The University of Maine prohibits the possession of anabolic steroids by its student-athletes. The penalties for possession range from an initial warning to permanent suspension and withdrawal of athletic financial aid. University officials knew in early November they had a star athlete who was caught by police in possession of 1,000 pills of what were likely anabolic steroids. But not only was this student allowed to continue to play football, the university itself reportedly took no concrete steps to try to confirm exactly what the pills were and whether the student was taking them.

This is an inexcusable lack of judgment, an abrogation of the responsibility the university must accept in protecting the athlete, linebacker Stephen Cooper, his teammates and the players on the opposing teams, who may have been facing chemically enhanced hits they should not have to anticipate. Why university officials, from the coach to the president, did so little after learning six weeks ago of his player’s possession of these pills is for the university to discover and report, within legal bounds, to the public.

Hampden police found the 1,000 pills in Mr. Cooper’s duffel bag during a traffic stop Nov. 1. The UMaine football team was just finishing a highly successful season and going onto post-season competition. Mr. Cooper, 23 and a senior, was arguably their best player. Nothing was said publicly and nothing ever would have been said if the media hadn’t been tipped off after the Black Bears’ season ended with a postseason loss to Georgia Southern.

Steroids are banned because they can be dangerous. They allow abusers to build muscles but at the potential expense of their overall health. Steroid abuse can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, blood clots and tumors in the liver. The university bans even their possession because not only are they a health risk but are antithetical to the values of a respected athletic organization.

In this case, the health dangers, if any, are not yet known. But how bad does it look for the university to have handled this situation the way it did? Awful; as if success in football were more important than the well-being of the students involved; as if this student’s possession of a huge amount

of pills were something akin to a minor curfew infraction. The problem goes right to the office of UMaine President Peter Hoff. Just a few days after the traffic stop, Coach Jack Cosgrove informed Athletics Director Paul Bubb of the problem, who informed Vice President Richard Chapman that Mr. Cooper was being investigated for possible possession of steroids. Vice President Chapman, in turn, told President Hoff. Everyone knew; no one took the appropriate steps.

Even on the off chance that the 1,000 pills weren’t steroids but aspirin, the mere possession of so many should have alerted the administration that the player was involved in something that was a health problem for him and would not reflect well on the team or the university. To wait for the problem to surface in the news shows a serious lack of judgment.

One of the reasons universities give for supporting expensive football programs is that the programs can bring national attention and interest to the school. UMaine’s behavior in this case has certainly drawn attention, at what cost to all of Maine is not yet clear. Mr. Cooper should be held responsible for his own actions, but he will graduate from the university soon and leave. The institution remains, and it is hard to be pleased with a part of what’s there.