Clemson Announces 2 Players Are Ineligible For 2019 Season

This past December, ahead of the College Football Playoff, three Clemson players – Dexter Lawrence, Braden Galloway and Zach Giella – tested positive for Ostarine, a substance banned by the NCAA. Friday, the NCAA ruled on whether Galloway and Giella will be eligible for the 2019 season.

The NCAA’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports has denied their appeal. As a result, neither player will be able to play this coming season.

The three players were also banned from playing in the College Football Playoff, which Clemson won. Lawrence was drafted No. 17 overall by the New York Giants last month.

Clemson has issued an official response to the decision:

We are disappointed in the results of the appeal and continue to believe our student-athletes did not knowingly ingest any banned substances. The Athletic Department takes seriously its role in the education, testing and enforcement of supplement and performance-enhancing substances. We will continue to adhere to best practices with respect to supplement use by student-athletes and support the position of the NCAA in its testing for PEDs. Student-athletes at Clemson have taken 329 tests for PEDs since 2014, and all results have been negative except for the trace amounts found during the December 2018 tests. The two current student-athletes were tested prior to the December test, including in April and October of 2018 and again in January and February of 2019, and results came back negative for PEDs. Clemson maintains a rigorous education and testing program, and all supplements are reviewed with Clemson Athletics Nutrition and Sports Medicine as well as the Clemson Compliance Office prior to approval for usage to ensure that no banned substances are included in the products. In compliance with the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act, Clemson is not authorized to discuss further details of the appeal. Any further questions regarding the appeal should be directed to the student-athletes’ representation.

Statement from Clemson: pic.twitter.com/aWpiiEjpr7 — Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) May 24, 2019

Clemson obviously has enough talent to survive this, but it’s a tough outcome for the players.

Clemson opens its 2019 campaign against Georgia Tech on August 29.

This content was originally published here.