Why Athletes Get into So Much Trouble and How We Can Stop It

Why are more and more athletes getting into serious trouble these days? That’s the question we can’t help asking ourselves when we see and hear all the media stories about sports stars in the public spotlight not for something great they did on the field but for something bad they did off the field. Instead of trying to keep up with the latest leaders in home runs or touchdowns, we’re tracking the latest charges leveled against athletes all over the country, some whose names we already knew as superstars and others whose names and reputations will be forever attached to what they did wrong. The crimes spill out like categories of sports statistics: rape, domestic violence, assault, theft, burglary, possession or distribution of drugs, embezzlement and even homicide. We shake our heads and wonder what’s going on. Where did all these bad apples come from? How can anyone who has gained fame or fortune playing a game they love turn into a common criminal? We want to throw the bums in jail, lock the door and throw away the key—unless the bad apple plays for our team, in which case we immediately assume he or she has been falsely accused and hope that athlete finds some way to get off the hook. One thing’s for sure. This problem shows no signs of going away any time soon. On the contrary, all signs point to a continued increase in the numbers of athletes getting into serious trouble outside of their sport. If left unchecked, athletes will go on displaying negative behavior that has a resounding effect not only on their lives, their families, their teams and their communities but on all of society. Athlete involved incidents of criminal or destructive behavior will keep popping up in the news at a steady rate until the whole issue is understood, progressively addressed and steered toward a bold new solution. That’s right, someone or something is going to have to emerge to stop this cycle of sports heroes acting totally out of line. At least the problem is beginning to become the subject of some talk shows. So-called experts appear and point out the obvious: from Little League to high school to college to pro sports, more and more athletes, along with many coaches and parents, are making news because of incidents of bad behavior. They also note that these incidents of misconduct are increasing exponentially in seriousness and scope. We have even witnessed examples of entire sports programs torn apart because of criminal behavior. None were more jolting or dramatic than the controversy surrounding the Penn State football program. Due to the fallout linked to the criminal acts of Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, head football coach Joe Paterno and other coaches and administrators were suspended, fired, arrested outright or had their reputations permanently tarnished. The NCAA leveled extreme sanctions against the school’s athletic program, including fines, probation, a long postseason ban and the rescinding of victories from previous years. Some of those sanctions were eventually rescinded, but this was one of many cases that shocked the public and drove home the reality that something hideous had latched itself onto a landscape that we want to believe is all about fun. More recently, the Baylor University athletics program is yet again embroiled in another scandal involving its Football Program. A member of the women’s volleyball team was reportedly drugged and gang rapped by as many as eight members of the football team. According to lawsuit already on file involving precious incidents approximately 31 Baylor football players are alleged to have committed at least 52 sexually related crimes between 2011 and 2014. So we know the problem is real. It’s being talked about more these days partly because we have recently begun to see a change in how the sports media responds to these sad stories. Instead of minimizing or practically ignoring these incidents of adverse athlete behavior, they’re beaming the spotlight on them. As a result, sports insiders no longer have the luxury of maintaining their “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. Administrators and team officials are being held responsible for their athletes’ actions and their own handling of what happens when an athlete does something wrong. The “do nothing” approach by which sports administrators could ignore these problems doesn’t work anymore. Sports fans and the general public have begun to recognize that these sports superstars are not so super after all. The reality is that these individuals are just as vulnerable and equally susceptible to the same life conditions that affect us all. In other words, we all have an equal opportunity to screw up. The only difference is that most of these guys and gals have a lot more money and resources to call upon when they get caught committing some destructive or criminal act, and they hope those resources will just make the problem go away. In pro sports especially, teams also ratchet up their power and money to try to squash the story. But that tactic doesn’t always work nowadays, as a growing surge of people are demanding that these incidents are taken seriously, with real punishment being dished out. Despite all the increased attention on this glaring problem in sports, we haven’t seen many suggestions on how to solve it. Very little is being done to stop this negative behavior and everything that contributes to it.