Political Football

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Two University of Iowa football players have been arrested on drug charges, including one felony count.

James Lee Cleveland, 19, and Arvell M. Nelson, 19, were arrested early Saturday on different charges.

Cleveland faces up to seven years in prison for tax stamp violation, a Class D felony, and two counts of unlawful possession of prescription drugs, both serious misdemeanors.

Nelson was arrested for possession of marijuana, a serious misdemeanor carrying a maximum of one year in prison.

Both players live in Hillcrest Hall on the University of Iowa campus.

According to police reports, Iowa public safety officers found marijuana in plain view on top of Nelson’s desk at 2:41 a.m. Nelson admitted the marijuana was his, according to the complaint.

About 20 minutes later, Cleveland consented to a search of his room. Police founds 21 units of oxycodone and 24 does of carisoprodol in his desk.

Cleveland admitted the pills _ for which no prescription or label was found _ were his, according to the complaint.

Oxycodone usually is prescribed for pain relief, while carisoprodol is a muscle relaxer.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz and Athletics Director Gary Barta left on the annual Hawkeye cruise Saturday and are unavailable for comment until March 3.

“Obviously until we get all the facts and examine what’s going on, we’ll have no comment,” said Phil Haddy, Iowa’s sports information director. “In this case or with anything legal, until we have all the facts, we’ll have nothing to say on it.”

Cleveland is a 6-foot-1,195-pound, red-shirt freshman wide receiver from Baytown, Texas. He finished second in the team in catches in 2007, with 36 for 464 yards. He started 11 games last year.

Nelson, a 6-foot-4 backup quarterback from Cleveland, Ohio, played sparingly at quarterback and wide receiver last year. A red-shirt freshman, he is expected to challenge for the starting quarterback position this spring.

The arrests were merely the latest legal troubles for Iowa’s football players:

_ Dominique Douglas and Anthony Bowman pleaded guilty to credit card fraud, an aggravated misdemeanor reduced from a felony

_ Clint Huntrods was arrested for public intoxication

_ Four players, Ryan Bain, Bradley Fletcher, Ben Evans and Lance Tillison, were arrested for drunken driving

_ Dana Brown was arrested for domestic assault

_ Three players, Ricky Stanzi, Ryan Donahue and Tyler Gerstandt, were arrested for possession of alcohol under legal age

_ Brandon Myers was arrested for interference with official acts

Nelson was also arrested last August for failure to appear after an arrest for driving while his license was suspended.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

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