Press
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --
Air Force linebacker Overton Spence was found innocent of drug charges Wednesday after telling a court-martial he thought the steroids he had taken were legal.
Spence wept and hugged teammate Jon Wilson when the verdict was read. He declined to speak to reporters, but his civilian attorney, Serge Herscovici, said Spence hopes to return to the academy football team.
Prosecutor Capt. Garrett Condon had accused Spence of engaging in "a locker room drug deal" that went bad.
Spence had signed a statement admitting he bought and used the steroid methandrostenolone but testified that he did not know he had broken the law.
"I never intended to possess or had knowledge of possession of illegal steroids. I only intended to possess legal steroids that you could buy" in any health specialty store, Spence said.
His defense lawyers accused investigators of jumping to conclusions and interrogating Spence before lab tests showed the steroid was illegal.
Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry testified that when Spence told him he was being investigated, the cadet said he thought the supplements were legal.
"He maintained his total innocence as to his not knowing what he was taking," DeBerry said.
Spence, 20, a junior from Jacksonville, Fla., was a backup who played mostly on special teams last season. He was suspended from the team after the charges were filed. It was not immediately clear whether he would be reinstated.
Herscovici said Spence could face a one-year suspension from the NCAA.
Neither the Air Force athletics department nor the NCAA immediately returned phone calls.
Spence faced up to 10 years' imprisonment if he had been convicted.
Three other cadets, including running back Matthew Ward, still face steroid charges. Ward's court-martial is scheduled for next month.
Also Wednesday, Air Force said its athletics director will report directly to the school's top officer instead of the second-in-command, reversing a reform imposed after a sexual assault scandal last year.
The reversal was recommended by a panel that reviewed the athletics department, the academy said in a statement. Academy spokeswoman Pam Ancker said she did not know the reason for the recommendation.
The change, one of 15 suggested by the panel after a five-month study, was effective immediately.
