The biggest problem in athletics is not overpaid players. It is not the debate over salary caps. It is not even high ticket prices. It is high athletes -- drug use in sports.
Since many of us were born and sports exploded in popularity in the 1980s, hundreds, and probably thousands of professional and major college athletes have been arrested on drug charges. Fortunately, a few sobered up and continued their careers.
Unfortunately, however, many more athletes have not sobered up and are still allowed to continue their careers. The consequences have been abundant. Many players experience a sharp decline in play due to using and throw away the talent of which many people can only dream. Other athletes hit drugs heavily as soon as their careers were over. And some have even died.
Just two weeks ago, former baseball MVP Ken Caminiti, 41, died of a heart attack, which at his age, can almost certainly be attributed to rampant cocaine abuse. But his death is just the latest tragedy on a very long list.
Remember the death of Maryland basketball prodigy Len Bias? Many expected him to be one of the greatest players ever, but he dropped dead of a cocaine overdose at age 22.
Does the name Lyle Alzado ring a bell? Alzado was the original poster child for illustrating how heavy steroid use could mangle a people's health, or kill them. Alzado died at age 42 from brain cancer. Prior to his death, he said steroids caused the cancer.
Then there was Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl offensive lineman Mark Tuinei, who died at age 39 after overdosing on a mix of heroin and a stimulant.
But it certainly doesn't take death to realize the horrible effects of drugs on athletes with so many athletes' careers being flushed down the toilet, or being severely tainted because of substance abuse.
Is Lawrence Taylor better known for being one of the best linebackers ever, or for his drug addictions? Could he have been thought of as the greatest linebacker ever without the drugs? The same can be said for Michael Irvin. Could his production have been even greater without the substance abuse?
For Valley natives, remember the Suns' Walter Davis? One of Phoenix's best players ever threw away part of his career while sitting in rehab. And there was Richard Dumas, the exciting rookie forward who helped lead the Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993. He hit up drugs that summer and did not even play half a season after that. He was last seen washing cars.
Finally, it doesn't take a substance supposedly as powerful as cocaine or heroin to impede an athlete. You know the marijuana commercials that say "weed" will make you lazy and generally slow you down?
Shawn Kemp used to be one of the most dominating players in the NBA. After repeated drug arrests, he is now a bench-warming burnout with a long list of paternity suits. Former UA guard Damon Stoudamire averaged nearly 20 points per game in his first few seasons in the NBA. Now, after being arrested three times in 17 months for marijuana possession, he hasn't averaged 14 points in six years.
And is anybody really going to contend that Ricky Williams quit the NFL for any reason other than to smoke dope?
Even at ASU, former quarterback Ryan Kealy strangely had his best season in the maroon and gold during his freshman year. He followed that year with three sub-par seasons, as rumors of alcohol and marijuana abuse ran rampant before he was arrested for DUI prior to his senior year.
Perhaps the saddest thing about drugs in sports is that no lessons are learned about substance abuse, even when athletic heroes throw their lives away to get high. No one notices if a crack head from the street dies from drugs, and few care. But when a professional athlete is ruined or dies from drugs, millions care, but no changes are made.
Caminiti was a well-known substance abuser and was even the focus of a major investigation regarding steroid use in baseball two years ago by Sports Illustrated. Yet, somehow with his fame and fortune, Caminiti still couldn't get the help he needed to kick the addiction. Will repeat user Darryl Strawberry be the next to die at a young age?
But then again, why would any other athlete be in a hurry to sober up?
Too often, an arrest for drugs is no problem for athletes. Unless you consider sitting a couple games out on suspension a problem. And how about serving jail time? Do athletes even have to serve jail time if they are arrested?
The problem of drugs in sports is the same as it is in society. There is no motivation to stop using because penalties are not tough enough.
Perhaps we should try year-long suspensions for marijuana, followed by two-year suspensions for the more "hardcore drugs." And repeat offenders shouldn't get another chance. Hopefully, that would serve as motivation to kick the habit, and players may be lucky enough to have productive careers when their suspensions are over. At least, they will still have lives when their careers are over.
Reach the reporter at christopher.drexel@asu.edu.
