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SoCal College News Report

McCoy News: Here's the Source--(November 4, 1997)

It looks like the genesis of all the latest rumors about UCLA's Jelani McCoy being "off the team for good" after he reportedly "failed his most recent drug test" is coming from Frank Burlison at the Long Beach Press Telegram.

So far the story has been picked up on ESPNet and on USA Today's College Basketball. By now, it's probably also made the AP Wire. The LA Times did not have the story this morning, and if they can't or won't confirm it, then there may be some question about the source of Burlison's story.

Let's look a bit closer.

Burlison's story quotes an unnamed "friend" of McCoy, who reportedly gave the information to the Press-Telegram:

"According to a friend of McCoy's who asked not to be identified, McCoy learned from a UCLA physician that he had failed his most recent drug test and telephoned head coach Steve Lavin with the news Monday."

Some "friend." Unnamed. Asked not to be identified.

But he's probably reliable, right? Yeah, sure.

The balance of Burlison's article does not really contain any other new information. There was the usual background stuff about the original news of the suspensions, some statistics background about how good McCoy and Johnson were last year.

But then Burlison gets a bit more specific than any other report previously published concerning alleged drug use. In his article, he claims specifically that Johnson and McCoy were "suspended indefinitely from the team. . . for violating the school's athletic department Drug Education and Testing program for student-athletes."

Burlison also claims: "Both [McCoy and Johnson] had tested positive for marijuana usage and were suspended for the fall semester (which concludes on Dec. 12)."

The last part of the sentence is certainly misleading, unclear, and if taken literally, is not true.

All other published reports have both McCoy and Johnson still enrolled and attending classes at UCLA during their suspension from the team. They were not "suspended for the fall semester". They were suspended from the team "indefinitely".

Big difference.

Ah, facts. Why let them get in the way of a good story.

We'll wait and see what the real truth is. Until you hear it from Lavin, Dalis, or from the horse's mouth, I'd take a "wait and see" attitude on this story.

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