This week’s announcement that all Sevier County high school athletes will be subject to mandatory drug tests prior to their respective athletic seasons received a nonchalant reaction from a group of student-athletes lifting weights in the Seymour High School football team’s workout room Tuesday morning.
Hours later, the county's plans to force drug tests from every student-athlete intending to participate in a fall sport was officially shot down by the Tennessee Attorney General's Office.
Shortly after this article was posted on-line and published in the Seymour Herald Newspaper, the state's Attorney General's office rejected the county's plans to conduct drug tests on student athletes, saying that school districts cannot rightfully drug test student-athletes merely because they opt to participate in extra-curricular activities.
Seymour senior linebacker Bobby King, among the top returning football players in Region 1-3A for the upcoming 2007 season, took the original news of the county's plans to force student-athletes to submit preseason drug tests in stride. He said he didn't foresee many major repercussions stemming from the impending drug tests.
“It’s no big deal to me,” said King, who is expected to be a team-leader for the 2007 Eagles.
“I don’t think it will have a big affect on our football team. There might be two or three that don’t pass it, but I’d be willing to bet that most of our guys can pass a drug test with no problem at all.”
Dr. Jack A. Parton, the Director of Schools for the Sevier County School System, said in a statement sent out last week that beginning with the approaching fall sports season all student athletes in the six fall sports—football, volleyball, cross-country, girls soccer, golf and cheerleading—must pass a drug screen prior to becoming eligible to compete in their respective sport.
The four public high schools in Sevier County—Sevier County, Seymour, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg-Pittman—compete for league and region titles against athletic programs from surrounding counties that do not require its student athletes to pass drug tests, leading some to say the new rule is putting Sevier County’s athletes at a competitive disadvantage.
Parton has not been available for comment regarding the controversial announcement but he did put forth a statement through his director of curriculum and instruction, Debra Ann Cline.
The release sent by the Sevier County School System says, “The Sevier County Board of Education enacts and supports this policy in an effort to protect its student athletes from the dangers associated with illicit drug use.”
Statistics gathered in a 2002 national survey were pointed out in the release to back up the alleged increase of drug use by high school student-athletes.
The survey states that approximately 20% of tenth graders and approximately 25% of twelfth graders reported using at least one illicit drug within the previous 30 days before the national survey was conducted some five years ago.
The release goes on to state, “more alarmingly, in 2002, medical providers reported more than six hundred and seventy thousand (670,000) drug related emergency situations.
“Based on those statistics and many others, the Sevier County Board of Education agrees with the Supreme Court of the United States in that ‘the nationwide drug epidemic makes the war against drugs a pressing concern in every school,’” the Sevier County School System press release said regarding the purpose of instituting mandatory drug tests for all of the county’s high school athletes.
The release further states, “Under this policy, ‘drugs’ refers to any drug, controlled substance including marijuana, anabolic steroids and alcohol. Any test-confirmed drug or alcohol use will result in a student’s loss of eligibility for the entire current or upcoming school year.”
The Sevier County School System explains in the press release that student-athletes not only must submit to the the before-mentioned preseason drug test, but they will be subject to in-season random drug tests as well.
“Any and all pre-season drug tests related to this policy shall be conducted on a uniform basis at an announced time immediately prior to a season(s) play,” the release states.
“After students are notified of pre-season testing each aspiring athlete must pass his/her pre-season drug test in order to be eligible to play sanctioned sports during the current or upcoming school year.
“Any and all in-season drug tests, related to this policy shall be conducted on a random basis at unannounced times during an athlete’s season(s) play. Further, any and all athletes tested in-season shall be chosen at random and without specific or particular suspicion of drug use,” the statement read, regarding when the drug tests will be conducted.
An athlete who tests positive for the drugs outlined in the policy will be immediately stripped of his/her athletic eligibility for the entire current or upcoming school year.
However, an athlete who tests positive shall not be subject to criminal or academic consequences, according to the school system.
The Sevier County School System further explains in the release that all student-athletes who test positive must participate in eight consecutive counseling sessions. The student-athletes must be accompanied at each counseling session by his/her parents or legal guardian.
Seymour’s longtime head football coach and athletic director, Gary Householder, was tight-lipped about the subject, saying that he’d been ask to refer all questions to Debra Ann Cline.
Householder would only say, “If the policy can help kids to make better choices, then it’s a good thing.”
King agrees with his coach that it could end up helping a team but he said he doesn’t think it’ll be much of a deterrent for some kids.
“I don’t think it’ll be a disadvantage for us,” King commented. “I’m sure they’ll be a few that don’t pass it. Some people are going to do drugs no matter what you do to try to stop them, but I think it will help teams be better physically. I’ve heard if you make it to Murfreesboro (the site of the TSSAA football state championship game) they drug test you anyway.”
A woman who answered the phone at the office of the Sevier County School System said that Dr. Parton will not be available for comment regarding this issue until his return on July 25.
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User Comments
This is really funny when the some of the kids in this photo are pot smokers. Why would parents not want their children drug tested? Do you approve of the kids doing drugs? Also explain to me why teachers aren't drug tested? I don't understand this at all......most of us have to be tested to get a job correct? Why would the school system be any different? This also applies to the colleges. To me you are teaching children to pitch a fit and you get your way. I don't have a problem with my children being tested do you?
i am one of the kids in the photo and i hereby state that i do not smoke pot or use any other type of drug so remember dont judge everyone by one person
Bobby I didn't say you did smoke pot....but I also didn't want to name anyone. I'm sure you can understand this? You didn't name him/them either but we both know who we are talking about.
I am a parent of three children in Sevier county schools. I do not object to drug testing as a prerequisite to participation in athletics, however, I believe that kids are not the only ones in Sevier county that engage in drug abuse. I know for a fact that teachers who hire into the Sevier county school systems are only drug tested once prior to employment. Teachers who spend exorbitant amounts of time with our children should be subject to random monthly testing and "for cause." There are instructors who display bizarre patterns of behavior and despite written complaints, nothing is ever done. Bad conduct by teachers is condoned in Sevier county schools as there are no consequences for this behavior which adversely affects not only the student population, but the staff that are actually doing their job as well. This needs to come to a roaring halt...and will with mounds of concerned parents. There is a parental awareness group that has recently formed in Sevier county addressing the problems that exist in Sevier county schools. Drug abuse (which is only one problem) can occur in any setting, regardless of socio-economics, age, gender, profession, or race. It is time that Sevier county schools get on the stick and be accountable for their own employees. There are those of us who will make you be accountable, as these are our children...and our taxes pay your salary!
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