College Sports

During my years in sports information, I remember the drug testing that occurred after NCAA tournament games. Players would be selected randomly after games (win or lose), and escorted to the restroom.I distinctly remember one game because we had to wait more than an hour for the player… she was so dehydrated, she just couldn’t “go.”I had forgotten all about that little part of the NCAA tournament until today, when I read a story that blew me away.Chris Lofton, senior star on the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team, announced that last March he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and underwent radiation treatments for four weeks.One of the nation’s top players managed to go through his entire senior season with no one knowing that he had been diagnosed with, and treated for, cancer. Only head coach Bruce Pearl, trainer Chad Newman, and teammate Jordon Howell knew. But there is more to the story.The most interesting aspect of the entire episode is how the cancer was discovered. Following the Vols 121-86 romp over Long Beach State on March 16, 2007, Lofton was randomly selected to be drug tested. When the results came back, the test was positive. Tennessee officials, including Pearl , were told that if Lofton was not using drugs, then he might have cancer.That’s right, the NCAA’s mandated drug test turned up Lofton’s cancer, which may have gone undetected otherwise.Fans who had speculated that Lofton’s ego had gotten too big for his game are now eating their words. He not only played the entire season, he did so while managing to keep a secret from the rest of the prying eyes in the sports world. He could have used cancer as an excuse, on any number of occasions, and everyone would have understood. But he remained steadfast in his silence, played his game, and did it all his way.Lofton is doing well and preparing for the NCAA draft… and is very thankful that his name came up on the NCAA’s random drug testing list.For more on this story, please read Mike Griffith’s article at the Knoxville News-Sentinel by following the link below:http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2008/may/01/vols-lofton-treated-testicular-cancer/