Are NCAA Drug Rules Too Harsh?

Jeremy Jarmon of the Kentucky Wildcats is officially ineligible for his senior season, according to reports. The NCAA deemed him ineligible due to a failed drug test. Jarmon insists that he inadvertantly took the substance, but his appeal has been denied.

The defensive end says that he had been taking a supplement for 15 days while recovering from an injury, and immediately stopped taking the supplement when trainers told him that the substance was against rules. He says that the supplement was to help him lose weight during the offseason, and he purchased it after it was recommended by one of the workers at the nutrition store where he purchased the pills.

Jeremy Jarmon, Image: Newscom

Jarmon isn’t just a run-of-the-mill member of the Kentucky defense. He has the third most sacks in Kentucky’s history and was an honorable menton for the 2008 AP All-SEC Team – not something easy to do since the SEC is so competitive.

Says coach Rich Brooks,

“My first concern is with Jeremy and his family and what a devastating blow this is for them. There was no intent by Jeremy to do anything improper, it was an error in judgment in not checking with our staff [before taking the supplement]. Jeremy has been an outstanding individual on and off the football field, and I hope that people understand the class act he has has been.”

The NCAA won’t bend the rules in Jarmon’s case, and while athletic director Mtch Barnharn says that they honor the rules of the NCAA, he had hoped they’d consider the “extenuating circumstances” in this case.

So is the NCAA too harsh with drug rules? Should Jarmon get to play for his senior season?

My thoughts on the subject are that although it may open a can of worms, it was clear in this case that Jarmon made a mistake and the supplements had not given him an unfair advantage, since he used them durnig the offseason and only for a very short time. I do think that there should be exceptions to almost all NCAA rules.