FREE ESSAY ON ATHLETES LIFES - DRUGS AND VIOLENCE

ATHLETES LIFES - DRUGS AND VIOLENCE

Heroes with Double Lives
Some Athletes in society today are considered heroes despite their double lives. Their
drug use and violence are brushed aside while leading their teams to victory
Who is your hero? If that question was asked to a group of people, some might think of
loved ones or family, and some may talk about doctors, firemen, or even a teacher.
However, most would probably say their hero was some celebrity or star athlete. While
some celebrities and athletes can justifiably be labeled heroes, there are some people
who may appear to be heroic, but lead a completely different life off the field.
Even movies in Hollywood mirror this double lifestyle. After watching Any Given Sunday in
class I was appalled by the casual drug use in the film by two particular football
players. During the day these two men made tremendous strides for their team (the
Sharks), but at night these men were completely different. They were snorting cocaine and
other illegal drugs while they appeared to be entertained by prostitutes. Even though
this movie was not based on a true story, it can very well resemble the truth in
athletics today. 
There are several athletes who have been arrested and convicted of crimes, however three
men have been the center of attention for the past few years. Players such as Daryl
Strawberry, Michael Irvin, and Ray Lewis have proved to be heroes for their team and even
the sports they play for, but their lives are far less than heroic. Drug use, sexual
assault, and murder are the charges brought upon some of these men.
Daryl Strawberry had always seemed like a natural when it came to baseball. He was a
starting player for the Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and the New York
Yankees. The Yankees labeled him a Star Outfielder. Playing professional since 1983, he
was an all-star player for eight consecutive years. Some people probably thought of him
as a hero, but failed to know the whole truth. 
Daryl Strawberry's problems with his personal life seemed to have surfaced around 1990.
That year he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and was allegedly going to use
the weapon on his wife. That same year, he was an all-star player. In 1993 he was
arrested for hitting his girlfriend while helping the L.A. Dodgers score 675 runs that
season. 1995 was also an interesting year for Strawberry. In that year alone he was
charged with failing to pay child support, owed $350,000 in back taxes which confined him
for six months in his home (except for baseball games of course!), and still played with
the Yankees to help them finish 2nd in the American League Eastern Division. 
Just four years later in 1999 he was arrested and put on eighteen months probation for
drug and solicitation charges. He was also suspended that year from baseball, but was
allowed to participate in postseason batting. Just this past October (2000), Strawberry
was put under house arrest for 2 years for driving under the influence and leaving the
scene of the accident. While he was under house arrest he left his home without
permission, and when he was found, he tested positive for cocaine. He was arrested for
that incident.
Michael Irvin is another athlete who had great statistics and was looked up to by Dallas
Cowboy fans. In his career he had 65 receiving touchdowns and had more than 11,500
receiving yards. Why was he only suspended for five games when he was found guilty of
cocaine possession? The first time found with cocaine, Irvin was suspended for five
games, and the second time he was also suspended five. Did Irvin not learn his lesson the
first time? 
In July of 1995 Michael Irvin was found guilty of cocaine possession and only received a
five game suspension. Just a year later Irvin was found in a hotel room with ten grams of
cocaine, one ounce of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia. Prostitution was also
suspected in the hotel room. Irvin received four years probation, a $10,000 fine, and was
suspended for another 5 games. His marijuana possession charge was also dropped. Six
months later Irvin was another hot topic of the media. He was arrested because he
allegedly held a gun to a twenty-three year old woman's head while teammate Erik Williams
forced her to have sex with him. Irvin denied the accusations and Barry Switzer (his
football coach) had no comment. Switzer also doubted that the allegations would distract
the team from practicing for the second round of playoffs against the Panthers.
According the NFL (National Football League), Irvin would not be restricted from playing
that week because of the accusations. He had to be convicted of it first. Also, his
attorney John Godden said that he would not be prevented from leaving the state while the
investigation was under way. It seems as though the NFL brushed aside the crime, and
would not believe the woman who accused Irvin. Irvin was allowed to practice for and play
in the playoff game against the Panthers despite the crime he had just committed with a
fellow teammate.
