Mizzou fan faces federal drug charges

Coolley’s indictment could spell trouble for the Mizzou basketball program

A Missouri men’s basketball fan is among more than a dozen people facing federal drug conspiracy charges for cocaine distribution.

Levi Coolley, a 33-year-old car stereo shop owner, was on several team flights during 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 basketball seasons, according to the Columbia Tribune. The Tribune obtained flight manifests from the University of Missouri under state public record laws.

Coolley was on the Missouri team plane during trips to Boise, Idaho, and Phoenix in 2009; Buffalo, N.Y., in 2010; and to Washington, D.C., in 2011. In March, Coolley was arrested by FBI agents at the Missouri team hotel in Omaha, Nebraska. This arrest coincided with the shocking Missouri loss to Norfolk State in the 2012 NCAA Basketball Tournament.

In late May, a federal grand jury indited Coolley on four counts of drug distribution alleging that he conspired to sell more than 11 pounds of cocaine from January 2005 through mid-March as well as less than 110 pounds between July 2011 and March 16 of this year.

Both Missouri Athletic Director Mike Alden and Missouri spokesman Chad Moller expressed surprise in the findings regarding Coolley. However, Moller said, “We conducted a review, and we were comfortable with the results. It’s very concerning, and very troubling to hear that people who come around your program be accused of this type of thing. At a basic level, you try to trust that people are doing the right thing. But it’s impossible to know the background of everybody.”

These findings come at a time when the Missouri basketball program had one of the best seasons in program history. Alden, Moller and basketball head coach Frank Haith are all professing Christians. However, even though they are men of character, the business they are in is hard to police.

College students view college as one of the first times to truly get away from their parents and their authority. Thus, these same college students do not want to put themselves under the authority of a coach or administrator. When you combine that with the importance our culture puts on sports, it is a recipe for young sports stars to receive improper benefits.

These facts simply illustrate the need for Christian evangelism on college campuses. Not only do these young people receive the Lord (which is the most important consequence of organizations like The Navigators), they also learn to abide by authority and rules. And that is something that all college athletic programs need to avoid damaging allegations.