$20,000 in NFL Drug Test Urine, Fight with Emmitt Smith Highlight Swinton Stories

Little Rock native, former Dallas Cowboy made side money keeping teammates from being suspended, provides details behind how fight with Hall of Famer shortened time in DFW

Author:
Kent Smith
Updated:
Aug 5, 2023 7:09 PM EDT
Original:
Aug 5, 2023

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Half a teacher's yearly salary in side money from selling urine. A fight with Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith. They're just two of the stories Little Rock native Reggie Swinton shared over the Central Arkansas airwaves Friday afternoon on 103.7 The Buzz's "Out of Bounds" radio broadcast as a taste of his upcoming book.

Never has an Arkansas athlete had as many indirect ties to the Razorbacks without actually having played at an in-state university as Swinton. When former Razorback coach Danny Ford didn't come running down to Little Rock Central to offer him a scholarship to Arkansas, Swinton took a shot on a fellow Central Arkansas native, Houston Nutt. Swinton dominated at Murray State for three seasons before Nutt took off for Boise State and eventually Arkansas.

After a stint bouncing around the NFL, CFL and XFL, he found himself on the Arkansas Twisters of the AFL2 in the newly opened Alltel Arena in downtown Little Rock. There he found his mojo again, becoming a huge local star. His offensive coordinator, Ron Calcagni, a former Razorback quarterback, recommended him to the Dallas Cowboys where he became a receiver and a record-breaking return specialist for former Arkansas offensive lineman turned NFL owner, Jerry Jones.

And that's where the stories that stopped down the show Friday begin. Coming out of Murray St., word got around rather quickly the new guy was straight edge. That made him a valuable asset off the field.

"So, you know players get drug tested," Swinton said. "There were certain players who knew that I have never smoked marijuana. Here I am 48 years old, I have never smoked marijuana. You find out you are getting drug tested the night before. They come by your room, they put that piece of paper under your door and you've got to be there at five in the morning. When guys get that piece of paper they run down to my room and they're like 'Hey, I need some urine,' and I'm like 'Cool.' I should have been charging more. I would do $1,000 a cup."

He soon became in such demand that even at what he considered a discount price, Swinton said he hauled in $20,000 each training camp.

"Now when y'all hear about a guy that he tests positive, that's the third time he's been caught cause the first two times it don't come out," Swinton said. "So when y'all hear about it, he's been caught twice already. So, to avoid that and losing those four game checks 'Hey Reggie can you?' and I'm like 'Yeah, give me the cash. Show me the cash homey.' I would make so much money in camp man. But not just me. There were so many players. I won't name them."

Earlier in the show Swinton began telling the story of a fight during camp between him and linebacker Wally Ranier in Detroit that ended with the two having a good time joking in the ice baths while everyone else toiled under the heat on the practice field. That led to another story of a fight in practice, this time against Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, that didn't end nearly as well. In fact, he believes it ended his time in Dallas.

"This was Week 8 or 9. He was a few weeks way from breaking the record so all the focus was on him," Swinton said. "It's the week we're playing Carolina and it's a Friday. I wasn't aware Rocket and Joey may not play and I haven't done all four positions since camp – ya know z, y, x and w. So Rocket and Joey didn't practice on Friday so they put me in the slot position. I knew it, but I hadn't run in like a month or so and there are so many plays you forget some."

The rust at the position caused him to break in instead of out on a dig route in the midst of a practice where tensions were running high. Former Georgia quarterback Quincy Carter threw the ball where he should have been and it got picked off by Pat Dennis who returned it for a touchdown.

"So I get in the huddle and my receiver coach Wes Chandler, he's like "Learn your S*@% dog!
"I'm like 'Coach my bad.'
'Learn your S*@% dog!'
I'm like 'Coach, you see Jerry Jones right on the sidewalk over there," Swinton said. "Chill out before I get cut.' And he yelled at me "Learn your S*@% dog!

