CougCenter: Jamal Atofau, Andre Barrington Should Be Immediately Dismissed

Over at our WSU Cougars team site CougCenter, we're none to pleased about the arrests of players Jamal Atofau and Andre Barrington as part of a major pot-growing operation:

I don't care whose plants they were. Atofau and Barrington lived in the apartment, and they had to know they were there. They're culpable. And whether it's through incredible audacity or sheer stupidity (or both), these two guys have brought tremendous embarrassment on a program that is headed in the right direction -- including a head coach who went to bat for both of these guys -- and that, to me, is unforgivable. Both should not only be kicked off the football team; they should be expelled from WSU.

All we hope is that this isn't just the tip of the proverbial iceberg:

Is it really plausible that no one else on the team knew about this? Imagine how many players had to have come through that apartment this year. ...

But what if it's even worse than that? What if it turns out these guys were actually supplying guys on the team? Is that so far out of the realm of possibility? We want to believe this group is made up of high-character guys who would never do something so stupid ... but here we are. And we've seen a heck of a lot of stupidity over the last three years.

Two WSU Players Arrested In Marijuana Grow Operation Bust

Local products Jamal Atofau and Andre Barrington were arrested early Sunday morning after Pullman police officers served a search warrant and found 38 marijuana plants in the basement of their rental home. The plants were part of an apparent grow operation in the house, leading to felony drug charges for all four living on the premises.

The Spokesman-Reviews Vince Grippi had the report from Pullman.

Police came to the home at 1745 NE Lower Drive, just north of Beasley Coliseum to serve an unrelated search warrant, according to police spokesman Cmdr. Chris Tennant.

While conducting that search, Tennant said, they discovered the marijuana plants growing in a basement room. They obtained a drug-related warrant, searched the room, found plants, manufacturing equipment and paraphernalia. The four residents, including the two football players, were arrested.

Barrington came to WSU from Federal Way High School, redshirting last year before being deemed academically ineligible prior to this season. He showed promise in practice but couldn't keep his books in order. The hope was that he'd focus on academics and rejoin the team following the season.

Atofau, out of Bellevue High, has been a contributor all season after redshirting in 2009. During the fall camp, he moved from safety to linebacker and has seen plenty of time in a backup role this season. He's also played a big role on special teams, forcing a critical fumble on a punt return against the SMU Mustangs.

Atofau was suspended indefinitely while head coach Paul Wulff gathers information. Barrington was already away from the team and was, therefor, not suspended.