Another hero of the NFL is Ray Lewis who plays for the Baltimore Ravens. Lewis has been
an All-Pro three times, in 1999 he was the NFL's leading tackler, and this past January
he was named MVP of the Superbowl. The Ravens player faced murder charges along with two
other men because two people at a nightclub after the 2000 Superbowl were stabbed to
death. Lewis claims that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but he was the one
found with the knife. 
I am not a lawyer, and I was not there so I do not know what actually happened. However,
murder is a very serious charge, and the fact is that Lewis only spent fifteen days in
jail. He was fined a lot of money, but did not get suspended from any games for the next
season. The next season, he played all sixteen games. 
The point I am trying to make in this paper is that athletes who commit these crimes are
being let off way too easily. Even Ray Lewis says, ...the NFL hit me with one of the
biggest fines in sports history for a misdemeanor while the league's drug users, drunken
drivers, and wife beaters never get hit half as hard. That quote defends my argument
perfectly. When some people find out about illegal acts done by athletes, they may try to
cover it up or act like it does not happen. This issue raises another question in my
mind. Why won't the other teammates confront the drug user/wife beater/rapist? Also, if
the NFL knows that some players are using illegal drugs, why don't they administer drug
tests on a regular basis?
In Any Given Sunday two players were shown doing drugs. Some of the other players had to
know about it, and did not approve. The teammates doing the drugs were never caught in
the duration of the movie, and it did not seem like a big deal at all. The movie made it
seem that if you played football and were in the NFL, you could do whatever you wanted
to. Is this movie really fictional? I think not.
In conclusion, I am disgusted with athletes that get off easy for crimes they commit.
Some athletes get slaps on the wrists or fines for crimes that I could be put in jail
for. I am also appalled that the organizations that the athletes play for (NFL, NBA, MLB,
NHL...) seem to pretend they do not know what is going on. The organizations should take
an active stance against getting these tainted players off their teams. 
Why are athletes still getting off the hook for these heinous crimes? What can be done
about it? The solution is simple. The coaches and organizations that these athletes play
for should be under a rule of 2 strikes, and you're out! There is no reason why some of
these athletes should be allowed to compete in sports while having more than two
arrests/accusations/crimes committed! Daryl Strawberry should have been banned from Major
League Baseball back in 1993 if this rule was in affect. A murder is a totally different
story. Michael Irvin could have killed the woman while he held the gun to her head. He
should have never been allowed back in the NFL, and moreover, should not be allowed to be
a broadcaster for a pre-game show now! Since Ray Lewis was found innocent, I agree he
should still be allowed to play, but if he ever gets any arrests again, he should be
banned.
Whether it be the Daryl Strawberrys, Michael Irvins, or Ray Lewis's in the world, it is
blatantly obvious there is a problem with the double standard that is present in the
world of sports. Furthermore, these men's names should never appear in the same sentence
as 'hero' ever again.
Bibliography
-Any Given Sunday. Oliver Stone. Warner Brothers, 1999.
-Ray Lewis story-Unleashed (I couldn't do work cited because I didn't know enough
information on where it was from or when exactly it was written).
-Stats, Inc. Career Statistics - Primary. 1999. http://espn.go.com/nfl/profiles/
stats/primary/0232.html.
-Baro, Madeline. Williams, Irvin investigated on sex assault charges. 31 Dec. 1996.
http://amarillonet.com/stories/123196/williams.html. 
-Scott, Steve. Pretrial testimony begins in Irvin case. 12 June 1996. http://texnews.com/
cowboys/pretrial061296.html.
-Court TV.com. Baseball Star Daryl Strawberry arrested again, jailed. 25 Oct. 2000.
http://courttv.com/people/2000/1025/strawberry_ap.html.
-Sporting News. Drugs found in Irvin apartment. 14 June 2000. http://tsn.sportingnews.
com/nfl/20000811/252158.html. 
-Baseball Reference. Statistics for Strawberry. http://www.baseball-reference.com/
s/strawda01.shtml.