ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 5, 1996 TAG: 9604050106
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
The NFL has confirmed that procedural errors were made last year when drug tests were ordered on Dallas Cowboys players and the results of those exams never were released.
That would make it impossible for anyone to know whether any of the tests were positive, the league said.
The league's drug adviser, Dr. Lawrence Brown, ordered Cowboys players to submit to tests on April 28 during a three-day minicamp.
With information from Cowboys players and other team sources, The Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday that a technicality forced the NFL to void positive drug tests of several players.
But NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, ``The results of those April 28, 1995, drug tests ... were not examined by anyone ... No Cowboys player or anyone else associated with the team was ever informed of any results. No one to this day knows whether there were any positive tests.''
The NFL said Brown committed a procedural error when he ordered the Cowboys to submit to the tests in late April, three days before he should have done so. The NFL's substance-abuse policy limits random testing to a period from May 1 through Aug. 20.
Aiello said it was the first year under the testing policy, and Brown was under the impression that he could test during minicamps.
``Most minicamps are in May but, as it turned out, the Cowboys had their minicamp in April,'' Aiello said.
Bill Bates, the Cowboys' player representative to the union, contacted Doug Allen, the union's assistant executive director, to inform him that the league had collected specimens during what he considered a no-test period.
By union insistence, Allen said, ``No use was made of the samples collected before May 1.'' The players provided new samples later.
``There is no truth to the notion somebody tested positive and we intervened to protect them,'' Allen said.
In other Cowboys' news, Dallas signed record-setting kicker Chris Boniol, the team announced.
Boniol, a two-year veteran, hit 27 of 28 field-goal attempts in 1995. His 96 percent accuracy rate was the highest in Cowboys history and second-highest in NFL history.
In other NFL news:
REDSKINS: The Washington Redskins re-signed defensive back Muhammad Oliver, who played one game with the team last season before suffering a serious knee injury.
The 5-11, 185-pound Oliver came to Washington before last season after spending three years with the Miami Dolphins.
BILLS: Alex Van Pelt, who beat the odds in training camp and eventually became a backup to Jim Kelly, signed a four-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.
Van Pelt took over the No. 2 quarterback job from rookie Todd Collins in the regular season. He later threw a touchdown pass while filling in for an injured Kelly during a playoff loss to Pittsburgh.
The Bills also signed cornerback Emanuel Martin to a one-year deal.
COLTS: Indianapolis Colts linebacker Quentin Coryatt, charged with pointing a firearm at a motorist, pleaded innocent in Marion Superior Court.
Coryatt was charged with the Class D felony last week for allegedly threatening a motorist with a handgun on Interstate 465. The other motorist had blocked Coryatt from passing traffic in a construction zone on March 15.
If convicted, Coryatt could receive from six months to three years in prison. He is free on a $2,500 bond.
DOLPHINS: The Miami Dolphins signed defensive ends Aaron Jones and Daniel Stubbs to one-year contracts.
The Dolphins also signed free agent wide receiver Henry Neal to an undisclosed contract.
FALCONS: Pro Bowl special teamer Elbert Shelley signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons for his 10th season with the team. He played in the past four Pro Bowls.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Van Peltby CNB