One Tree, Many Leafs

In the middle of English class one day, the starting linebacker of our junior varsity football team turned to me, grunted 'let's go', and got up to leave. It was the first and last time I recall him ever speaking to me directly. Our teacher, Mrs. Dobbs, naturally stopped him demanding an explanation. He said defiantly, 'Have game today, catch bus now', turned to me and said 'coming?' I looked at Mrs. Dobbs, old, cranky, burning a hole in my forehead, then looked back at Joe, who had put on 30 pounds of muscle since I had met him during the summer, and seemed to be a much angrier kid. The entire class held it's collective breath, waiting for my decision. I had forgotten that I was even on the team, so it took me time to process the power I finally had to actually walk out in the middle of English class. The indecision alone angered him (of course it could have been the steroids, who knows?). He 'pshawed' me, then left. Enjoying the power I suddenly had I sauntered out of the classroom after him, soaking it in. I ended up getting a C- in English, and never played in a game that wasn't garbage time. That was pretty much the end of my football career. Joe Player went on to start on the varsity squad two years of high school, and went on to start in college, after which he faded into obscurity, like the rest of us.

Of course, who knows, maybe Joe got drafted, or played in the pros undrafted. Maybe he got on a practice squad somewhere. Most likely, though, Joe went on to eek out an average living like the rest of us. Even so, like a handful of the star players on our high school football team, and those few who made it to the college level, school life was good. Joe got to leave class when football dictated, he was passed with the help of the football coaches, who taught classes such as Science and Math (yes, the kicking coach was a science and math teacher), Woodshop, Health, and Driver's Ed. Tutors were provided for tougher classes, and when desperation kicked in, there was always help in the form of paying for papers and test answer keys. Time was taken aside from classes to have pep rallies, cheerleaders and the dance troupe would give out flyers for the weekend games asking for support, and when Friday night came, the stage was owned by the football team. On friday nights many of the very students bullied by them throughout the week played in the band during the game to root them on. The varsity QB of our team was Homecoming and Prom king, and student-body vice president. When you passed the high school commons area, there they were, the king and his entourage. When they won, they were heroes for a week, when they lost, they were patted on the back with a 'we'll get 'em next time!'. When our school made it to the State Championship, we were let out of school for an entire day, and bussed 45 minutes to witness the event. This is not speculation, but rather my first hand experience of what I experienced and saw. If this is the treatment and attention kids that don't make it past high school glory get, is it a shocking surprise that college and pro stars get money, cars, houses, other gifts, and turned heads when they act out and break the law throughout their lives? Is it any wonder that a professional athlete gets a shortened jail time, or 6 chances for breaking the law instead of 1 or 2 that the average person gets?

No wonder then, American culture and society has a huge problem with pro athletes and their own self-destruction via character issues, drugs and lawlessness. Just look at Ryan Leaf, former QB for the Washington State Cougars, who took his team to the brink of victory in the 1998 Rose bowl (he was one play short of a game winning drive and played impressively throughout). That game alone catapulted him up to #1 or 2 in the draft. Unfortunately, it also showed us exactly how ugly 'letting it go to your head' can be. I'm guessing between his Washington State coaches, his top notch agent, his manager, his press consultant, and dozens of other 'yes men', he started to think he really was the greatest QB ever to grace a football field. Problem is, where can you go but down when you're that high? He trash talked veteran SD Chargers' teammates, skipped mandatory symposiums, showed up late to team meetings and practices, fought with coaches and teammates, yelled at the press and even started fights with fans in the stands. He won his first two games as a rookie, then fell long and hard, only winning 2 more games in 21 more tries, ending his career three years later with a total of 4 wins, 3,666 yards, 14 TDs and 36 INTs in 25 games and a dismal career passer rating of 50. And yet the same people who built Leaf up, allowing him to skate by while he acted like an ego-maniacal moron, were the first to turn their backs on him. But weren't there signs along the way? In pee-wee? High school? College? It's not a stretch to suspect that his character issues didn't develop overnight after he was drafted by the NFL.

Leaf has been cited in 553 pages worth of ESPN articles, most of them relating to NFL draft bust status as a cautionary tale. But this didn't start with Leaf and it doesn't end with Leaf. Leaf is not alone on this tree, he's not even alone on this branch. Dating back to Ty Cobbs and up to Arod and Manny (baseball), Len Bias to Latrell Sprewell (basketball), Mike Tyson (boxing), Adam "Pacman" Jones to Michael Vick to Matt Jones (football), Michael Waltrip (Nascar), even John Daly (golf) and dozens of others in between, a lifetime of preferential treatment has led to a variety of character issues. Drug abuse, gambling, domestic violence, illegal firearms, manslaughter, DUIs, rape, the list of offenders and their offenses is mind-boggling and long. We've seen the gamut of self-destructive behavior in every major sport, and we hear the complaints and warnings frequently. The problem is, it seems to be getting worse, not better. With every year, we see higher TV ratings, higher sporting arena attendance, baseballs & other signed memorabilia being sold for more money on Ebay, greedy over-bearing agents, not to mention the lines in Vegas, which introduce a whole new level of ugliness in sports. Sports were created to be entertaining to the people who play them. They were played to entertain others. Sports taught us about leadership, working together, sportsmanship, preparation, tenacity, and failure. At it's core, the original intent was about the joy and celebration of physical accomplishment. Somewhere along the line, though, we lost our integrity and values, both as fans and athletes. It's become almost exclusively about money, championships and individual stats. For fans, it's who can get that signed jersey, who can catch that home run ball, who can get the most on Ebay for both. There is no 'I' in team, but there are plenty of 'mes'

All that said, I don't have a solution. I still love sports. I'll still pay for a $20 nosebleed section seat at the new Citifield in Flushing, and try not to dwell on who or who may not be taking performance enhancers. I'll still watch the NFL in September, and try not to wonder if it was Cutler or McDaniel's fault that my Denver Broncos traded away a franchise QB with amazing potential. And I'll still follow my Utah Jazz when the 2009-10 NBA season starts, and try to believe that no other refs are deciding games based on a gambling addiction or big city teams. And at the end of the season, when my team(s) don't get into the playoffs or win a championship, I will try to remember the original intent, purity and joy of sports. But right now, after hearing about yet another implosion of a young former pro athlete and his meteoric descent, I can't help but wonder how many other Leafs are on this tree.