By Marcus R. Fuller
St. Paul Pioneer Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Four University of Minnesota wrestlers are under investigation for dealing the prescription drug Xanax, according to a Fox 9 report.
Longtime Gophers wrestling coach J Robinson was not available for comment Wednesday. Fox 9 stated that Robinson is also being investigated by campus police for offseason team meetings in which he allegedly told players they needed to take urine tests but would not be punished if they wrote an essay about what they did.
Robinson told the university police last month he was aware of the prescription drug use and took care of the problem, according to the TV report. Several wrestlers are accused of taking Xanax, but it isn’t a banned substance by the NCAA.
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A University spokesman provided a statement and said new Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle is “aware of the situation and monitoring it.”
“The University takes allegations of this nature seriously, and upon receiving information the University provided it to the UMPD,” the statement said. “In consultation with UMPD, the University is allowing for the legal investigation to conclude before conducting its own internal investigation. As it remains part of an active investigation, we do not have anything to share at this time.”
