just imagine if something similar happened at ND.

Would people say BK probably didn't know? Sounds awfully similar to a situation a couple years ago regarding academic ineligibility to me with a very different public prosecution...

At least initially. It was widely discussed, and I don't remember anyone defending it as the truth or remotely acceptable. I remember it being described, by those few who defended it, as a necessary legal strategy to advance the University's BS appeal.

Of course, almost everyone seems to have moved on, accepted it, or at least gotten "used to it." It still stands uncorrected as far as I know. Mr. Swarbrick, who has been so eager to be front and center in every article and TV camera angle, has never mentioned it. In fact, he disappeared off the face of the Earth for several months right about the same time. He told us all how 2012 bought us the time to do it right, knowing about the NCAA issues and what was coming, and then he left that whopper completely alone.

But folks mostly stopped caring about these things a while ago.

I just find it ironic that people seem to argue that Kelly should have known about the academic transgressions of players but are also willing to give Dabo a pass at knowing what supplements players are taking.

Both seem similar to me in that they are tangential to the actual job of a football coach and it’s probably more likely for a coach to “know” about supplements than academics.

I also think if a reporter asked Dabo if he was “culpable” for any of the failed drug tests and what responsibility he bears, he would give a similar answer to “zero”, and I think that’s pretty reasonable. Think Saban, or Meyer, or Riley, or any coach would take blame for players cheating on papers and tests? Lol.

Which is why I said Swarbrick had never even mentioned it. Yet he'll prance in front of the camera at the end of every win and wanted to have 100 interviews after the season.

Kelly should have known. Dabo probably should have as well. I don't give a shit what other coaches might say. What Kelly said back then was, and remains, wrong.

The far most likely scenario is that one of these guys caught wind of either this particular compound or of the presence of research chemical sites in general. He showed it to another lineman or two, they read about it on a variety of forums, saw that it can promote muscle and strength gains despite not being a steroid, couldn't believe you could just order this stuff and have it delivered to your door, and did exactly that without bothering to check if it was a banned substance. Maybe the word spread among the linemen, and a few other guys decided to get in on it.

I would not be surprised if the three linemen who tested positive were the only linemen tested. If the rest of the linemen were follow-up tested, I would not be surprised to see most of them test positive.

Athletic trainers work 12-16 hour days taping ankles, coordinating rehab, ensuring the needs of the players are met during practices, etc. They do not have the time or expertise to keep up to speed on research chemicals. Maybe a strength coach would. But I've known some meat head strength coaches in my day, and not one of them would have been stupid enough to be involved in handing banned substances to players. Same for the medical staff.

is that the players were all taking some protein or substance that was manufactured at the same facility as the banned substance, and which received some cross contamination.

In your scenario where all these people are too dumb to know better...if they handed the supplement to the players does that count as someone at Clemson knowing? Or can only the players be held accountable for putting shady shit into their body?

You're saying you're "sure" that someone at Clemson in a position of authority is responsible for giving this stuff to players, or at least knowing what was going on.

I'm suggesting that is almost certainly not the case, that rather it was exclusively players acting on their own.

I'm not sure what "defense" you're referring to.

But you’re almost certain apparently so that’s nice