A Pipeline Full Of Drugs

This unusual—some say, long overdue—investigation comes amid growing national and international concern over the use by athletes of unprescribed drugs. An agent for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told SI's Terry Todd last week that there's a federal probe into a steroid pipeline in Ohio and Michigan. In the Hartford, Conn, area last summer six people, including three pharmacists and a physician, were arrested on charges of illegally distributing or obtaining steroids.

At the NCAA convention in Nashville this week, member schools were to decide whether athletes will be tested for drug use. At present there are no NCAA rules concerning testing for steroids or other substances. Last week in Nashville, Carson told SI's Armen Keteyian that he is "working closely" with the Drug Enforcement Administration and that his investigation has broadened to include the possible illegal sale of steroids to college athletes "up East."

In the past Olympic year, there has been much discussion of steroids, which can cause serious medical ailments, including liver and prostate malfunction, testicular atrophy and lowered sperm count. In spite of repeated warnings about possible adverse medical effects, athletes, both amateurs and pros who believe steroids enhance their performance, continue to seek an edge by using them.

Take the Vanderbilt situation. Jim Dralle, a 6'3", 275-pound senior center from Torrance, Calif., said he thought Wilson began selling the steroids to Vanderbilt athletes in 1981. Wilson had been working out in the Vanderbilt weight room after undergoing collarbone surgery. During his rehabilitation, he met Kreis, a former Clemson football player, who later would put Wilson in contact with Colson, according to sources close to the TBI investigation.

Dralle said he didn't use steroids. He also said that Kreis readily accepted whatever decision an athlete made about using them. "He's always been an advocate of hard work, not steroids," said Dralle, "but Doc's not the type who tries to take control of your personal life. He's not a baby-sitter. Anyone who uses them, it's by personal choice."

And that key choice, said Dralle, while known to most teammates, was kept quiet. "We don't talk about it much," he said. "It's very hush-hush, but we know.... The people who used them were striving to be the best."

Vanderbilt's football coach, George MacIntyre, and its athletic director, Roy Kramer, denied that the school had any knowledge of the steroid sales.

In South Carolina, Clemson president Bill L. Atchley had heard enough concerning the events surrounding Jaspers' death. On Dec. 7 he accepted the recommendation of Bill Traxler, South Carolina's 13th-Circuit Solicitor (i.e., prosecutor) that Traxler bring in state agents. Last month, Clemson's men's and women's track teams were interviewed by SLED agents and by the campus police. The athletes were questioned about any knowledge they had about drugs being dispensed without a prescription.

Several Clemson athletes confirmed to SI's Ivan Maisel that they had received bute from Colson. Tina Krebs, an 800-meter runner, explained how she had been given the drug while training for the 1983 NCAAs: "I came down to the weight room. I told Sam [about a twisted ankle], and he said, 'I have some pills to give you that you won't feel pain.' I wanted to go to the nationals. I wouldn't be able to go if he didn't give me the pills. He gave them to me in a white envelope. Sam told us if we felt weird in our stomach to stop taking them." She finished second in the NCAAs.

As an All-America javelin thrower at the University of Kansas, Col-son had frequently used bute to relieve inflammation of his joints, according to Gentry. "They worked beautifully for him." Gentry said of the medication. "He received relief and he swears by them for that purpose."