Roids on the Rise

Without a doubt in anyone's mind, drugs and steroids in sports, particularly professional and elite level sports, have spiked over the past decade or so.  Major League Baseball has just recently made their efforts to tighten the stranglehold on the performance enhancing drug ring.  However in Olympic sports, some feel the doping is only getting worse.

 

Ben Johnson, former 100 meter sprinter, who was also disgraced for taking an illegal substance at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and was stripped of his gold medal, feels the incentive is only getting worse because the prizes are bigger and sponsors and other monetary involvement is encouraging the athletes to take more shortcuts.  That 1988 race he participated in was considered possibly the dirtiest race in the history of athletics because six of the eight finalists were linked to doping allegations.  He feels that scientists and cooperating athletes are staying ahead of the testing curve and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), just is not receiving enough funding to catch such culprits.  He also had opinions on such athletes like Lance Armstrong, who was caught using PED's and recently confessed to his actions within the past year.  He felt his main mistake was coming back and racing again rather than just enjoying his retirement money. 

 

 

The Worst is Yet to Come

 

 

 

 



As we discussed in the October 31st and November 5th classes, PED's have clearly become a problem in high level sports.  The ease of access to certain drugs, the reckless and repeated use of them without concern for one's personal health and the stone face lying that occurs when the athletes are caught are the main scenarios we routinely see over and over.  With over 100 types of anabolic steroids, countless creams and pills available and new formulas being produced everyday, the issue of having that edge for athletes will always be the driving force for using illegal drugs and PED's.  Despite the lists that the NCAA and professional sports leagues revise every year, athletes and scientists are sadly finding a way around testing for periods of time.  The only logical solution to really send a message would be lifetime ban from that particular sport if caught with a positive test from a PED.  That would then force athletes to weigh their future and their love of the game versus a gamble and selfish impulse.

Are males the minority now?

The article being discussed is one where the effort to even out the "playing field" so much between males and females that males have actually become outnumbered and male athletic programs are being pushed out of high school and college programs at a much higher rate.

"From 1981 to 2005, male athletes per school declined 6 percent, and men’s teams per school dropped 17 percent. Meanwhile, female athletes per school rose 34 percent, and women’s teams per school rose 34 percent."

The blame actually comes through the immense focus on the two major sports in college, football and basketball, not necessarily Title IX.  Equality Mean Equal?

"Division I-FBS (formerly Division I-A), for example, basketball and football consume 80% of total men’s athletic expenses. Average expenditures on football alone in this division ($12+ million) exceed average expenditures on all women’s sports ($8+ million)."

Women’s Sports Foundation still feel shorted according to the article.  Women sports only make up about eight percent of television coverage, just ahead of horses, dogs and fishing.

 

 

As discussed in Coakley between pgs. 234-239 and in our November 19th class discussions, Title IX has become a more prevalent issue to school and administrators in the last twenty or so years.  The parameters of the anti discrimination law is to avoid exclusion of, denial of benefits or subjected to discrimination by any person, regardless of the sex.  In my opinion, this article is correct in the big revenue sports like football ad basketball are the real problems, as they are dwarfing any other programs in a typical FBS school and must maintain such high standards to stay afloat in the competitive mainstream.  Schools have become much more aware of leveling the playing field of male sport opportunities versus females, but in my humble opinion, too many mediocre football and basketball programs engulf the attention and monetary backing that neglect other sports programs in schools that have potential but lack funding.  Unfortunately, as we move forward, conferences and funding are only going to grow and the non revenue sports, basically any sport not football or basketball, will likely be absorbed sooner than later.

What have we done?

In the NFL,  66% of the players are black and 31% are white, black players were arrested nearly 10 times as often as white players (260 to 28), accounting for 88% of those NFL traffic-stop arrests. 687 total player arrests in the USA TODAY Sports database that spans 14 seasons, 607 involved black players, 88%.  Sometimes black athletes are profiled based on what they drive, where they hang out or how large and in shape they are.  The assumption is they may be up to no good.  They may have a point in their Unfair Profiling, and most white individuals cannot relate because we have never experienced such actions.

