PROVO — Former BYU offensive lineman Jason Scukanec will not back off his claim that performance-enhancing drugs are used in more abundance in college than experts want to believe — including at his former school and other MWC teams.
Scukanec told the Portland Tribune this week the NCAA has a bigger problem with steroids than their statistics show. Scukanec was an All-MWC center on BYU's 12-2 team in 2001.
"I will say, however, that comments I made in a 20-minute conversation with a reporter were blown out of proportion," Scukanec said. "The references to that are a bunch of junk."
The newspaper quoted Scukanec saying: "Over the course of my five years at BYU, I have concrete proof of 13 to 15 guys (using steroids), and I would suspect five others."
Wednesday, Scukanec clarified what he described as a misunderstanding. "I never said that I knew of 13 to 15 players at BYU were (using steroids) at BYU. I never accused anyone of using steroids. What I was referring to was that many people (13 to 15) over the course of my sports career, since age 16, through high school, college, NFL Europe and NFL used performance-enhancing drugs.
"I stand by that statement. I'd say on a football team of a hundred athletes including walk-ons, there are about five who are taking performance-enhancing medication whether it be insulin or steroids of some kind. That is the truth, and if people don't want to acknowledge that, they've got their heads in the sand."
Scukanec made the rosters of Tampa Bay and Denver before retiring. He is 26 years old and lives in Portland. He denies ever using steroids.
Portland State football coach Tim Walsh said Scukanec's observation in the newspaper Tuesday seemed high. "That's a bold statement. It's a tough accusation, to come up with a number like that."
On Tuesday, the Portland Tribune quoted Scukanec saying he never used steroids himself, but he knew people who did, including high school teammates, BYU football players and NFL players. The paper quoted Scukanec saying he'd personally injected a teammate "at least four or five times" in the butt with steroids at BYU.
"That is true. I did," Scukanec said Wednesday before going on his Portland radio show on 1080 The Fan.
Scukanec didn't limit his claims of steroid use to just BYU, but said he "absolutely" knew of players at UNLV, University of Utah, New Mexico, San Diego State and USC who used steroids to get an edge. "The most use is with junior college players," he said. "There is no drug testing in junior colleges, and some players take steroids and then come into a Division I program and continue."
Scukanec said athletes find a way to get around random testing for steroids in college and the NFL.
"It's common knowledge of who uses and who doesn't. This is a close-knit group that uses, and they often times get it from the same supplier. Have I seen athletes at these schools take steroids? No. But I have knowledge that they do because of what I learned from people in this tight-knit group. It is a problem, even if people don't want to acknowledge it. I am not outing anybody, naming anyone or trying to embarrass any school, including BYU. I was just asked a question and I responded with the truth. If people can't handle that, that's their problem. I speak the truth. I don't give a politically correct answer or deliver some B.S. answer people want to hear. I've never been one to avoid the truth."
An NCAA study of steroid use showed about 1 percent of Division I athletes tested positive for steroid use. Scukanec estimates, from his experience, it's about five percent. The NCAA figures for 2002-03 show 77 positives for steroids out of 7,327 tests.
BYU officials would not comment on Scukanec's alleged experience but released a statement clarifying its drug-testing policy.
"Brigham Young University has been and will continue to be active in educating its student-athletes about the dangers of steroids. Each year, student-athletes are given a list of banned substances and also are required to review both the NCAA and BYU drug policies before being permitted to compete. Student-athletes also are required to abide by BYU's Honor Code, which also prohibits the use of banned substances.
"In addition to random NCAA-mandated drug testing, BYU independently conducts an additional 6-10 random drug tests each year, which are administered by the University and processed by an independent lab."
The statement continued:
"Use of any banned substance, including stimulants, anabolic agents, diuretics, narcotics, or street drugs by any BYU student-athlete will not be tolerated. Violation of the BYU or NCAA drug policies may result in dismissal from the University."
Scukanec's experience was called "too high" by Oregon area college trainers and coaches when contacted by the Tribune. "I think he's exaggerating," Oregon State strength and fitness coach T.J. Ragan said. Ragan was once an assistant fitness coach at Nebraska and has worked in the field for 15 years.
Oregon coach Mike Bellotti told the Tribune he also thought Scukanec's estimates were high. He'd only heard of one or two athletes in the Pac-10 who'd tested positive and lost eligibility in 17 years.
Since the article appeared in Portland, Scukanec has been deluged with phone calls and e-mails, including from former teammates, and a few wanted to know if he was going to name them.
"I would never do that," he said. "That's not me. I'm not writing a book, I'm not trying to hurt anyone, and I'm not trying to say BYU is the 'roid capital of the country. No, not at all. I simply stated the truth of what I know goes on. If people call me a liar, they can go kiss my (expletive).
"BYU fans are after me, e-mailing me, accusing me of trying to hurt the school. They've used some language I was a little surprised at coming from BYU graduates. I love BYU. While I was going there, they were the best years of my life. I'd love to come back there and I hope to visit and hope it is a positive experience because of how I feel about that place. I love it."
Scukanec said both his cars have BYU bumper stickers, and he wore a polo shirt with a BYU logo to work Wednesday.
"This is frustrating. I tried to be open and honest about a serious issue. I believe the story needs to be told so young people will know what's going on and there is pressure out there to do steroids. It's not fair (criticism), because it needs to be cleaned up, but instead you get persecuted. I'm not fingering BYU or sensationalizing anything. I just explained my experiences from those involved."
"I have no axe to grind. I'm not trying to tarnish anybody's image. If people don't believe that the things that go on at other schools don't happen at BYU, they are wrong. Just be honest about a real problem. That's all I know what to do is be honest, be up front. Some people appreciate it when you are up front, but others want to hear cliches.
"I've got nothing to hide. Some say I'm putting myself on an island, but I'm telling the truth. I've never shied away from a fight in my life. I hope they (BYU) welcome me back with open arms. It is a place that is near and dear to me, the best place to go to school."
E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com