POLICE NAB B.C. LIONS PLAYER AT CRACK HOUSE

RCMP Say a Man and Several Women Were Stopped and That a Substance
Suspected to Be Cocaine Was Seized

B.C. Lions defensive end Ray Jacobs was picked up early Wednesday
morning outside a Whalley crack house, television station BC CTV
reported Wednesday.

No charges have been laid, although Surrey RCMP Const. Tim Shields was
quoted as saying a report recommending charges will be forwarded to
Crown counsel.

Shields said a man and several women were in a car stopped near the
crack house, which was under police surveillance, and that officers
found a substance that appeared to be cocaine.

Jacobs, who led the Lions in quarterback sacks last season, was
acquired in a trade with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2003.

He had been placed on the Roughriders' suspended list for missing
practice. Jacobs has a self-admitted proclivity for binge drinking,
and was also in the news in Regina for missing child support payments.

He remained in Vancouver during the winter to train at the Lions'
facility in Whalley.

Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono, who coached Jacobs
in Calgary and acquired him last season, said there "has never been an
incident like this in Ray's past, not that I know of."

Buono said he learned of the allegations against Jacobs when his wife
phoned him after she watched the news report on TV.

"I didn't see it. My wife told me about it," Buono said. "I'm
disappointed. Other than that, I don't really think we should comment
on it until we know what's happened.

"It's all third-party hearsay. I haven't seen it. I haven't talked to
anybody from the police department. I haven't talked to Ray. It's not
something we're pleased about or that the organization would look kindly on."

Buono said Jacobs is one of the Lions' key defensive players, one of
the best pass rushers in the Canadian Football League.

"We're counting on a lot of guys, and Ray would be one of them," Buono
said. "He's been here all winter. He's been very conscientious about
working out."

Buono said he wasn't familiar with Jacobs' problems in
Regina.

"I had him in Calgary and we never had an issue like this," he said.
"I'm disappointed both for Ray and the organization. [But] why are we
shocked in our business and in our world by incidents like this? It's
disappointing because ... it's just disappointing."