The pain and embarrassment that was the Spartan 2002 football season just won't seem to stop haunting MSU's reputation.
It was revealed on Monday former MSU star Charles Rogers used a substance to dilute his drug test at the NFL combine in February.
It's now highly possible the consensus top-three pick in the April 26-27 NFL draft will be subject to the professional football league's drug evaluation program upon signing a contract with an NFL team.
MSU doctors say urine-diluting substances are often used to hide the presence of illegal drugs. Rogers' agent said the wide receiver drank excessive amounts of water before his drug test because he had difficulty urinating that day.
Excuses aside, diluted urine is enough evidence to be found guilty in the eyes of NFL executives and Rogers' situation now calls into question the complete sobriety of MSU's star 2002 passing-receiving duo.
Junior quarterback Jeff Smoker was indefinitely suspended from the team last season for violating unspecified team rules. He later announced he had a substance abuse problem.
But Smoker, Rogers and the rest of their teammates shouldn't carry the entire burden of tarnishing the MSU reputation in the eyes of the sports world. Spartan sports has produced its share of disappointments in the professional world.
From Plaxico Burress' arrest for public intoxication in Virginia to the discovery of weapons and drugs in Mushin Muhammad's car in North Carolina to Andre Rison's substance and domestic abuse problems, MSU has sent its share of embarrassments into the professional wide receiver realm. And then, of course, there was the discovery of Demetrius Underwood's near death with a self-inflicted stab wound in 1999.
The list of MSU embarrassments is indeed long and unfortunately often overshadows Spartan stars who have gone on to be positive influences on their communities including Steve Smith, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Mateen Cleaves.
The time is long overdue for the recruitment aspects of MSU's sports department to hold personal character in the same regard as talent - especially the football program.
We, of course, do not envy new MSU football head coach John L. Smith for the work he has before him. The embarrassment of the 2002 football season along with the shame brought to MSU because of latter abuses of past Spartan stars needs to be put to an end.
We hope the new head coach will bring integrity back to a program that has taken some huge steps backward. We hope he will place the same importance on the character of his players as he does on a winning record.
Poor sportsmen and rioters are not the true embodiment of model Spartans, yet they continually tarnish the reputation of one of the nation's top research institutions.
The antics need to be stopped.
