Kolton Houston is an offensive lineman at the University of Georgia. Well, he would be if he were ever allowed on the field.
He can't play because he tested positive for steroids twice. The problem is, he's actually telling the truth when he spits the timeless, "I didn't knowingfully take steroids" line.
See, Houston injured his shoulder in high school and as part of his treatment was injected with a steroid to help his muscle without his knowledge. To worsen matters, the injection didn't go where it was supposed to go. Rather than being injected into the muscle in question, the drug, norandrolone, went into his fat. It remains there to this day, causing Houston to continue to test positive.
Was the NCAA sympathetic to his situation? Not a chance.
The NCAA tested Houston again in April 2011. Again he tested positive: 16 nanograms per milliliter. The NCAA banned Houston for life, because that's what happens to repeat offenders. Our latest example of cut-and-dried sat in Courson's office and burst into tears. Fortunately, because Courson had been conducting his own tests, he was able to appeal the ban by proving that Houston hadn't reused. The NCAA relented, but Houston, who would ordinarily be Georgia's starting right tackle, would remain ineligible until his levels met the association's high standards for clean.
The full column delves into the efforts Dr. Ron Courson went through and is still going through while Houston remains ineligible. Though he has two years of eligibility remaining if he can get under the NCAA-required standards, Houston doesn't even practice with the team anymore because he's so frustrated with the situation. "Every single day I pass [the stadium] and think, I just want to play there," he says.