Despite arrests, steroids said not in excess at Dartmouth
HANOVER, N.H. -- Dartmouth College athletic officials say steroid and substance abuse is not rampant among athletes despite the recent arrests of three students on drug charges.
The Grafton County grand jury returned the indictments last week against Steven DeMarco of Salem; Sheanon Summers of Abbottstown, Pa.; and Eric Testan of Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Summers is a tight end on the school football team. DeMarco was also a team member, although he is no longer listed on the team's website roster.
DeMarco is charged with possession of cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone, and steroids, and one count of selling cocaine to Testan, who is charged with possession of cocaine. Summers is charged with possession of marijuana and steroids.
Football coach John Lyons said there have been a handful of steroid cases since he arrived at Dartmouth in 1988.
Lyons said that he, his assistants, the athletic training staff, and strength coach go to great lengths to reinforce the same zero-tolerance message.
"It's covered in orientation, and we talk to our players constantly about all kinds of performance-enhancing drugs," Lyons said. "We talk to them about how to train, to make sure they get enough rest, and what they should and should not eat, and what they should and should not do."
Athletic director Josie Harper said the school has not had any real difficulties with steroid use, but that to assume it is not a possibility would be naive.
"We're not in a bubble. We're not immune to this kind of thing," she said. "We'll reexamine what we are doing and see if we have to do more."
Jeff Frechette, head of the school's athletic training staff, agreed. "You can never be sure," he said, "but it's my perception that it's not a big issue on our campus. But we'll all take a step back now and look at what's happened and see if we need to do more education, or how we can get the message across to the student athletes in a stronger way."
Anabolic steroids are used to build muscle mass. They are illegal without a prescription and can cause a host of health problems.
All Dartmouth football players are subject to year-round random testing for illegal substances.
Beyond testing, the Dartmouth coaches and trainers watch for telltale signs of steroid use such as worsening acne, hair loss, and puffiness in the face.
"There are certain types of injuries, like to the tendons, that can be a sign," said Lyons. "If a kid goes away and comes back 10 weeks later benching 50 more pounds? You can do that in a year, but you can't gain that much in 10 weeks."
