Erik Ainge Talks About His Drug Addiction (merged)

[Vercingetorix]

How in the world did our head coach not pick up on the idea that, not our punter or DT or WR or RB....but....wait for it......STARTING QB was strung out for 4 years? Good Lord....

I don't really mean to defend Fulmer and his staff, but I'm going to guess that, as a rich kid who had been using various illicit substances since he was 11, Ainge was very, very good at hiding his usage from people. Haven't we all known a few guys like that?

 

[Vercingetorix]

Long time listener, first time poster...
As someone that's worked over 15 years in drug and alcohol treatment, let me try to clear up some misinformation I'm seeing. To the person that calls BS on 50 pain pills a day...I've worked with people that topped that easily. As far as drug testing goes, it can be a hit or miss process. I've worked with kids that were surprised they tested negative for weed after smoking the week before, but they're pretty accurate. I think Chris Low's point on UT's policy was this: While Erik had the prescription from the training staff he could hit positive all he wanted. If he was buying off the street then he should have been caught. There are a ton of ways to try to beat a test, but with a kid that the trainer is clearly identifying a problem with, i'd certainly be redflagging him. As far as responsibility for Erik's addiction goes that's a tricky question that usually doesn't have some of the simple answers I'm seeing thrown out here. I will say that some posters might want to check Granma's medicine chest. If someone is prescribed a large amount of pain pills or anxiety meds for a long enough time (even for a legit medical issue)---suprise!! You just got addicted! Which means when you quit you'll get very, very ill (like feeling like pulling out your eyeballs sick) when you try to quit without medical treatment. And for people that do need help out there with this (and Tennesseeans pop way more pills than most states) calling a treatment center is a good first step. Narcotics Anonymous is also good cause their meetings are all over the place and (for Erik's info) they are free. Sorry for the long post but I see the need for educatin'.

Nice post. Welcome to the board.

You from South Carolina?

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

How in the world did our head coach not pick up on the idea that, not our punter or DT or WR or RB....but....wait for it......STARTING QB was strung out for 4 years? Good Lord....

We knew Lamarcus Coker was a druggie but can't tell if our starting QB is on coke? Heck, I could look at that guy from my living room and tell something was off with that guy.

The truth is... and I've said it before, Cutcliffe used Ainge as a resume enhancement for him to get a new job. He was run out of Ole Miss and he wanted another shot as a head coach. He needed Ainge as much as Ainge needed him. Sorry... If Cutcliffe could "re-build" Ainge and add that to what he already had on his resume (Peyton and Eli), he figured he could parlay that into a big time gig. Of course, it only got him a job at Duke, but Spurrier proved you can win at Duke, so he has no excuse. Cutcliffe was going to ride or die with Ainge, even at the expense of Crompton's development and to a lesser extent Nick Stephens.

 

[UTHorsey]

I think Chris Low's point on UT's policy was this: While Erik had the prescription from the training staff he could hit positive all he wanted.

What you say is definitely true, but Chris Low fabricated part of his story.

Chris wrote "By the time Ainge was a senior at Tennessee in 2007, he says he was a full-blown addict and using cocaine and heroin, among other drugs. "

This isn't anywhere in the interview with Ainge. He freely admits to using pain killers, but nowhere did EA fess up to using coke and heroin while at UT. That's my problem with what Low wrote.

 

[VolsRule]

ainge has been doing heavy drugs since age 12, and he was never tested for drugs at UT? hmy: What gives?

 

[Vercingetorix]

It angers me that we let someone that admits to recklessly abuse drugs on our campus that didn't make a single play the entire time he was here, and yet we have playmakers like CJ James Banks and Lamarcus Coker seeming to easily fail drug test after drug test on campus.

I said it before, that guy was protected by Fulmer and Cutcliffe. There's no way they could not have known. And if they didn't know, then that shows that they didn't belong leading young men. They were going to do whatever they could to protect that guy the and hope to turn him around into the next Manning. That guy was a joke and I told you so 5 1/2 years ago (Monday night LSU game).

I'm glad he's in rehab/recovery, but he had no business wearing Orange after that LSU debacle. On any other campus in the country, he would have never seen the light of day... not even in a 50 point blowout. Plus, he would have done something stupid or gotten tested enough to where he would have been kicked off the team anyways.

Ainge set this program back 10 years.

edit: Got so steamed at this guy that I lost my train of thought. My mistake.

Did that 10 years start when he enrolled, or when he graduated? Can we expect to start winning again in 2014, or do we have to wait all the way until 2018? Thanks.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

Did that 10 years start when he enrolled, or when he graduated? Can we expect to start winning again in 2014, or do we have to wait all the way until 2018? Thanks.

