National Collegiate Athletic Association |
CommentOctober 12, 1998
Guest editorial -- College sports must end ties with alcohol
BY DONNA SHALALA
The most recent data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism indicate that almost 90 percent of college students have used alcohol. More than 40 percent binge drink, and binge drinking is more prevalent among college students than non-college students the same age. I am personally haunted by the problems of young people and drinking. As chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, I once recruited a brilliant young man from upstate by promising him the seat next to me at the opening football game. The night before his high-school graduation, a drinking party ended his life. Each fall I remember the empty seats that he and too many of his generation leave open. There have been too many alcohol-related deaths at too many schools. But the problem goes beyond alcohol poisoning or car accidents involving alcohol. Alcohol abuse can lead to later health problems, including certain types of cancer, and is frequently a factor in assault, date rape, suicide and drowning. In fact, most of the serious problems that I dealt with on the two college campuses I led were related to students drinking. But campus drinking often doesn't start on campus. Research tells us that drinking in high school is highly predictive of binge drinking in college. The number of 12th- graders who drank five or more drinks in a row at least once during a two-week period increased in 1997, while the number of seniors who thought that having five or more drinks once or twice each weekend was harmful decreased. Nobody should point the finger solely at universities, athletics departments and the NCAA for this continuing tragedy, or suggest that athletes are more involved with alcohol than non-athletes. They are not. But the nation does have a problem, and universities, colleges and the NCAA can and should play a major role in the solution. Right now, advertising restrictions apply only to NCAA championships. That is not good enough. The time has come to sever the tie between college sports and drinking -- completely, absolutely and forever. Schools must consider voluntary guidelines that say "No alcohol advertising on the premises of an intercollegiate athletics event, no bringing alcohol to the site of an event, no turning a blind eye to underage drinking at tailgate parties, and on campus, and no alcohol sponsorship of intercollegiate sporting events." Certainly this will have an impact on revenue. There has been stiff resistance, both inside and outside the NCAA, to these kinds of tough guidelines in the past. But the time has come to seriously reconsider them, especially in light of the recent alcohol-related deaths and the research suggesting that advertising may influence adolescents to be more favorably disposed to drinking. Breaking the connection between sports and drinking is only part of the solution to the problem of alcohol and drugs on campus. We also need to focus much more on prevention, early detection and timely intervention. Research shows that college students who receive even a single counseling session will sometimes significantly reduce their drinking. And there is some evidence that challenging false expectations about drinking can reduce the use of alcohol among college students. But individual counseling and intervention are not enough. We need a comprehensive prevention strategy on every campus. Government will never be able to prevent alcohol and drug abuse alone, and it shouldn't have to. Universities and colleges, athletics departments, the media, businesses and families must all be part of this fight. Many universities are already thinking creatively about ways to end alcohol abuse on campus; some are focused on prevention. But the NCAA must exercise more of its influence and leverage with universities, sports programs and students to break the link between collegiate sports and alcohol, and fight the culture of drinking on campus. It's the right thing to do. Donna E. Shalala is U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Comment -- Baseball provided true heroes in 1998Now that Major League Baseball's regular season is over, the home-run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, along with Cal Ripken's games-played streak, will be etched in history. As baseball fans, we were fortunate to witness these feats and several others that recalled the glory days of the sport. What the records book will not show, however, is the humanity with which these players achieved their greatness. That, in our opinion, is the memory that will last longest from the historic 1998 season. McGwire climbed into the stands to salute the Maris family after hitting his 62nd home run. Sosa trotted in from right field to congratulate his home-run rival that night. Ripken accepted applause on the night his streak ended, then gestured for the game to go on. Those genuine moments transcended the actual feats in terms of emotion. With all the greed in sports, and the continuing national embarrassment of our presidential ordeal, baseball united the entire country. The 1998 season proved that there are true heroes, and that the world needs and appreciates them. The accomplishments and sincerity of baseball's historic achievers have answered the question, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?" The metaphor is no longer relevant.
The Tufts University
Opinions -- Games not healthy if winning is the only objective
Tom Osborne, former football coach "When it is no longer fun, when winning becomes the sole objective, when fans base their self-esteem on the outcome of a football game, then the atmosphere surrounding the game can be unhealthy."
Women's sports
Pat Summit, women's basketball coach "Gradually, we're making strides. Women are still playing catch-up. I know when I started in coaching, I felt at times like we were the second-class citizens, and it's not really fair to us. "Our best example had to come from the men and how they were doing things at Tennessee in men's basketball and football. In time, our attendance increased. Our skill level is better. Certainly, budgets are better and we have resources in place to build and maintain the program."
