Darren Carrington Jr.'s father claims son did not smoke marijuana
When the NCAA ruled Oregon redshirt freshman wide receiver Darren Carrington Jr. ineligible for the national championship game against Ohio State after he tested positive for marijuana use, the image that ran through the heads of many was that of a young man who blew a golden opportunity because of a desire to do drugs.
That wasn't the case at all, according to his father, Darren Carrington Sr.
Carrington Sr., a former NFL defensive back, said today during a phone interview that his son did not actually smoke marijuana. He merely was in a room with others who were, leading to him inhaling secondhand smoke and thus testing positive for having marijuana in his blood stream. Now he faces the prospects of missing several games next season, something his father hopes can be avoided.
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Carrington Sr. said his son tested positive for 15 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. The NCAA threshold for testing positive is five nanograms, according to an article from SI.com. According to the same article, the NFL minimum threshold for testing positive is 35 nanograms, increased from 15 last summer. Major League Baseball looks for a minimum of 50 nanograms, which the article states is the same level for airline pilots. International track & field athletes are held to a level of 150 nanograms.
In other words, the airline pilots that transported the teams and fans to Dallas, Texas for the title game could have 10-times the amount of THC in their blood system than the participants in the game without facing disciplinary action.
Still, Carrington Jr.'s THC levels are consistent with someone who has smoked marijuana within weeks of the test. They can also be consistent with someone who inhaled secondhand smoke.
Carrington Sr. said his son simply needs to be smarter.
"Unfortunately sometimes you feel like if I'm around friends and their doing it, as long as I'm not doing it I'm good," Carrington Sr. said.
Whatever the reason for failing the drug test, it still sounds as though it could have been completely avoided by Carrington by removing himself from the environment or situation. When a chance to play for a national championship is on the line, those are the things that have to be taken into consideration.
Entire article:
http://www.csnnw.com/ducks/darren-carrington-jrs-father-claims-son-did-not-smoke-marijuana
Which is the smartest thing Carrington Sr said.
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