2015... 10 years from the LSU debacle.

 

[doozer]

this is old school TrollSputin. this is a piece of art.

 

[Rasputin_Vol]

ainge has been doing heavy drugs since age 12, and he was never tested for drugs at UT? hmy: What gives?

That's what I'm screaming.

Real talk, Ainge wasn't the only person that was "protected" by the University regarding drug use at about this time. We had a basketball player at about this time that was caught up in some foolishness that appears to be on par with Ainge after hearing his revelations. And really, this is an indirect rant on Hamilton or whoever is involved in the big drug problem cover up on that campus! Real talk...

 

[doozer]

maybe he did get caught failing a test but not as many times as some other guys.

how many times did Coker fail before they showed him the door? 5?

 

[Escape Goat]

I had a UT doctor for my knee and they were always very liberal with the pain meds. Of course once they quit giving them to me I couldn't afford to buy any more so I got off them but they are addictive. Mix them with alcohol and it wasn't pretty

I realize these guys play with pain every day but there needs to be some accountability

Yeah, coming off pain meds is a living nightmare.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[Vercingetorix]

It's been said on here that most of the time the athletes know about the tests beforehand. If that's the case, or even if they're just infrequent and mostly predictable, then it ought not to be hard to mostly beat the system. You'd have to be careless or stupid to get busted enough times to actually get kicked off the team.

Do they even test for pain medication? Is it just UT's drug testing that's a joke, or is everybody's?

 

[Vercingetorix]

That's what I'm screaming.

Real talk, Ainge wasn't the only person that was "protected" by the University regarding drug use at about this time. We had a basketball player at about this time that was caught up in some foolishness that appears to be on par with Ainge after hearing his revelations. And really, this is an indirect rant on Hamilton or whoever is involved in the big drug problem cover up on that campus! Real talk...

Hamilton hasn't done anything to control what for years has been an obvious drug/violence culture problem with his athletes across the board. I guess he figures all that falls on the coaches.

 

[UTHorsey]

ainge has been doing heavy drugs since age 12, and he was never tested for drugs at UT? hmy: What gives?

That's what I'm screaming.

Real talk, Ainge wasn't the only person that was "protected" by the University regarding drug use at about this time. We had a basketball player at about this time that was caught up in some foolishness that appears to be on par with Ainge after hearing his revelations. And really, this is an indirect rant on Hamilton or whoever is involved in the big drug problem cover up on that campus! Real talk...

Nowhere in that interview did I read that he wasn't tested, or that he was ever caught.

This was discussed much earlier in the thread; not everything shows up in the average drug test. Typically, the only things they would test for would be marijuana and steroids. The only way you would find just about anything else, is if you tested for it specifically, and it would only show if that drug had been recently (1-4 days). Many things only stay in your system for a day or two. Both of these reasons why a test would come back negative.

What basketball player are you referring to, Wingate?

 

[RR Vol]

Sad story. Sounds like he has got his life turned around, here is hoping and praying he can stay on track.

 

[s1216]

Erik it took courage to do what you did you have my support 100%

 

[s1216]

I am currently a senior at a high school in Brentwood. I have no idea how much our area is different from others, but alcohol and marijuana absolutely drive the culture at my school. Obtaining alchohol is incredibly easy for us. I would venture to say that 85% of my senior class drinks regularly. It is a way of life that I frankly do not see how it can be stopped.

Let me put it to you this way, there are a lot of incredibly naive people that post here.

 

[s1216]

It angers me that we let someone that admits to recklessly abuse drugs on our campus that didn't make a single play the entire time he was here, and yet we have playmakers like CJ James Banks and Lamarcus Coker seeming to easily fail drug test after drug test on campus.
QUOTE]

weed vs opiates, Einstein

 

[badkarma]

Man that dudes face got fat

 

[byobbio]

In essence, you did.



I disagree. It will never completely curb alcohol abuse, but by making alcohol harder to come by, it is having an effect. As an 18 year old kid, there were times when I simply couldn't find someone to buy me alcohol. See, it worked...

You also seem to be creating a correlation that simply isn't there. Just because someone can't get alcohol doesn't mean that they will turn to drugs.

In essence and in reality i never said that kids don't drink in college now. THey do. They drink. They binge drink. Heck, we did the same back 25 years ago. What I am saying is that drugs, sorry, illegal drugs are the number one problem in society today. We have a drug, albeit not 100% safe, called alcohol. In my opinion, it's enough to have all the fun you want. But also, if it is going to be legal for an adult that is 21, why is it not legal for a war eligible 18-year-old? So, we take that right away. So, now you're away from home, in college, no parents, no supervision, but you cannot buy alcohol. Legally. So, if we are going to break the law anyway, why not purchase something that is much easier, no carding involved, nothing. Just buy some weed or cocaine or whatever.

