NCAA Outlaws the Spitters in All Postseason Games

Chew on this for a while. The NCAA says you can’t use smokeless tobacco in the College World Series, and some players are so mad they could spit.

“I don’t know how I’ll play without it,” said catcher Jimmy Holland of North Carolina State, who has chewed tobacco since he was 12. “I never have before.”

The NCAA has banned the use of all tobacco products in postseason play, a rule that went into effect last December. Until now, however, it had little effect: very few college basketball players partake.

But with the NCAA baseball tournament opening Thursday, it has become an issue.

“Heck, I can go through a can of Copenhagen in a day and a pack of Red Man in a game,” Holland said.

“I’ve tried to quit a thousand times, but I start back after a couple of days. I just can’t go on the field without it. It just goes with baseball, and I guess I won’t completely be able to stop until I hang up my spikes.”

The new rule not only affects baseball, but all NCAA championship events in the postseason. Even coaches and umpires are prohibited from using tobacco.

“We’re beginning to get additional evidence regarding the use of smokeless tobacco,” said Frank Uryasz, director of sports sciences with the NCAA. “We also got a number of letters reminding us that NCAA athletes are role models, and I think those people are right.”