Florida loses Will Grier for at least this year

[B1GTide]

I've read where some say "I don't believe him (Grier)". What exactly did he say that would make anyone discredit what he said. The video is out there and his comments are public. Coach Mac said "he made an honest mistake", but Grier apologized for taking a banned substance and said he didn't check with the medical staff. He never said "I didn't know what I was taking". Is it that he was disingenuous in his apology? It's been said that he volunteered to come forward to address the media and that no one asked him to do that. Just curious what was dishonest.

For me - I think that he knowingly took a supplement to gain muscle mass. I also think that he knew (or should have known) that this supplement was not permitted. UF gives out supplements to athletes. Grier chose to go his own route. So I think that he did something that he knew was wrong and would get him suspended if caught. He rolled the dice and lost.

Just my opinion, but it is based on everything that I have read about this.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

But you aren't still playing! Ummmm Are You???

Nope. Nobody cares if I take DHEA or not...

 

[mdb-tpet]

For me - I think that he knowingly took a supplement to gain muscle mass. I also think that he knew (or should have known) that this supplement was not permitted. UF gives out supplements to athletes. Grier chose to go his own route. So I think that he did something that he knew was wrong and would get him suspended if caught. He rolled the dice and lost.

Just my opinion, but it is based on everything that I have read about this.

20 lbs of muscle in 18 months is a HUGE increase. Not unheard of as kids are still growing, but it's on the very high side of what is possible. Now if he picked up 10 lbs of muscle and 10 lbs of fat, then that's not too hard of 18 months. It's this kind of abnormal gain that is why they test for banned substances.

 

[G8RNGA]

For me - I think that he knowingly took a supplement to gain muscle mass. I also think that he knew (or should have known) that this supplement was not permitted. UF gives out supplements to athletes. Grier chose to go his own route. So I think that he did something that he knew was wrong and would get him suspended if caught. He rolled the dice and lost.

Just my opinion, but it is based on everything that I have read about this.

So I take it you're not buying the official weight gain posted by UF here: http://www.gatorzone.com/carter/blog/2103? You believe them to be lying as well and that other sources are more accurate? Not baiting, just trying to understand how the official information seems to have little bearing over social media and the media.

 

[RTR91]

So I take it you're not buying the official weight gain posted by UF here: http://www.gatorzone.com/carter/blog/2103? You believe them to be lying as well and that other sources are more accurate? Not baiting, just trying to understand how the official information seems to have little bearing over social media and the media.

Care to explain this then?

 

[G8RNGA]

20 lbs of muscle in 18 months is a HUGE increase. Not unheard of as kids are still growing, but it's on the very high side of what is possible. Now if he picked up 10 lbs of muscle and 10 lbs of fat, then that's not too hard of 18 months. It's this kind of abnormal gain that is why they test for banned substances.

He's been on campus for 18 months as a student athlete. That means all of last football season. The NCAA must have tested him before now, right? Yet nothing. So why assume it was a banned substance?

 

[B1GTide]

So I take it you're not buying the official weight gain posted by UF here: http://www.gatorzone.com/carter/blog/2103? You believe them to be lying as well and that other sources are more accurate? Not baiting, just trying to understand how the official information seems to have little bearing over social media and the media.

Correct - I just don't buy it. I am not cynic or a conspiracy theorist, but I do believe that UF would help Grier win an appeal with a little obfuscation.

 

[G8RNGA]

Care to explain this then?

Nope can't argue with "unofficial" results from a local gym or home scale. He was weighed officially by UF as 203 one month later. Odd that he lost 12 pounds one month after gaining so much.

 

[RTR91]

He's been on campus for 18 months as a student athlete. That means all of last football season. The NCAA must have tested him before now, right? Yet nothing. So why assume it was a banned substance?

Because the same link you posted above says it was on two separate occasions:

The news Monday afternoon that Gators quarterback Will Grier was suspended indefinitely for the use of a substance banned by the NCAA sent shockwaves across Gator Nation and college football.

Is the drug Grier tested positive for Ligandrol?


No. Despite various reports stating otherwise, Ligandrol, classified as a performance-enhancer by the NCAA, is not the banned substance Grier took.

 

[Go Bama]

Yeah, I agree with B1G that Grier probably knew what he was doing and rolled the dice. Part of that is based on every other athlete that's been busted has lied. Lance Armstrong, Roger Clemmons, Alex Rodriquez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire etc. they're all liars. It just seems to go with the mentality that says I won't get caught and if I do, they won't be able to prove anything.

I hope I'm wrong and the kid is exonerated. I don't think anyone on this board is happy about Grier getting busted, in fact most of us are kind of pulling for the Gators in the east because we have a lot or respect for CJM and want to see him do well.

Gator in GA, your posts make you seem emotionally tied to Grier's innocence (at least to me). I agree with you the penalty is too stiff.

 

[TrampLineman]

Care to explain this then?

Ouch.

 

[G8RNGA]

Yeah, I agree with B1G that Grier probably knew what he was doing and rolled the dice. Part of that is based on every other athlete that's been busted has lied. Lance Armstrong, Roger Clemmons, Alex Rodriquez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire etc. they're all liars. It just seems to go with the mentality that says I won't get caught and if I do, they won't be able to prove anything.

