.....fair game. I'm not sure I want President Simon or Coach Izzo drug-tested, but if they're representing the university in an obviously impaired state (see Eastern Michigan) there should be professional ramifications given their roles. That extends to any university employee, I think we'd all agree.

The NCAA is very protective of their image. I get that motivation and think they're right to do so. Part of the contract with student-athletes in getting a scholarship and getting the opportunity to play collegiate-level sports is agreeing to cooperate in representing their university and the NCAA in an appropriate light. To accomplish this they have random drug testing and what would appear to be a fairly strict punishment for a first-time failed test for marijuana. The harshness, I suspect, is designed with intention to reinforce their message and promote compliance. Given the benefits that come to student-athletes, they are held to a higher standard than the typical student. Marijuana may be harmless to McGary himself, but that choice, and his making that choice demonstrates that he was not willing to hold up his end of the deal in representing Michigan and the NCAA.

Given that student-athletes are in the news right now arguing for more benefits, unions, etc., well, if there is a desire for a bit more carrot, don't complain about the stick......

Its just way too harsh man. I know McGary is in his mid 40's and should know better.....but he's still in college damn it.

Seriously though, a year suspension for that? Auburn can pay Cam Newton $250k to go there and that's fine but we're going to suspend a kid a year for a failed test? This is the main reason why the NCAA is going to go bye-bye.

Ned Stark wrote:

Bob, is this something I should be worried about??

I don't know.. but I'm not.

goodbar wrote:

this is no joke Bob. marijuana is a gateway drug to processed foods & beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup.

I'm just waiting for news that college kids illegally remove the tags from their mattresses..

Robert J Sakimano wrote:
I'm just waiting for news that college kids illegally remove the tags from their mattresses..

Red herring. Consumers are allowed to remove the tag all they want.

Springing a random test on a guy during the tourney when he hasn't played all season is pretty weak.

They are going to be thin up front next year.

NigelUno wrote:

Who considers it "performance enhancing"?

And how is it a "fact"?

I'm honestly not sure that tDude knows the definition of fact  

Punisher98 wrote:Its just way too harsh man. I know McGary is in his mid 40's and should know better.....but he's still in college damn it.

Seriously though, a year suspension for that? Auburn can pay Cam Newton $250k to go there and that's fine but we're going to suspend a kid a year for a failed test? This is the main reason why the NCAA is going to go bye-bye.

Maybe. It's a discussion. The NCAA rule is that a failed drug test, and marijuana is one of the drugs, results in an automatic one-year suspension. Harsh rule, but it's not as if Michigan or McGary can plead ignorance. Also, he tested before April 15, when the new NCAA rule of 6-months for a failed test went into effect. Michigan appealed (showing that McGary may have wanted to be back next season) but it was rejected.

I think we can agree that the NCAA lacks some sense of proportionality when it comes to issues that affect the integrity of collegiate athletics. On some fronts, they lack teeth and have no clear rules in place. Not on drug testing. The NCAA is putting themselves at risk because they don't have a handle on the corruptive elements in football and basketball, not because they're tossing McGary out for a year.....

What’s up, world! It’s your boy, Mitch a.k.a. “White Chocolate” a.k.a. “White Thunder.”

That still cracks me up.

Allow me to present this conspiracy theory...which I have just devised...

McGary was going to go pro anyway, but didn't want to experience either the backlash from Michigan fans, or from people saying he wasn't ready for the league. One way to do that would be to have him get suspended for a full year, but not hurt his draft stock in doing so (ie. like saying his back wasn't healed would do). So, they pick an activity that is seen as "normal" for a college kid to do, and surely something many in the NBA are ok with...smoking pot. Say he only did it once because he was sad about his back. Suspend him for a year, so it doesn't make sense for him to sit around and then come back. It was "one time" so GMs won't hold it against him. Release news of how he owned up to it right away, and UM has the opportunity to talk about the ethics of the program and how they accept responsibility for their actions. McGary gets to go pro, NCAA looks like they're all about keeping things clean, scUM gets their "high standards program" talking point. Win win win.