Officers insist they go based on reasonable suspicion, not profiling, because that would simply be "poor police work."

Darnell Dockett of the Arizona Cardinals was pulled over for speeding in 2011, but when he spoke with police they asked to search is car.  He refused and said they must obtain a search warrant and he began filming the traffic stop.  Ultimately he was released with no ticket, but he felt because of his size, color and car type, he was profiled.

Knowing their rights can help players if they are stopped.  Players cooperating during a traffic stop or simple police investigation and not aggravating the situation can help their cause to avoid a conflict. 

In class we discussed various definitions associated with situations of discriminating, stereotyping and prejudice.  In my opinion I do feel some black athletes get a bad rap for some of their misfortunes and run-ins with police.  I think despite police denying profiling and going based on reasonable suspicion, in certain areas the black community may tend to be more troublesome or less cooperative with law enforcement than others, so if any athlete is in or near that area, they are subject to that "quick to the trigger" kinds of accusations for that area.  If you see a nice car and a darker complected gentleman in a primarily black neighborhood or area that may be notorious with crime or disruptions, the police probably first think, where or how did he get that car? Drugs? Let's keep a closer eye on his actions.  And then they are put under a magnifying glass and suspicion turns into assumption, which is very wrong.

The Marijuana Movement

As marijuana is becoming more accepted legally and socially around our country, the NCAA is grappling with the idea of how to combat the increased use of it amongst its student athletes.  The chief medical officer, Brian Hainline, is concerned that synthetic marijuana, which contains synthetic chemicals along with the natural herb is dangerous and that version is becoming the most popular.  However, it is not considered a performance enhancing drug in all reality, with the only upside really being the ability to relax easier.  Still, action is being taken to avoid this steep climb in use within its student athletes.  To deter marijuana use, the NCAA is lowering the threshold, effective Aug. 1, for what determines a positive test. The threshold is being reduced from 15 to five nanograms per milliliter. The change will make it easier to detect marijuana usage based on urine testing.

Many schools do their own individual testing and hand out their own punishments, not necessarily trying to embarrass or dismiss the offenders, but to encourage deterrence and counseling for those that may have a problem stopping use of the drug.  A school like Purdue, depending on the circumstance of the student, they provide somewhat of a three strike approach before game time and real punishment is actually implemented.  At a school like Virginia Tech, first positive test of a prohibited substance enforces game time lost (one-tenth of the season).

Legal or Illegal?

As discussed in class on October 31st, in the cases of college athletes, whose sole tasks are to simply attend class and practice, they more evidently display deviance by using such illegal drugs as marijuana simply to relay a special image of themselves towards others or to be purposefully different than the standard student.  In the case of states that have not allowed marijuana to be used legally, this one breaks the law, and two reflects poorly back towards their teammates and athletic program they are a part of. 

Didn't Miss a Tweet

Despite the lavish lives that athletes enjoy, many have come accustom to expressing their off-the-field personalities through their social media accounts.  Some have millions of followers, like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.  Others are fairly tech deficient to the whole social media buzz and choose not to have such accounts on Twitter or Facebook.  There are also players like Julian Edelman, wide receiver for the New England Patriots.  He is up and coming in the "Twittersphere", with some recent success in the NFL, he has acquired a wave of followers in the past few months.  A marketing class at Emerson College in Boston is challenged every fall by their professor, David Gerzof Richard, to get in direct contact through social media with a local athlete or celebrity.  One team of students decided to pursue Edelman after checking out his Twitter activity and seeing his interaction frequency.  After some back and forth they were able to get Edelman to come to their class (below).

Edelman is evidently a hamburger connoisseur.  He openly states that he asks about good places to get a burger from time to time, but people now directly associate him with burgers.  "Do I eat burgers every day? No. But everyone thinks I eat a burger every day. So, you’ve got to be careful what you put on there because people absorb it.” 