I hate illegal drugs. I have had relationships end forever because of illegal drugs. I think illegal drug use is the worst problem in society today. Prisons are full of convicts who are in on drug-related charges. Warlords in Mexico, columbia, heck all over the world, are killing people for drugs and drug money. People are getting addicted to prescription pills everywhere. Rush Limbaugh. Our local judge baumbgarter. Bret Favre, Eric Ainge, the list goes on. A friend of mine OD'd just recently.

So there you have it. I think illegal drug use is just going to happen. That's a fact. And I think alcohol use and abuse is going to happen as well. I just think, actually, I know, that we've contributed to this problem as a society when our Congress enacted a national 21-year-old minimum age for alcohol. That's all I'm saying.

 

[jps2194]

I have a brother who is bi-polar and he suffers many of the same ways Ainge does. The root cause of his problems is his bi-polar disorder. The drugs and alcohol are simply a method used to numb their pain and forget about their problems. It is amazing to me that Ainge did as well as he did suffering from bi-polar and drug addiction.

Now that he has been properly diagnosed, hopefully he can get his life in order.

 

[jps2194]

Ainge set this program back 10 years.

This has got to be the DUMBEST post I've seen in a long time. Sure, 1 player set us back 10 years - NOT.

 

[99gator]

It's been said on here that most of the time the athletes know about the tests beforehand. If that's the case, or even if they're just infrequent and mostly predictable, then it ought not to be hard to mostly beat the system. You'd have to be careless or stupid to get busted enough times to actually get kicked off the team.

Do they even test for pain medication? Is it just UT's drug testing that's a joke, or is everybody's?

they are a joke everywhere.

and this is one of those situation where i commend florida, tennessee, and a few others.

i know florida and tennessee have had players miss games because of marijuana. there are some schools that have never had a player miss a game due to a positive marijuana test.

now, either you have to believe that they have never had a player use the drug or that somehow they always seem to skate by.

but, based on sporting culture, basketball is more prevalent than any other sport. how often do you read about a basketball player suspended for marijuana. heck, it's in the cba for the nba that they don't test for marijuana. anyone think that some of those guys might have discovered the drug before they made the nba?

the whole thing is a joke. i am at the point where i trust schools like tennessee and florida, who have players arrested or miss time for drug use, more than i do the majority of schools across the country who never seem to have a player get in trouble with police or never have failed a drug test.

i just don't believe that those schools have any magic powers or that they have a higher quality individual attend their school......especially, seeing the stuff going on at ohio state.

anyone remember a buckeye missing a game for marijuana?

 

[velovol]

I have a brother who is bi-polar and he suffers many of the same ways Ainge does. The root cause of his problems is his bi-polar disorder. The drugs and alcohol are simply a method used to numb their pain and forget about their problems. It is amazing to me that Ainge did as well as he did suffering from bi-polar and drug addiction.

Now that he has been properly diagnosed, hopefully he can get his life in order.

well said i have studied bipolar DO a little and it is a very painful DO to overcome in itself, throw in the abuse of booze, depressants, and stimulants and like he said he is lucky to be alive. I wish him the best and hope he can continue his turnaround it wont be easy for him.

 

[csprig9]

they are a joke everywhere.

and this is one of those situation where i commend florida, tennessee, and a few others.

i know florida and tennessee have had players miss games because of marijuana. there are some schools that have never had a player miss a game due to a positive marijuana test.

now, either you have to believe that they have never had a player use the drug or that somehow they always seem to skate by.

but, based on sporting culture, basketball is more prevalent than any other sport. how often do you read about a basketball player suspended for marijuana. heck, it's in the cba for the nba that they don't test for marijuana. anyone think that some of those guys might have discovered the drug before they made the nba?

the whole thing is a joke. i am at the point where i trust schools like tennessee and florida, who have players arrested or miss time for drug use, more than i do the majority of schools across the country who never seem to have a player get in trouble with police or never have failed a drug test.

i just don't believe that those schools have any magic powers or that they have a higher quality individual attend their school......especially, seeing the stuff going on at ohio state.

anyone remember a buckeye missing a game for marijuana?

very good post i cant think of any big schools besides ut and fl that have had that happen. yet when it happens to ut or fl we are thrown under the bus for it. everybody thinks we are a thug school but maybe we are 2 of the few that actually discipline players. i live 15 mins from louisville there are a tone of terrible players on that team. i dated a louisville ladybird and i remember going to there parties and i know a ton of those guys did that stuff and so did the bball team. those guys got away with everything.