Billie Jean King, former tennis player "There's a pathway now -- from high school to college to the pros. As a child, there wasn't that pathway, and it was very frustrating for me. I promised myself I would try to change that. When a child sees an event, I want them to sense that they can relate to the people out there. I don't like it when the only girl a little girl can relate to is a Laker Girl."
Performance-enhancing drugs
Kevin McDermott "Kids see Mark McGwire break a record while he looks like Popeye, and they miss the point that there is also skill involved in his performance, that he still has to hit the ball with accuracy. "Kids see the use of enhancers as a way to get them into college and professional sports. It's a big issue since they're legal and sold over the counter. Cigarettes, alcohol and caffeine are legal drugs, too, but we don't give them to kids. Creatine and androstenedione are drugs, and we have no idea right now what the long-term effects of taking them will be. It's important for kids to understand that for everything you think is a shortcut, there is a side effect. There is no easy way to be an athlete, except through diet, nutrition, and strength and conditioning naturally."
James Berry, M.D. "Andro is basically an anabolic steroid no matter what anybody says. It's one atom different than testosterone. It has the same bulking effect of any other anabolic steroid, with the same side effects."
Skip Bayless, columnist "The one thing I know for sure about andro is that it is no laughing matter. The more I listen to the experts' pros and cons, the more I believe baseball should move quickly to ban it. "In 1996, NFL doctors concluded andro was just an anabolic steroid in sheep's clothing. That's why the NFL, the NCAA, the pro tennis tours and the Olympics have banned andro and all its evil little brothers, testosterone precursors called DHEA, Tribulus terrestris and chrysin. "None of these is illegal. But they should be. "Each fell through a loophole in the 1994 Supplements Act that allows any supplement derived from natural sources to be sold over the counter. Andro is found in the pollen of Scotch pine trees. "(Mark) McGwire would have you believe it's no more dangerous than bee pollen. "But like it or not, McGwire must accept that he has a responsibility to kids who want to 'be like Mark.' At the very least, he should repeatedly warn kids during interviews against rushing out and buying andro as if it's muscle-building nitro. Of course, nutrition stores across the country are now reporting that they can't keep the stuff in stock. "What long-term damage might andro do to the liver, which converts it to testosterone? Might it cause testicular cancer? Can it be psychologically addicting? Might it send some personalities into what, during the height of steroid abuse, was called ' 'roid rage'? "Doctors can't tell you for sure because they haven't had enough time to study andro. "But one nationally known bodybuilder and sports nutritionist has a strong opinion. Houston-based Keith Klein has experimented with andro. "Klein says it definitely should be a prescription drug. During research studies, several of his clients and proteges reported 'dramatic gains in lean muscle mass.' But Klein says he couldn't stay on andro for long because 'I experienced a blue depression unlike anything I'd ever felt.' "
Racial images
Jamie Williams former football player "You see all these images of black men breaking four and five tackles, sacking the quarterback, slamming a tomahawk dunk over a 7-foot white guy. You see them every single day and you're left with the perception of the black athlete as a dominating being with a blood lust for violence. "I see it even today with me. It's all subtle. I'll be introduced to a guy, and he'll say, 'Oh, you could crush me,' or 'You're not going to kill me if I say this, are you?' ... "Two black players said something to the coach, and he just dismissed the suggestions. One of our star black players made a suggestion and the coach even wrote him off. A few minutes later, a white player says almost the same exact thing and the coach goes, 'Oh, that's a great idea.' Then another white player makes another suggestion and coach says, 'Yeah, we'll try that.' " "I went up to him afterward and said, 'You're about to have a revolt on your hands.' And to the coach's credit, he came back a few days later and said we were right. He said he had to do better."
Basketball recruiting
Mike Krzyzewski, men's basketball coach "We've put so much emphasis on the summer, we've taken education out of the recruiting process. We've made the school year not nearly as important as it used to be. "With some kids, you never talk to their high-school coach or their guidance counselor. You never see him on his home turf, and add value to the people he comes into contact with every day, so he'll say, 'They must be important.' If everything is done in the summer, that becomes more important, and the danger is that the people who run the summer aren't under any rules."
Shoe companies
Fang Mitchell, men's basketball coach "Some shoe companies have become too powerful. They're getting involved with young people at an early age, and because they're catering to them, it's become harder for college coaches to motivate them. If you've been given a lot early, what is there to get excited about? "I tell kids, 'We're going to Hawaii this season.' Well, they've been to Europe already."
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That should alarm everybody concerned about the welfare of students, including parents, professors, advisors, coaches -- and the NCAA.