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Wednesday, April 16, 2003

By Paul Zeise, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Pitt senior Torrie Cox was one of several players who were flagged by the NFL for testing positive for a banned substance at the NFL combine earlier this year.

But, as it turned out, the only substance Cox abused was apparently water.

Cox, like Michigan State star receiver Charles Rogers, was placed on the positive test list because of a "diluted urine sample."

Diluted urine is the result of drinking extraordinary amounts of liquids before giving a urine sample. According to the NFL, this raises a red flag in drug testing because it enables a person to flush some substances out of his system prematurely and, therefore, it is considered a masking technique.

Peter Schaffer, Cox's agent, said it is ridiculous that Cox and Rogers or anyone else in a similar situation are now candidates for the NFL's substance abuse program. He said Cox drank a lot of water in order to stay hydrated throughout the three-day grind of the combine.

"The only issue to us is that Torrie is being put in the same category as players who have actually tested positive for banned substances," Schaffer said. "We're very proud to represent a chronic water abuser. When water becomes an illegal substance, then Torrie Cox has a problem."

Schaffer quoted a letter from Pitt head trainer Rob Blanc to the NFL that said Cox often gave diluted urine samples during random drug tests throughout his career at Pitt. Blanc said on each occasion, Cox was immediately retested and never tested positive for any illegal or banned substance.