Bengals’ Wilson Suspended Again for Drug Use

MIAMI —  Stanley Wilson lost another round in a long fight against drug abuse when the National Football League suspended the Cincinnati Bengals fullback just hours before the start of Super Bowl XXIII Sunday.

The NFL confirmed that the violation stemmed from an incident Saturday night, after Wilson missed a team meeting, but provided few details of the suspension, issuing only a two-sentence release stating that Wilson would “be ineligible to play in Super Bowl XXIII due to violation of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.”

But after the Bengals had lost, 20-16, to San Francisco, Cincinnati Coach Sam Wyche said the drug involved was cocaine.

“Stanley Wilson didn’t screw up,” Wyche said. “The cocaine overtook him, and I don’t know but that our country is going to hell in a handbasket and we don’t know it. This is a symptom of it.”

Cincinnati police chief Lawrence Whalen, who is helping with security at the Super Bowl, confirmed that Wilson’s violation involved an incident Saturday night. Whalen said Wilson was not arrested, but would provide no further details.

Wilson’s life and career have been plagued with drug problems. He has said that the abuse began when he was 17 in his hometown of Carson.

Wilson, a ninth-round pick out of Oklahoma in 1983, missed the entire 1985 and 1987 seasons because of drug violations. He was most recently reinstated by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle on April 20, 1988.

League spokesman Joe Browne said that further disciplinary action will not be taken until Wilson meets with Rozelle in person. Browne said the suspension could vary from 1 game, 30 days, 1 year or lifetime. Wyche said there would be no appeal of any action taken by the NFL against Wilson.

“I still love the man,” Wyche said. “I’m still pulling for his life. Football is now over for him, but his life is not.”

As a previous drug offender, Wilson has been tested regularly this season under the conditions of the league’s substance-abuse policy, directed by Dr. Forest Tennant of West Covina.

When Wilson returned to the Bengals this season, he lost his starting job to Ickey Woods. Wilson gained 398 yards in 112 carries and scored 2 touchdowns in 1988. He also had 9 receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown.

This week, Wilson discussed his drug problem with reporters and said it was under control.

“I’d rather be the man I am today than a Hall of Famer in the condition I used to be,” Wilson said. “When I knew (Don) Rogers and (Len) Bias died, it didn’t affect me. I bet those guys didn’t do as much as I did.”

In another interview, Wilson described the battle with drugs as never-ending.

“It’s like a slow suicide,” Wilson told USA Today. “When you do drugs, you don’t feel a lot. You hear people say, ‘Why does he do that to this family?’ Well, you have no compassion. . . . I’m very stubborn, so I’m just as stubborn staying straight as I was doing it.”