After a six-month police investigation, seventeen current students and two former students at Texas Christian University were arrested on drug charges today.
Fort Worth and TCU Police, (some working undercover as clients), caught the students involved in "hand-to-hand" drug exchanges. The students sold marijuana and various forms of ecstasy, as well as prescription drugs such as Xanax, hydrocodone and Oxycontin, USA Today reports.
“There’s no doubt all arrested today are drug dealers,” TCU Police Chief Steven McGee said in a press conference held this morning.
The investigations arose after parents, students and other TCU community members complained to administrators about the rising use of drugs among students in the past several years.
Notably, four football players were arrested, three of which -- defenders Tanner Brock, D.J. Yendrey and Devin Johnson -- were prospective key figures in the upcoming season,TCU's first in the Big 12 Conference. Offensive lineman Ty Horn was also arrested. According to Brock's affidavit, undercover officers purchased marijuana from him at various locations near the TCU campus, including a Kroger parking lot and his personal residence. The arrest documents also note that Head Football Coach Gary Patterson administered a drug test to team members on Feb. 1. The university has not yet released the results of the test.
"I don't think it's a football problem," said University Chancellor Victor Boschini of the players' involvement in the drug deals.
However, in a statement to the media, TCU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Chris Del Conte said, "Student-athletes are a microcosm of society and unfortunately that means some of our players reflect a culture that glorifies drugs and drug use. That mindset is not reflected by TCU nor will it be allowed within athletics."
The Star Telegram noted that TCU was the only top-25 football team in 2010 with no criminal records among players, a statistic praised in a Sports Illustrated article.
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