Burger Time!

Athletes that may not be as publicly recognized as others can now use social media to create an  identity for themselves that was not available ten or more years ago.  Most athletes today are embracing this opportunity to directly interact with fans or even critics.  As discussed during class, social media is the interaction of the future as fans and players alike have taken positively to the technology.  It somewhat eliminates the middle man of marketing and advertising and fans now don't necessarily need to be sitting court side at the game to let the opinion be felt and weigh in on the sport world.  It helps propel athletes into the spotlight faster, sometimes in good or in bad ways.  This also impacts the team in some manner.  Many marketing agencies are now hired to monitor what players put on their social media accounts so as not to deface or embarrass the player or the company they play for. 

Footing the Bill

The Cleveland Browns essentially are renovating their stadium rather than using the $120 million to clean the streets or hire more of a police force.  The Mayor, Frank Jackson, assured that the money will go to good use as the city will only being paying some of that bill, where the general fund of Cleveland will get the rest.  The explanation for such expenses being taken is that stadiums and teams are usually obligated to. Teams don’t just secure public money for construction, they get promises for upgrades too, and those upgrades have to be substantial to meet terms of the lease.  So teams like the St. Louis Rams ask why don't we get a new stadium that we are in need of? If cities don’t hold their end of the deals, teams can opt out of leases, and opting out of leases means they can ask for new facilities or threaten to move elsewhere. 

All or Nothing

 

Is it financially worth it to add 5,000 seats to a stadium or are teams better off waiting until major changes are in the works?

 

As discussed in class following the midterm, stadium subsidies have good and bad implications on the city and the people of that city.  It creates jobs for the projects and infuses money locally, but the costs of the projects can also be costly as explained above.  Therefore the projects must be worth it or the teams are better off either saving  the money or they can opt out of unfavorable deals.  The use of public funds to construct and maintain facilities has been occurring more frequently for a number of years now and with organizations being pressured into constantly staying lavish and state of the art, major renovations or rebuilding are turning over venues sooner than ever before.

Don't Hit the Head, Don't Use the Head

 

Our fearless leader, Mike Tomlin, sending a message on a poster up at my high school outside of the football locker room to not lead with the head like a rhino and encouraging players to tackle like a normal, thinking human.  Football head injuries are escalating at an alarming rate in recent years and the question has to be raised, "what are they doing differently now than twenty years ago?"  The game itself has not changed in its principles and if anything, the penalties of a cheap hit have become quite hefty for players.  As this article notes, if rugby can manage to get by with no helmets and very few head injuries, then the NFL has no excuse either.  Football without violence is a very achievable statement and the true problem is in the tradition of the game as a tough guy, clash of titans type bout that I feel the players and coaches have developed in the modern era of sports in our society, as noted through our October 2013 class discussions of masculinity and violence in sports.  They choose to send messages on their own accord or from coaches requests like bounty's, which by the way is disgusting to hear that players are treating each other's well being like video game's competitive advantage, or strategic advantage to win.  

 

This is our world today, however.  We are not easily entertained anymore and the bigger, stronger and faster the players are, the more interested we are to see them torpedo into each other each week in the Fall.  We keep track of knock downs and hurries and sacks and as the statistical categories become more elaborate, the team's will utilize them in their decision making on what player's they want on the field, and the cycle of violence may never end because those stats mean higher paychecks.

 

 

  

If you have a weak stomach, this may not be a video you make all the way through. OR...you may just cheer at the top of your lungs after each bigger hit like an entire stadium does after a road player gets knocked stupid going across the middle.

Cheering for Keeps

Of all the sports that can be accused of recruiting violations, the last one that would likely be mentioned is cheerleading.  How bad must the basketball and football players feel?  The girls rooting them on are more highly sought after than they are.

Cheering on another level

Along with the unfair actions of high school recruiting, breaking up the cheer squad can lead to an epic showdown in the lunchroom.


