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July 16, 2009
Jeremy Mayfield Tests Positive For Meth Again
Last Monday NASCAR administered another drug test to Jeremy Mayfield, though he didn't make it easy for them to collect a sample. After hearing how Mayfield delayed the testing for seven hours and offered up numerous excuses as to why he couldn't or shouldn't be tested even though he had agreed to allow NASCAR to test him as part of the injunction he was recently granted, I thought that it sounded like Mayfield was a man with something to hide. So it wasn't a surprise to find out that he once again tested positive for meth. While some wonder how anyone could be so dumb as to test positive again, the fact is that people with (alleged) drug problems often do stupid things.
NASCAR also filed an affidavit with the court from Lisa Mayfield, Jeremy's step-mother, in which she says she saw him making and using meth on numerous occasions dating back to 1998. While a witness stepping forward to state that she observed him using meth is damning, I don't give it as much weight as the test results since there's obvious ill will between herself and Mayfield. While some are still insistent that NASCAR is out to get Mayfield and that these are all false positives, the more often the tests show the same result, the less likely I think it is that the result is wrong.
Quite a few people are questioning why Mayfield would fight so hard in court if he was guilty but if he really does have a drug problem, I think he's not fighting as much to prove his innocence and that he was wronged by NASCAR as much as he's fighting to not have to acknowledge a problem and have to get clean. Drug addicts will often go to great lengths and do anything to be able to continue to use. They are also often in denial that they have a problem and Mayfield comes off as someone who is denying some things. There's always excuses - and Mayfield certainly has plenty of those to the point where he tried to discredit his step-mother by accusing her of shooting his father (his death was ruled a suicide by the medical examiner) in an interview last night on Sirius.
It's not just Mayfield who's in denial. While Mayfield's supporters get fewer and fewer as time goes on and more evidence surfaces that the may indeed have an issue with drugs, there are still quite a few fans who believe that this is all one big conspiracy against him. Nonsense. NASCAR has nothing to gain by falsely accusing Mayfield of using meth. It's very hard for me to believe that they would bring this sort of negative publicity on the sport by falsifying test results.
At times in the past I've felt that the NASCAR media doesn't always ask enough hard questions but I think many members of the motorsports media have been doing an outstanding job covering this story even though it has to be difficult given the issues involved and that many have known Mayfield for years. Nate Ryan from USA Today, Jenna Fryer from the Associated Press, Bob Pockrass from scenedaily.com and David Newton and others at ESPN.com are just a few of those who have worked hard to report this story from all angles.
More than a few would like this story to just go away, but that's unlikely to happen unless Mayfield admits a few truths to himself and to those around him. Until then Mayfield is likely to continue to make this into as much of a circus as possible and this sad story is likely to only get sadder.
Posted by silverdsl at July 16, 2009 08:51 AM