05-20-2005, 11:30 PM
LSU player suspended following steroid arrest
By Glenn Guilbeau, Gannett News Service
BATON ROUGE — The comment sticks out in fullback Shawn Jordan's biographical information in the LSU media guide — "extremely strong (410 bench press, 308 power clean)."
But was it clean?
Jordan, a 5-foot-11, 232-pound sophomore backup at LSU, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and allegedly attempting to transport anabolic steroids into his hometown of El Paso, from Juarez, Mexico, on Tuesday afternoon.
Twenty milliliters (one thousandth of a liter) of stanozolol and 10 milliliters of dromostanolone were found in vials in Jordan's vehicle by U.S. Customs and Border agents, El Paso police spokesman Javier Sambrano said Thursday.
"Obviously it was for personal use," Sambrano said. "There was no intent to distribute, which would have been a more serious charge."
Steroids and other types of drugs are more easily available and cheaper in Mexico than in the United States.
Jordan, who has not carried the ball in his LSU career, was booked into El Paso County jail shortly before being bailed out for $750. A court date has not been set, but he could face up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, Sambrano said.
On Thursday, LSU football coach Les Miles suspended Jordan indefinitely while he and other LSU officials look closer at the situation. Meanwhile, the House Committee on Government Reform has held hearings in Washington D.C. to determine drug testing standards and penalties in pro sports after recent congressional hearings about steroid abuse in the NFL and Major League Baseball.
"This is a very serious matter to us," Miles said in a prepared statement. "We do everything we can as an institution to educate and inform our team about the dangers of drugs, in particular steroids. We have a comprehensive drug testing program in place, and the NCAA comes in to test our athletes two or three times a year. While this is certainly an unfortunate incident, I'm confident that it's isolated."
Miles has been on the job at LSU less than five months.
Both stanozolol and dromostanolone appear on the NCAA's list of banned anabolic steroids.
"We are going to do everything we can to help Shawn through this situation," Miles said. "However, he will be suspended from the team until we can gather all the facts and get more information as to exactly what his involvement is."
Jordan was considered one of the top fullbacks in the nation by Rivals.com after his 2002 senior season when he gained 1,021 yards on 137 carries with nine touchdowns. He signed with LSU in February of 2003 and was redshirted in the 2003 season. He played in two games last season.
"As far as I know, he's had no prior arrests," Sambrano said.
"I haven't talked to Shawn in a while, and all I can say, honestly, is that he was a great kid — the hardest working kid in our program three years ago," Riverside coach Tom Work told the El Paso Times. "I can't say what's going on with him now, other than it appears he's made a bad decision."
By Glenn Guilbeau, Gannett News Service
BATON ROUGE — The comment sticks out in fullback Shawn Jordan's biographical information in the LSU media guide — "extremely strong (410 bench press, 308 power clean)."
But was it clean?
Jordan, a 5-foot-11, 232-pound sophomore backup at LSU, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and allegedly attempting to transport anabolic steroids into his hometown of El Paso, from Juarez, Mexico, on Tuesday afternoon.
Twenty milliliters (one thousandth of a liter) of stanozolol and 10 milliliters of dromostanolone were found in vials in Jordan's vehicle by U.S. Customs and Border agents, El Paso police spokesman Javier Sambrano said Thursday.
"Obviously it was for personal use," Sambrano said. "There was no intent to distribute, which would have been a more serious charge."
Steroids and other types of drugs are more easily available and cheaper in Mexico than in the United States.
Jordan, who has not carried the ball in his LSU career, was booked into El Paso County jail shortly before being bailed out for $750. A court date has not been set, but he could face up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, Sambrano said.
On Thursday, LSU football coach Les Miles suspended Jordan indefinitely while he and other LSU officials look closer at the situation. Meanwhile, the House Committee on Government Reform has held hearings in Washington D.C. to determine drug testing standards and penalties in pro sports after recent congressional hearings about steroid abuse in the NFL and Major League Baseball.
"This is a very serious matter to us," Miles said in a prepared statement. "We do everything we can as an institution to educate and inform our team about the dangers of drugs, in particular steroids. We have a comprehensive drug testing program in place, and the NCAA comes in to test our athletes two or three times a year. While this is certainly an unfortunate incident, I'm confident that it's isolated."
Miles has been on the job at LSU less than five months.
Both stanozolol and dromostanolone appear on the NCAA's list of banned anabolic steroids.
"We are going to do everything we can to help Shawn through this situation," Miles said. "However, he will be suspended from the team until we can gather all the facts and get more information as to exactly what his involvement is."
Jordan was considered one of the top fullbacks in the nation by Rivals.com after his 2002 senior season when he gained 1,021 yards on 137 carries with nine touchdowns. He signed with LSU in February of 2003 and was redshirted in the 2003 season. He played in two games last season.
"As far as I know, he's had no prior arrests," Sambrano said.
"I haven't talked to Shawn in a while, and all I can say, honestly, is that he was a great kid — the hardest working kid in our program three years ago," Riverside coach Tom Work told the El Paso Times. "I can't say what's going on with him now, other than it appears he's made a bad decision."