Too early to dismiss Jeremy Mayfield's claims of innocence
Quote-of-the-week: “For a sport that promotes itself as being red, white and blue, these rules are almost Stalinist. It's un-American.”
- Charles Yesalis, a Penn State professor and drug policy adviser to sports organizations, on NASCAR's drug policy.
Yesalis made that comment to the Charlotte Observer in a Sunday story that raises many questions about the fairness of NASCAR's drug-testing policy.
The impetus for this story, of course, is driver Jeremy Mayfield. NASCAR says he's a meth user. He's tested positive for the drug twice. After the second test, NASCAR filed an affidavit from his stepmother in which she says she saw Mayfield snort meth at least 30 times over seven years.
Mayfield is fighting back hard. He says he's never used meth. He sued and accused NASCAR of spiking his second urine sample. Mayfield says he took a separate drug test the same day NASCAR tested him the second time, and that his test came back clean.
And for good measure, he called his stepmother a liar, murderer and a whore.
Beyond the war of words, Mayfield and his attorneys have pointed out a lot of problems with NASCAR drug policy. A federal judge has questioned the validity of NASCAR's policy.
As the Observer story show NASCAR's policy doesn't have a set of standard procedures. NASCAR doesn't require its labs to use top federal standards. And, astonishingly, NASCAR doesn't even list the drugs its bans. NASCAR can decide to ban something on a whim, and not tell drivers about it until after they test positive.
Top drug policy experts in the country don't have faith in NASCAR's policy.
“In this day and age, it leaves me speechless that they can put this forth as an anti-doping program,” Gary Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, told the Observer. “The NASCAR program falls apart all over the place.”
Don't get me wrong. I'm not convinced that Mayfield is clean. But I can't dismiss his claims of innocence. There are too many red flags.
His stepmother's affidavit is one of them. Lisa Mayfield says she saw Mayfield snort methamphetamine at least 30 times.
I have trouble believing this claim. What type of person hangs out with a guy at least 30 times while watching him snort meth? It doesn't make sense.
Meth is one of the most addictive and life-destroying drugs. You don't take it recreationally. It consumes your life and drastically changes your appearance, especially after 11 years of abuse. These people look like Methheads. Jeremy Mayfield doesn't.
And there is something bothersome about NASCAR CEO Brian France enforcing the drug policy.
“You know Brian France, out there talking about effective drug policy, is kind of like Al Capone talking about effective law enforcement. The pot shouldn't be calling the kettle black,” Mayfield told Sirius Radio after his second positive test.
Maybe he's talking about an incident in Daytona Beach, Fla., in November 2006. A woman called 911 when she saw a Lexus being driven erratically. He brushed against a tree. The woman followed the driver to his home. It was Brian France.
When police got there 20 minutes later, France admitted he had some drinks earlier, but blamed the tree incident on a soda that he spilled in his car. Here's what the Daytona Beach police chief had to say after an internal affairs investigation:
"The bottom line is he (France) was out of his car, he was inside his apartment and he could have had the alcohol there and hours before. Since we didn't stop him in his car, we couldn't touch him."
The police chief also said he believed everything the witness reported, and that "you can draw your own conclusions from that."
I think a lot of people concluded that France got away with one. When that happens, you lose respect. You lose credibility. Not exactly the ideal person to be defending a drug policy that that was supposed to give NASCAR more credibility.
- Charles Yesalis, a Penn State professor and drug policy adviser to sports organizations, on NASCAR's drug policy.
Yesalis made that comment to the Charlotte Observer in a Sunday story that raises many questions about the fairness of NASCAR's drug-testing policy.
The impetus for this story, of course, is driver Jeremy Mayfield. NASCAR says he's a meth user. He's tested positive for the drug twice. After the second test, NASCAR filed an affidavit from his stepmother in which she says she saw Mayfield snort meth at least 30 times over seven years.
