Pure Athletes Garry Basketball Players Take Part In A Voluntary Drug-Testing Program

Some of the boys on Garry Middle School’s seventh-grade basketball team would rather perform finger rolls than roll joints.

Twenty of 35 team members are taking part in a voluntary drug-testing program. The boys took their first urinalysis tests on Tuesday as part of the Washington Drug-Free Youth program.

They are the first middle school students in Spokane to be tested. Garry has two seventh-grade teams. The varsity has 14 members; the junior varsity has 21. Players on both teams are participating in the program.

Garry coach and counselor John Schutz said his team attended a presentation by a WDFY representative on Jan. 13. Twenty boys returned student and parent/guardian contracts a week later and decided to form a drug-free club.

“I just wanted to prove to other kids that I was drug-free,” Zack Kubas said.

One of his teammates has the same feelings.

“Doing this, I just thought it would show everyone that I don’t do drugs,” said Brian Frye.

The athletes have agreed to abstain from alcohol and other drugs and be tested on a random basis. In exchange, they get identification cards that provide discounts at businesses, allow participation in certain activities and identify them as drug- and alcohol-free.

“I’m already drug-free,” Josh Bingle said. “I just thought going through this program would save me some money on stuff.”

Schutz said the club also offers kids an out.

“That peer pressure is strong,” Schutz said. “It’s hard to say ‘no’ sometimes. But if you’re being tested, that gives them a more solid out.”

Kubas and Bingle said it isn’t uncommon to be approached by older kids and asked to do drugs.

“They’re probably high school kids who want to get high or something,” Kubas said. “Usually, if you just tell them no, they’ll say, ‘That’s cool’ and they’ll leave you alone.”

Schutz doesn’t know who all the players participating in the program are, and he doesn’t want to know.

“As a counselor, I know who some of them are,” Schutz said. “But I didn’t want to be biased in any way against those who aren’t participating. There are no ramifications whatsoever for those who didn’t sign it.”

The testing is done on a volunteer basis and the results of the test are only released to a player’s parent or guardian, Schutz said.

If a player tests positive, his membership card is taken away for 30 days or until he can produce a negative test. His status on the team is not jeopardized, Schutz said.

“WDFY approached us in December and the timing of it all allowed me to present it to the team just before the start of the season,” he said.

“We wanted to plant a seed with the basketball team. This will be offered to other students in the future,” Schutz said.

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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE CONTRACT The athletes have agreed to abstain from alcohol and other drugs and be tested on a random basis.