Blue Wall.

Not a smart decision by him to return for his 2nd year. Not that anyone would expect someone who graduated HS at 20 to make smart decisions.

Heathens '87 wrote:

I know there are a lot of college-aged posters on here, and to be frank, I would've said something quite different at that age as well. So with that admission, part of being a student-athlete is representing the university. Drug-testing in a professional setting, in my view, should be limited to when the performance of a job is impaired and could cause harm to others. So bus driver, physician, nurse, pilot, etc.....fair game. I'm not sure I want President Simon or Coach Izzo drug-tested, but if they're representing the university in an obviously impaired state (see Eastern Michigan) there should be professional ramifications given their roles. That extends to any university employee, I think we'd all agree.

The NCAA is very protective of their image. I get that motivation and think they're right to do so. Part of the contract with student-athletes in getting a scholarship and getting the opportunity to play collegiate-level sports is agreeing to cooperate in representing their university and the NCAA in an appropriate light. To accomplish this they have random drug testing and what would appear to be a fairly strict punishment for a first-time failed test for marijuana. The harshness, I suspect, is designed with intention to reinforce their message and promote compliance. Given the benefits that come to student-athletes, they are held to a higher standard than the typical student. Marijuana may be harmless to McGary himself, but that choice, and his making that choice demonstrates that he was not willing to hold up his end of the deal in representing Michigan and the NCAA.

Given that student-athletes are in the news right now arguing for more benefits, unions, etc., well, if there is a desire for a bit more carrot, don't complain about the stick......

Agreed. I smoked a lot of pot and did a lot of partying in college, but if I were an athlete it probably would've been much less. If I were a high profile scholarship athlete in a sport that I knew drug tested...?

McGary may have thought he was off the hook since he wasn't playing. It's a harsh penalty for sure, but no one was forcing him to smoke pot. He knew the rules, made a choice and has to deal with the consequences.

Chitown_Badger wrote:Allow me to present this conspiracy theory...which I have just devised...

McGary was going to go pro anyway, but didn't want to experience either the backlash from Michigan fans, or from people saying he wasn't ready for the league. One way to do that would be to have him get suspended for a full year, but not hurt his draft stock  in doing so (ie. like saying his back wasn't healed would do). So, they pick an activity that is seen as "normal" for a college kid to do, and surely something many in the NBA are ok with...smoking pot. Say he only did it once because he was sad about his back. Suspend him for a year, so it doesn't make sense for him to sit around and then come back. It was "one time" so GMs won't hold it against him. Release news of how he owned up to it right away, and UM has the opportunity to talk about the ethics of the program and how they accept responsibility for their actions. McGary gets to go pro, NCAA looks like they're all about keeping things clean, scUM gets their "high standards program" talking point. Win win win.

Blue Wall.

I sorta wondered about this too when the story broke. It just seems a little bit odd is all.

Although it would seem its a little risky to come out as being someone that likes the mary jane.

Punisher98 wrote:

I sorta wondered about this too when the story broke. It just seems a little bit odd is all.

Although it would seem its a little risky to come out as being someone that likes the mary jane.

I'm sure I could have done a little better, but since this is my first attempt at drafting a conspiracy theory, I think it's pretty good.

LoneWolfSparty wrote:The dope smoked the dope? Maybe the Denver Nuggets should draft him.

The Denver McNuggets, you mean?

BtothejizA wrote:Springing a random test on a guy during the tourney when he hasn't played all season is pretty weak.

They are going to be thin up front next year.

Morgan = gone
Horford = gone
gramps = gone

I haven't seen their incoming class, but wow, their front court is pretty much non-existent.

I briefly tuned into the Huge show today (yeah, I know) and he had a guy from the Michigan Insider on there. He said that UM would have been a top ten team with Gramps next season, and now without him, they're still a top 20 team. Me thinks gramps passed this guy some of his ganja.