Mayfield is fighting back hard. He says he's never used meth. He sued and accused NASCAR of spiking his second urine sample. Mayfield says he took a separate drug test the same day NASCAR tested him the second time, and that his test came back clean.
And for good measure, he called his stepmother a liar, murderer and a whore.
Beyond the war of words, Mayfield and his attorneys have pointed out a lot of problems with NASCAR drug policy. A federal judge has questioned the validity of NASCAR's policy.
As the Observer story show NASCAR's policy doesn't have a set of standard procedures. NASCAR doesn't require its labs to use top federal standards. And, astonishingly, NASCAR doesn't even list the drugs its bans. NASCAR can decide to ban something on a whim, and not tell drivers about it until after they test positive.
Top drug policy experts in the country don't have faith in NASCAR's policy.
“In this day and age, it leaves me speechless that they can put this forth as an anti-doping program,” Gary Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, told the Observer. “The NASCAR program falls apart all over the place.”
Don't get me wrong. I'm not convinced that Mayfield is clean. But I can't dismiss his claims of innocence. There are too many red flags.
His stepmother's affidavit is one of them. Lisa Mayfield says she saw Mayfield snort methamphetamine at least 30 times.
I have trouble believing this claim. What type of person hangs out with a guy at least 30 times while watching him snort meth? It doesn't make sense.
Meth is one of the most addictive and life-destroying drugs. You don't take it recreationally. It consumes your life and drastically changes your appearance, especially after 11 years of abuse. These people look like Methheads. Jeremy Mayfield doesn't.
And there is something bothersome about NASCAR CEO Brian France enforcing the drug policy.
“You know Brian France, out there talking about effective drug policy, is kind of like Al Capone talking about effective law enforcement. The pot shouldn't be calling the kettle black,” Mayfield told Sirius Radio after his second positive test.
Maybe he's talking about an incident in Daytona Beach, Fla., in November 2006. A woman called 911 when she saw a Lexus being driven erratically. He brushed against a tree. The woman followed the driver to his home. It was Brian France.
When police got there 20 minutes later, France admitted he had some drinks earlier, but blamed the tree incident on a soda that he spilled in his car. Here's what the Daytona Beach police chief had to say after an internal affairs investigation:
"The bottom line is he (France) was out of his car, he was inside his apartment and he could have had the alcohol there and hours before. Since we didn't stop him in his car, we couldn't touch him."
The police chief also said he believed everything the witness reported, and that "you can draw your own conclusions from that."
I think a lot of people concluded that France got away with one. When that happens, you lose respect. You lose credibility. Not exactly the ideal person to be defending a drug policy that that was supposed to give NASCAR more credibility.
Comment
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Comment by Grady Lee Howard on August 11, 2009 at 1:15pm - Greg Collard: I am shocked at your naivete' about crystal meth. It is so pervasive in NC that the odds would indicate more than one NASCAR driver may be a user. It is easily made anywhere using readily available inexpensive ingredients and can be prepared over one halogen lightbulb. While it is physiologically addictive it interfaces well with prescription medications to smooth out an appearance of normalcy. You are probably looking at the missing teeth and sallow skin of impoverished users (self-medicating structural deprivation) and assuming all meth-heads melt fast. With good diet and medical care super speeders can be difficult to identify. Speed is more pervasive in baseball than hormonal compounds and would be right at home in racing. The last economic quarter showed a record spike in productivity spanning all employment sectors in the USA. I do not doubt that illicit methamphetamine use played a sizeable part in this increase as layoffs mounted and employers stretched out workforces to the max. Your "goodboy- good business" journalism is showing a lack of imagination. The fact that you may have faith in capitalist business and be a NASCAR fan is no excuse. I suggest you read Chris Hedges' "Empire of Delusion" to find out how you are short-changing your listeners, or are the "gatekeepers" forever on your case, threatening your job. Hey, maybe you need Crystal Meth!
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