Somewhere Vijay Is Smiling

I tread lightly on the DJ story yesterday, suspecting that shoes would be dropping shortly.  With Club Championship qualifying cancelled due to heavy rains, shall we unpack this mess?  

First, let's review the bidding.  As we covered in a post yesterday, a press release from Team Johnson alerted us to the fact that DJ would be taking some time off to deal with a personal issue.  Obviously the reference to "Professional help" and the deleted picture with drink in hand led us all to conclude that he's dealing with a substance abuse issue, either alcohol or drugs.

Around midday came this Golf.com report, indicating that DJ was, in fact, under suspension:

Dustin Johnson is serving a six-month suspension from the PGA Tour after testing positive for

cocaine, a source has told Golf.com. 

According to the source, Johnson has failed three drug tests: one for marijuana in 2009 and two for cocaine, in 2012 and 2014. He was previously suspended for the 2012 failed test, but that suspension was never made public. Under the PGA Tour’s drug-testing policies, the Tour is not required to announce any disciplinary actions against players who test positive for recreational drugs.

Hmmmm...there have long been rumors about DJ's love of the fast life, so no shock value here.  Though it needs to be said that this wealth of very specific details comes from only one anonymous source, and the reporting gives no information on how the source has access to this information and the source's interest in having it widely know.

Regular readers know well my frustration with Commissioner Ratched on this subject, as to the best of my knowledge there is no other sports league or organization that considers disciplinary actions to be a tightly-held state secret.  The Commish tells us that the Tour is populated by gentlemen that comport themselves in a manner consistent with rules and its drug policies, but in refusing to reveal the miscreants he acts like he has something to hide.    

In 2012, Johnson played the Cadillac Championship at Doral in March and then did not play again for 11 weeks, until the Memorial in late May. Johnson said at the time that he was not playing because he hurt his back while lifting a jet ski. However, Golf.com’s source says that Johnson was actually serving a suspension for failing a drug test for cocaine. The PGA Tour had no official comment at that time and Winkle denied that Johnson had been suspended.

So we're making up fictitious injuries to cover for coke heads?  Really Commish, don't you think you're kind of, you know, enabling him, by eliminating any consequences for his actions?  While I think the strongest case is that fans have a right to know, do we also think that perhaps TaylorMade might like to know before signing DJ to a large endorsement contract?

Now I'd be just as happy if the Tour didn't test for marijuana, as it's performance-enhancing properties elude me.  Cocaine is a tougher case, as the libertarian in me thinks the Tour should stick to actual PED's, but I can see the other side of the argument equally well.  And before rejecting pot-testing out of hand, I have to acknowledge that I was quite surprised by this story from the way back machine:

PGA Tour player Robert Garrigus, best known for his long drives and knee-high putter, said he 

-- along with other unnamed players on the Nationwide Tour -- smoked marijuana during tournament rounds in 2002, according to an interview published on Golf Digest's web site.

"Oh yeah, there were plenty of guys on the Nationwide Tour who smoked in the middle of the round," Garrigus told Golf Digest in a story headlined "The Reclamation of Robert Garrigus." The PGA Tour did not institute drug testing until six years later. 

"We always talked about it. You could go in the Porta John and take your drags," he said.

Color me surprised, as after firing up a doobie the last thing in the world I'd want to do is play golf.  Especially in front of other people...  Though I'm wondering if Ben Crane has been tested, as it's as good an explanation as any for his glacial pace of play.  But I digress...

Then last night we heard from the Ponte Vedra Family, which kinda-sorta violated their strict Omertà policy:

“With regard to media reports that Dustin Johnson has been suspended by the PGA Tour,” the statement read, “this is to clarify that Mr. Johnson has taken a voluntary leave of absence and is not under a suspension from the PGA Tour.”

Oh what a tangled web we weave.... So the Tour has a strict policy of not disclosing suspensions or other disciplinary actions, but will, when it suits the suits, disclose who hasn't been been suspended.  So Commish, how abouts you just tell us every player that's never been suspended, and we'll guess at who's missing from the list.

And, most significantly, they don't deny any other aspect of the story, just the micro-technicality that Johnson is not under suspension.  It seems they've inadvertently confirmed all the important details of the story, leaving us to conclude that Johnson agreed to the "voluntary leave" one small step ahead of the posse.  

Matthew Rudy gets to the crux of the matter in a column titled  The PGA Tour's pretend drug policy:

It took less than a day for Dustin Johnson's announcement that he was taking a leave from tour

golf to work on personal problems to be followed by reports that the PGA Tour actually suspended Johnson for six months for his third failed drug test -- once for marijuana in 2009 and twice for cocaine, in 2012 and 2014. Johnson was reportedly suspended before, for the failed 2012 test, but maintained publicly than he missed time for a back injury (the tour has refuted the published reports by maintaining Johnson has not been suspended).

The timing of the reports about an official suspension only matters because the Tour doesn't disclose player conduct violations or suspensions. Johnson could be the only player who failed a test since 2009, or he could be one of 100 who did. The Tour is content to stand by its statement that it forbids the use of (certain) performance enhancing and recreational drugs, and that it will punish players that violate the rules.

But this is where my blood starts boiling:

Tim Finchem told me in 2007 that he believed in golf's culture of integrity and rule-following, and that "the notion that a player would cheat in this sport is an anathema to the athletes."

If that's really true, the Tour's policy should be complete transparency in its drug program. If cheating (or recreational drug use) is so rare, the occasional player who is announced to have been suspended would only serve as more of a reminder about how dedicated the Tour is at preserving fair play and protecting the health of its members.

So we should just take Nurse Ratched's word for it?  And please remember that prior to this story the only known Tour drug suspension was of journeyman Doug Barron for an elevated level of testosterone caused by legally prescribed medication.   

So, pay no attention to that man behind the curtain... But every time that curtain gets pulled back an inch, we see the Tour proactively protecting its business interests.  But how profoundly cynical it all is.  The Tour speaks to its concern for its players, but it in fact throws them under the bus to protect the Family.  Let's try a little contra-factual, shall we?  Do we think a player such as DJ is more or less likely to suffer a relapse when he's protected from any consequences from his first two failed drug tests?  

This is is why I've been cheerleading Vijay's lawsuit.  I've little use for the man and think his use of deer antler spray comically desperate, but anything that lets the sunlight in is to be encouraged.