STEALTH GM WANTS AF2 TO CONSIDER DRUG TESTS

Wichita Stealth general manager Mike McCoy plans to encourage
Arenafootball2 to begin drug testing next season; but the league, seemingly
ignoring its own commitment to fans, says such testing would be too expensive.

McCoy said he is joined by several other general managers who support drug
testing.

"Those of us involved with the Wichita Stealth feel very strongly about it
- -- so strongly we'd like to be a pioneer in this area," McCoy said. "We
want our guys to set the right example, and we want the league to stand for
the right things."

Wes McKenzie, communications manager for Af2, said the league has no plans
to begin drug testing because it is "cost prohibitive." McKenzie said drug
use is included in the league's general policy regarding player and coach
misconduct.

"If an Af2 player or coach is discovered to be involved with drugs in any
way, they are disciplined accordingly, including fine, suspension and, if
necessary, termination," McKenzie said.

But a lack of testing and specific consequences seem to lessen the value of
the Fans' Bill of Rights, a commitment to fans that is printed in team
media guides and the Af2 record book.

One of the 11 items in the bill of rights says fans should expect that
players are "examples and role models for youth, free of physical violence,
drugs, alcohol, and gambling abuse."

McKenzie responded, "Drug testing does not ensure drug-abuse abstinence.
The Fans' Bill of Rights is in place to protect the rights of the fans and
to make our team members aware that there are consequences for their
actions, both on and off the field, including drug abuse."

McKenzie added that Af2's position on drug testing is consistent with other
minor leagues. That's not the case with local teams.

The Wranglers, Wichita's Double-A baseball team, are not tested by the
Texas League; but Major League Baseball randomly tests players during the
season. The Central Hockey League, of which the Wichita Thunder is a
member, also randomly tests players.

The Arena Football League, a step above Af2, tests players, but McKenzie
would not provide any details. He said the AFL and Af2 are separate
organizations and that their policies should not be compared.

Further, if an individual franchise wished to test players, the league
would not allow it, McKenzie said.

Bob Cortese, the Stealth's director of football operations who has coached
in the AFL, supports testing. Even though Af2 has no specific guidelines in
place, he still addressed the issue with the team when he arrived in
Wichita in late May.

"I tell 'em if you do drugs, I don't even want you around," Cortese said.

He made it -- Reggie Swinton isn't in Af2 this year, but a big picture of
him still graces the front of the league's record book. Swinton is the
cover boy because he is proof that an Af2 player can rise to the National
Football League.

In 2001, the former offensive specialist for the Arkansas Twisters became
Af2's first position player to reach the NFL. Swinton had a fine year with
the Dallas Cowboys, setting a team record for kickoff-return yardage.

Swinton has been in the news recently because he is nearly recovered from a
Bell's palsy attack in late April that left the right side of his face
paralyzed for nearly a month. Bell's palsy is a form of facial paralysis
that occurs in 11 out of 10,000 people.

"It's a great feeling because I was told it could take six months," Swinton
said of the recovery in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Luckily, the
training staff caught mine early and treated it with medicine quickly. I
read about one guy who had it from 1950-something to 1992, so I'm glad I
caught mine early."