INDIANAPOLIS (April 26, 2007) -- Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian questions whether the NFL should even be conducting player interviews.
Polian said during a pre-draft news conference he thinks it is time to rethink the process or change the questions if there's any chance the videotaped interviews could wind up in the wrong hands.
"It is, I think, just awful that good guys who have absolutely no record of any untoward behavior or any positive tests or anything of that nature have had pejorative terms placed next to their names because of this supposed information," Polian said. "This is non-corroborated, non-substantiated and hidden behind anonymous people who take no responsibility for it."
Polian was angered by an article in Pro Football Weekly that reported three of this year's top draft prospects -- receiver Calvin Johnson, defensive end Gaines Adams and defensive end Amobi Okoye -- had experimented with marijuana in college.
The report cited unidentified club officials and said the information came from videotaped interviews at February's NFL Combine. Those interviews are then distributed to all 32 teams and are supposed to be confidential.
On April 25, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said teams will be penalized for leaking such information and has asked for a review of the interviewing procedures at the combine.
Polian said he agreed.
"As part of the competition committee, I think we need to take a look at whether this information needs to be shared or whether we need to do these kinds of interviews and ask these kinds of questions," Polian said. "Maybe we don't need them."
Polian said he believed Goodell would make a concerted effort to find who leaked the information about Johnson, Adams and Okoye but doubted the NFL would reveal the source of the information.
Asked whether it was possible the information was leaked by a team hoping to draft one of the three players later than they are projected, Polian said: "It's possible. I don't know what the motivation is, but it's not good."
