Despite the arrest this week of a former Madison Central quarterback on charges of selling steroids in Madison County, school officials say the district's student athletes are almost all steroid-free.
Madison Central athletic director and football coach Bobby Hall said the case of Jared Foster is truly an anomaly.
"I don't think we've got any of our kids taking steroids. I really don't," Hall said. "We really educate our kids to that. We have a lot of good kids."
Foster was arrested on one count of the sale of steroids on Monday in Oxford where he was on a football scholarship at the University of Mississippi. His arrest was the result of an investigation by the Madison County Sheriff's Department.
Kenny Burton, the athletic director and football coach at Ridgeland High School, said Foster's case is the first of its kind he's seen in 18 years coaching high school football. He hopes it sets an example.
"I hate it for him and his family," Burton said. "Hopefully a lot of kids will take notice of this. They need to understand that type of thing is illegal and learn from his mistakes."
Foster appeared before a Justice Court judge on Tuesday morning and was released later in the day on a $5,000 bond. His case will be presented to the February session of the county grand jury.
He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine if convicted, according to Madison-Rankin District Attorney Michael Guest.
Foster has been placed under court supervision and must be tested for illegal drugs once a week.
The Sheriff's Department began an investigation into Foster about four months ago. His illegal activities took place in the county, even though he was arrested in Oxford, according to Sheriff Toby Trowbridge.
Trowbridge said Foster's case was part of an ongoing investigation and did not say if he hoped more arrests would be made or if Foster could provide useful information to the Sheriff's Department.
"At this point, I'm only interested in this case right here. We just have to go forward and see where we stand," Trowbridge said.
Foster, who has reportedly lost his football scholarship at Ole Miss in the wake of his arrest, was previously arrested during a party at his home on Nov. 11, 2006, on two counts of alcohol possession and 13 counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor while a senior at Madison Central.
Law enforcement also found steroids in Foster's home on that date. Authorities agreed not to prosecute Foster in exchange for information he provided to investigators about steroid sales in the area. Foster also pledged to stay out of legal trouble for two years.
As a result of information Foster provided, another steroid-related arrest was made by local law enforcement.
According to Guest, the previous charges from 2006 could be remanded and Foster could be prosecuted for them since he has been arrested within the prescribed two-year period.
"Those charges can be brought back up," Guest said.
Foster would be prosecuted for these previous misdemeanor charges in Madison Municipal Court.
He played for a year at Gulf Coast Community College before signing with Ole Miss.
Hall, Foster's former coach, would not comment specifically on Foster's arrest but said he was "100 percent certain" that Foster represented an extremely rare case among Madison Central athletes.
"Anybody who knows anything about that stuff, you can tell," he said. "Most kids are not going to do that anyway. We educate them to the ill effects of that stuff."
Superintendent of Schools Mike Kent said he was largely satisfied with the school district's drug testing policy, even though it is not as comprehensive as it might be.
"If we had more money to spend on it, we would. But I don't see the district spending more money than it's currently spending," Kent said.
Currently, a student who fails a random drug test administered by the district must participate in all random drug tests for the remainder of the school year. A student who fails the final drug test of a school year must participate in all drug tests during the following school year.
A second failed drug test requires the student be relocated to the district's alternative school in Canton.
Last May, when the punishments for failed drug tests were enhanced, Kent said only 1 to 1.5 percent of students fail drug tests during an average school year.
