Cowboys DT Brent tests positive for marijuana
DALLAS – Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Josh Brent tested positive for marijuana while he awaits trial in a car crash that killed a teammate, prosecutors said Thursday in asking a judge to revoke the player’s $100,000 bond and issue a warrant for his arrest.
Police have accused Brent of driving with a blood-alcohol content more than twice the legal limit during the Dec. 8 car crash that killed Jerry Brown, a Cowboys practice squad player.
Prosecutors said in their motion that Brent failed a urine test taken after a May 24 court hearing in which they had sought for his bond to be revoked due to problems with his alcohol monitoring. While the judge declined to do so, he did order Brent to provide a urine sample.
A hearing on the prosecutors’ motion had not been scheduled Thursday afternoon. Brent’s attorney, George Milner, did not immediately return a phone message and a spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorney declined to comment.
Brent is required to wear an alcohol ankle monitor and appear for regular meetings with a county officer. Judge Robert Burns last month ordered a second form of monitoring to take breath samples, and for Brent to provide the sample after the hearing.
The prosecutors’ motion said the test results indicate Brent took marijuana within 30 days of the test date and it did not appear the exposure to marijuana was second-hand.
“Given the defendant’s prior alcohol-related contacts and the severity of the charge in this case, it is the State’s belief that the defendant continues to pose a threat to the community,” prosecutors said in the motion.
A crash report released by suburban Dallas police says Brent was driving the night of the crash with a suspended driver’s license from Illinois, where he pleaded guilty three years ago to a misdemeanor driving under the influence charge. Brent and Brown both played college football at Illinois.
Brent faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of intoxication manslaughter, though he could also get probation.
Quarterback Robert Griffin III says “without a doubt” that he expects to be fully recovered from knee surgery and in uniform when the Washington Redskins open training camp on July 25 in Richmond.
Griffin said Thursday he’s confident because “it’s a mindset” and because of how his surgically repaired right knee has progressed. The QB says “training camp’s a month and a half away. That’s why I say without a doubt.”
He had knee surgery on Jan. 9 to repair the ACL and LCL he had torn during the playoff loss to Seattle three days earlier.
Coach Mike Shanahan says Griffin was initially projected to miss seven-to-nine months. That would mean Griffin wouldn’t return before Aug. 9, the day after Washington opens its preseason schedule against Tennessee.
Mathias Kiwanuka is going back to being a defensive end for the New York Giants – and as a starter.
Kiwanuka was thrust into the starting job earlier this week when Jason Pierre-Paul had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his lower back.
Starting isn’t anything new for Kiwanuka. The question for the former Boston College star that was the Giants’ first-round pick in 2006 has always been where. He has 62 career starts – 31 as a defensive end and 31 as a linebacker.
There is no doubt Kiwanuka is a better defensive end, but the Giants have had a plethora of ends with Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Pierre-Paul. As a result, Kiwanuka took one for the team and used his versatility to play linebacker.