It is truly unfortunate that such actions are taking place in our country for a sport, that, on a high school level, don't keep track of wins and losses.  It discourages other participants to stick with the sport because they recognize the two best cheerleaders in the state are walking the hallways Monday morning, whereas they were a distant, mythical newspaper clipping a week earlier.  The coach obviously has a say in such an instance and it is clear there are now two less spots on the squad for the girls that paid their dues and bided their time up through the classes.  As Coakley notes (2010, pg. 472), much of the focus of sports distracts the students from their primary reason of wearing that name across their uniform, to earn a respectable education.  The girls not as good take more time to practice their cheering to try and compete with the elite, neglecting their studies.  The recruits also are quite literally, as seen in the video, put on a higher pedestal where their family just so happens to purchase a house and join the gymnastics studio in the area the same week they start school.  It is very discouraging, especially from a sport that is not traditionally this corrupt. 

BCS a Burden?

With the 2012 BCS title game netting, according to Bleacher Report, each team $18 million each (CFB 2012-13 Bowls: Updated Broadcast Information, Payouts and Favorites, 2012), the Benjamins ($100 bills with Ben Franklin on the bill, hence the name) are deservedly well sought after.  But are schools putting their financial priorities in the right places? The SEC has undoubtedly been the juggernaut of college football in the last decade, but at what cost to its non athlete students and academics?

The article below details the median expenditures that big conferences and subdivisions spend on athletes versus non athletes at their schools.  The SEC is alarmingly outspending for their athletes, over twelve times as much, as compared to their non revenue generating students.  Most of the conferences primary revenue sources come from TV contracts, bowl games and donations.  Schools are not self sustaining and ultimately the non athletic students are the ones paying to allow the athletic programs to continually spend so much.  As noted in October 2013 class discussions, less than one out of every five big division one programs make money ( 23/228) and typically the exposure of national title and bowl games increases applications to the school, but not necessarily the quality of student.  You be the judge, but proceed with caution, the numbers are startling:

How big of a business?

I believe this is ridiculous that such ratios can keep going up without anyone saying anything like, "why are we continuously winning trophies and putting up banners, but barely breaking even financially?"  Much like our society today, sports are reflecting the focus on the wrong things, which is why our country is in so much trouble financially and moving forward in the wrong direction for the foreseeable future.

Sending More than One Message

In a time where our watches can now make phone calls, take pictures and do just about everything a computer can, our younger society finds itself vulnerable to drowning with the tidal wave of technology.  The NFL, arguably the most recognized sport brand in the United States, has been making the push to combat childhood obesity and sedentary lifestyles in youth with the NFL Play 60 campaign.  To further inspire the youngsters, many players  of area NFL teams visit local schools granted the Play 60 campaign to send a message straight from the role models' mouths.  The kids seem to absorb the message made by a filthy rich athlete much more easily than their loving parents.  However manipulative by the NFL, the campaign has proven very effective.  What could be better for the kids at these selected schools?  As we had discussed in September classes in 2013, obesity is a large issue (up 37% over the last 5 years) in our country.  The benefits of the Play 60 message:

• bump shoulders with NFL players
• has no specific specialization to any sport; just PLAY anything and everything at some point everyday for at least 60 minutes
• no "winning" motive
• sponsored community program that has no limits to where the campaign at

Who can forget this little guy from a Play 60 commercial?  Makes me laugh every time.  Probably could have started over Cam a few times last season from his performances.

Ravens visit play 60 school


The NFL, in my opinion, hit it on the head.  As video games and televisions become bigger and better, something must offset this in order to create a base for healthy lifestyles.  Start active, stay active.  Despite the link depicting a youth Crossfit session near the end, it does in fact send a great message that the players seemingly enjoy relaying and the children openly acknowledge.  Why couldn't we have had this in elementary school?  I would have loved to skip class for NFL sponsored pep rallies.