I hope I'm wrong and the kid is exonerated. I don't think anyone on this board is happy about Grier getting busted, in fact most of us are kind of pulling for the Gators in the east because we have a lot or respect for CJM and want to see him do well.

Gator in GA, your posts make you seem emotionally tied to Grier's innocence (at least to me). I agree with you the penalty is too stiff.

Not so much his innocence as how some go after his character. I don't know him, but those close to him speak highly of the young man. Just think we should give him the benefit of the doubt. He made a mistake - as coach Mac put it.

 

[TrampLineman]

I don't think anyone on this board is happy about Grier getting busted, in fact most of us are kind of pulling for the Gators in the east because we have a lot or respect for CJM and want to see him do well.

Gator in GA, your posts make you seem emotionally tied to Grier's innocence (at least to me). I agree with you the penalty is too stiff.

Exactly and I am in the same boat. I want to see Coach Mac succeed and face us in Atlanta every year. But as far as this kid being cut any slack it ain't happening here.

 

[RTR91]

Not so much his innocence as how some go after his character. I don't know him, but those close to him speak highly of the young man.

Not saying he's a murderer or anything like that, but do you know how many convicted felons had character witnesses in their trial?

Just think we should give him the benefit of the doubt. He made a mistake - as coach Mac put it.

"I made a mistake by not checking with the league office/NCAA/SEC/team doctors to see if I could take the medicine/protein powder/whatever" has become the immediate response by people found guilty of it. Therefore, fans and media have become very pessimistic when someone recites the line. It doesn't come across genuine after the dozens of people that said it before that person were found to be well aware of what they were doing.

 

[G8RNGA]

Not saying he's a murderer or anything like that, but do you know how many convicted felons had character witnesses in their trial?



"I made a mistake by not checking with the league office/NCAA/SEC/team doctors to see if I could take the medicine/protein powder/whatever" has become the immediate response by people found guilty of it. Therefore, fans and media have become very pessimistic when someone recites the line. It doesn't come across genuine after the dozens of people that said it before that person were found to be well aware of what they were doing.

Appreciate your perspective and point about media/fans not believing it because of those before.

 

[Ldlane]

I think the Gators will be OK.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Appreciate your perspective and point about media/fans not believing it because of those before.

You're coming closer. We lost a valuable player a very few years ago because of the same issue - OTC supplements. At Bama, the coaching staff hammers in the point over and over again that any supplements must be cleared with the staff. I think that's the reason for the skepticism here which seems to bother you so much. If it weren't being emphasized by the UF staff, then that staff was even more dysfunctional than it seemed from the outside. His denial just seems disingenuous, when viewed in the recent past actions by the NCAA. There is no "give" in their rules - suspension is automatic...

 

[Bazza]

FWIW - here's a nice article by Grier's father:

Will Grier's dad: 'I am still very proud of my son'

Crisis seems to bring out the best and the worst in people. This is especially true in sports.

Part of what makes college football, SEC football in particular, so special is the passion of the fan bases. For many years, I have enjoyed the gameday traditions and the fanatical support bred at college campuses across the country — especially in the SEC. Watching my son camp at Georgia and Tennessee was a thrill for me. Seeing him interact with coaches at Auburn and Alabama was really cool. And being there when he was offered a scholarship at the University of Florida was an experience I’ll never forget.


This past weekend we went to Missouri to see the Gators earn their sixth straight victory and a No. 8 ranking in the national polls. Will and his teammates got back to Gainesville around 3 a.m. after a great SEC road win in high spirits and ready to attack a huge game at LSU this Saturday night in Death Valley. About the time I was heading to school to meet my team for weights and film, I got a call from Will.


And just like that, life changes.


When you sign on to play in the SEC, you know going in that it’s big-boy football. For most of the players in this conference, just getting there is the fulfillment of an entire childhood spent training, working and preparing for the opportunity. I watched my son invest countless hours into the weight room, film study, footwork, throwing into nets and the hands of friends and teammates. His grind was the kind passed down from the blue-collar roots of generations of his family before him that afforded his parents, and then himself, new opportunities and better neighborhoods and schools. It led to the achievement of his childhood dreams.

Rest of article here: CLICKY

 

[B1GTide]

Meh - the father said nothing new. He says that he knows the facts, but he will not elaborate on what his son took or how he could not have known that it was not allowed. Sounds a lot like G8RNGA.

 

[day-day]

You're coming closer. We lost a valuable player a very few years ago because of the same issue - OTC supplements. At Bama, the coaching staff hammers in the point over and over again that any supplements must be cleared with the staff. I think that's the reason for the skepticism here which seems to bother you so much. If it weren't being emphasized by the UF staff, then that staff was even more dysfunctional than it seemed from the outside. His denial just seems disingenuous, when viewed in the recent past actions by the NCAA. There is no "give" in their rules - suspension is automatic...

Yes. My understanding is that this is one subject that is covered early and often with players by all schools and it has been one of top priority areas for a number of years. If would be a rare exception for a program not to emphasize this; I can't imagine UF staff did not provide a ton of warnings on this.