This interaction made Swinton angry. Instead of continuing the back-and-forth, he went to the huddle where settled in beside Smith, took his helmet off and picked up a towel to wipe his face and regroup. That's when he said Smith decided to pick up where Chandler left off.

"'Learn your S*@% and shut up.'
"I said 'What?'
"'Learn your S*@% and shut up.'"

Swinton said he responded with the strongest of expletives, then turned around to throw the towel on the ground. That's the moment his career changed.

"While my back is turned, he slapped me in the back of my head as hard as he could," Swinton said. "And when I tell you I seen stars – teeth got gritty and mouth got tingly. I tried to shake it off man, but I was dizzy because he slapped me extremely hard in the back of my head."

It took a second to stop himself from blacking out, but once Swinton got his wits about him, he snapped. He took off after Smith in retaliation.

"I always tell people Emmitt Smith strong," Swinton said. "We never threw a punch, but we tusseled. When I went on the ground he stepped on my stomach with his cleats and left his cleat marks on my stomach for about a whole year, right?"

While the stomp did damage, it accomplished little in bringing an end to the skirmish. Once he got to his feet, Swinton developed tunnel vision on his mission. He was getting to Smith and no one was going to stop him. And that was true until someone did.

"I'm trying to get him, when [Hall of Fame offensive lineman] Larry Allen grabs me," Swinton said. "When Larry grabbed me I couldn't move. Larry picked me up with one arm.
"He don't talk much but he dips a lot. And he said 'Calm down. Calm down before you get cut. You fighting the wrong one.'"

He would eventually realize Allen was right, but not anytime soon. Emotions were boiling and Swinton wasn't about to let it go.

"I am sitting there in my locker and he walks in and I just stare at him all the way down and the whole locker room is looking at me to see if I am going to go over there to him, right?" Swinton said. "I am just staring him down. Everybody showers. Everybody is leaving. I'm still sitting there at my locker in my birthday suit just staring at this man like I wanna go over there and get him."

Smith finally left without incident, leaving Swinton alone naked fuming for another half hour. By the time he made his way home word had trickled out. In a time before social media, the moment had gone viral.

"When I get home on Friday, my girlfriend, now my wife [Patricia Walker-Swinton], she knew about it already because Emmitt's wife had called her and told her about it, so my girl knew about it already," Swinton said. "So move on to Sunday in the pregame, when I come out the locker room and the fans all boo me. They boo me bad because it's all on TV. Now Phil Simms and Deion are on all TV that Sunday morning talk about how Reggie Swinton disrespectful. How can he fight this guy?. So they're making me look bad in the media. Thank God social media wasn't out back then.

As the team came out of the tunnel, fans saw Swinton and immediately turned on him, booing him angrily.

"Why am I getting booed? He slapped me," Swinton said. "I had never got booed before in my life so my mind was gone and he seen that. Right before I went back in, he grabbed me at mid-field and he hugged me in front of everybody and he apologized. Everybody seen it and everybody starts to clap and cheer. But at that point, my mind is gone. How are y'all talking bad about me when he put his hands on me and disrespected me in practice on Friday. But again, I fought the wrong one.

Two weeks later Swinton lost his job as a returner despite being considered one of the top returners in the league. For him, it became a long line of repercussions that he still sees as retaliation.

"Woody Dantzler became the kick return guy because I fought Emmitt," Smith said. "The following year I get traded. They took me off of kick and punt return and put me on punt team and kick-off team. I'm not a tackler man, so in my mind they are setting me up for failure."

Swinton didn't indicate when the book is coming out and there appears to be no information online as to a release date. However, he did have this to say.

"The book will take you on a huge emotional ride," Swinton said. "You're gonna laugh. You're gonna cry. You're gonna learn everything about the NFL that you probably never expected to go on inside. Now I won't telling things I can't tell like locker room talk, but everything around it, I will tell."

Swinton's full comments on the show can be heard here.