The third part of Sports Illustrated's feature series on Oklahoma State came out Thursday and it details drug use that it says was widespread in the program.
One key point of that was the "Weed Circle," which the magazine says was for players who tested positive for marijuana. However, that circle wasn't open to all, it was an exclusive group, per the story, and players allegedly were able to continue to smoke marijuana while in the group.
"We all smoked and pissed hot, but the coaches were like, As long as you're performing, we'll send you to [the Weed Circle]," Thomas Wright told SI.
The piece outlines Oklahoma State's drug policy, which is termed a "four-strike" policy; after the fourth test, a player is kicked off the team. The "Weed Circle" was set up as a counseling program. Why? Because as part of Oklahoma State's policy, a player didn't incur a strike on his record if he was in counseling and future tests revealed a lower number of drugs in his system.
[Related: Les Miles denies SI report of cheating at Oklahoma State]
But according to former player Charles Mickens, good players were given preferential treatment. 30 players are named in the SI story as saying they used marijuana while at Oklahoma State.
"There were guys, I'd hear a trainer saying, 'Oh, your levels are going down," Mickens told SI. "Oh, your levels are going down.' Yeah, right. You're covering up for them because they're a star."
Former Oklahoma State coach Les Miles even stopped by to visit with the group on occasion.
Players also allege that teammates would get high before practices or games, as well as use other drugs, and drug dealing is also detailed. Former running back Herschel Sims told SI that he believed "we probably would have lost about 15-20 people who actually played" if teammates were tested before the 2012 Fiesta Bowl. Oklahoma State told SI that 18 players were tested randomly before the game and one was suspended.
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