Conduct unbecoming

High school athletic directors cope with pro sports scandals, By Mark J. Yablonsky Sparta - Pat Saga reads the sports pages every day with more than ordinary interest. As the athletic director of Sparta High School, the scandals making headlines, particularly those involving performance-enhancing drugs, are issues that can affect the athletes under his charge. “It’s something we talk to players about all the time,” he said. “When things like that come up, we take advantage of it to use as an educational boost.” Last year, reports that Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giant slugger challenging Hank Aaron’s all-time home-run record, had used steroids and human growth hormone dominated national headlines. This summer, it’s been the scandal surrounding Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who faces losing his title and suspension from cycling after drug testers discovered unnaturally high levels of testosterone in his urine. But it’s not just the pros who turn to the wonders of chemistry to get bigger, stronger and faster. Steroid use has been documented among high school athletes as well. This year, Saga pointed out, New Jersey became the first state to institute testing for performance-enhancing drugs in high school athletics. The testing is limited. Only athletes who qualify for state championship competitions are subject to random testing, with the individual schools forced to pick up the tab. Saga has talked about that, too, with his athletes, who, if they test positive for one of 80 banned substances, stand to lose one year of eligibility. It is that win-at-all-costs mentality that is the leading cause of possible negative messages being sent to young athletes, one local athletic leader said. “Personally, I think it comes down to the over-emphasis of winning, and not taking enough pride to do what you need to do to get it done right,” said Vernon High School Athletic Director Bill Edelman. “If an athlete, male or female, works hard and prepares and gives it the best effort they have, then they have won, regardless of the score. Far too often, I think everyone is looking at the same result: ‘did you win?’” Psychologists feel learning plays a big role in such attitudes. A now-classic 1959 experiment by psychologist Albert Bandura seemed to support that. He showed one group of children an example of someone displaying affection toward a doll. He showed another group someone displaying violence toward an identical doll. In both instances, the conduct, either loving or violent, was emulated by the children. That’s why educators like Saga and Edelman think it’s so important to talk to young athletes about the examples they are bombarded with in the media. And it’s not just steroids. Scandal has always been a part of sports, steroids and other drugs being just the newest additions to a list including gambling, sexual assault, alcoholism, drug addiction and extramarital liaisons. Landis and Bonds are the highest-profile athletes recently linked to performance-enhancing drugs. The newest poster child for gambling and illicit sex is Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca, whose private life has aired out on the front pages of New York’s tabloids. Then there’s Maurice Clarett, the hero of Ohio State’s last national championship football team, who was recently arrested in Ohio after a police chase. In his car, cops found three loaded hand guns, an assault weapon and a bottle of vodka. Clarett was wearing body armor and was stopped in the neighborhood of a woman scheduled to testify against him in a robbery case. And don’t forget Kobe Bryant, perhaps the best player in the NBA, who three years ago was accused of sexually assaulting an employee of the hotel in which he was staying. That case ended with an out-of-court settlement. Psychologists say that parents and other supervising adults should explain that just because someone is a great athlete, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she is a great person. Later on, when athletes reach adolescence and may be subject to the pressures of stardom and trying to obtain collegiate scholarships, the effects of the bad behavior of their heroes could be greater, experts warn. Edelman says that proper educational values can be the best preventive medicine for what has appeared to become a national epidemic. “I’ve always been a work-ethic man,” Edelman said. “Good things come to people who work hard and do it the right way. And student athletes pick up on that right away.” Pointing to Chuck Tepper, Vernon High’s well-regarded head football coach as an example, Edelman says the respect the coach shows for his players and opponents has an enormous effect on parents, many of whom have remarked, “‘Hey, I would love for my son to play for your coach because of the way he treats his players.’ And that’s what it’s all about.” “If you work hard and train the right way; if you win, by golly, congratulations,” Edelman continued. “And if you lose, you have nothing to be ashamed of because you’ve given it your best effort. I’ve been blessed by being around some wonderful people. And Coach Tepper is a great example. He’s just totally class.”