THE Ohio State Buckeyes got the weekly “release your bad press on Friday at 5pm” party started this week, sending out a statement around 4:40 EST that defensive end Noah Spence was suspended again. They gave us spin and corporatespeak instead of the actual reason for the suspension, but it’s being widely reported that Spence once again failed a drug test.
We don’t know what substance it was this time, but he did test positive for ecstasy the week before the Big Ten Championship game.
Not that I’ve ever “rolled on E” (or X or molly depending on your drug slang) but I’ve been around enough people on X to know that it is definitely not a performance enhancing drug. Unless the performance you want to enhance is being acutely tactile and compulsively touching things.
Whatever it was, this is a huge setback, possibly a career ender for Noah Spence. THE Ohio State SID did not give details on how long the suspension will be.
The father of Noah Spence, Greg, told ABC 27 Harrisburg in December that his son accidentally consumed a drink with the drug at a party, and that’s why it showed up in the drug test. The Big Ten suspended his son for one year. Then the NCAA reduced the suspension to three games upon appeal. It was set to be lifted tomorrow versus Kent State.
With a second positive drug test, the family’s story has evolved.
From CBS Sports:
“We love him dearly, and our focus is to get him the best medical attention we can,” the Spences wrote in an email to the paper. “We are hopeful that Noah can get healthy and, at some point, resume his career with the Buckeyes … We are uncertain how long he will be ineligible, but we will work with Ohio State and the Big Ten until we have a final resolution.”
Eleven Warriors also reported that Spence’s suspension is due to a second failed drug test. Both outlets described Spence’s Buckeye career as being “in jeopardy,” with the suspension believed to be indefinite.
My favorite part of that 11 Warriors article is “the school did not respond respond to multiple requests for comment” part. I’m not taking joy in 11W being ignored, it’s a great site and they do fantastic work over there. It’s just that the sentence perfectly encapsulates how OSU does things under Urban Meyer.
Noah Spence was the team’s leader in sacks in 2013, and he really could have really helped the Buckeyes in their last four games. Three of those contests were losses. So this is the last thing Meyer’s program needs right now as they are a team in decline. I have seen Spence in the first round of many a 2015 NFL mock draft; but I would expect that to change in light of this news.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partners with Fox Sports and Yahoo. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post.