Do athletes engage in more deviant acts than non-athletes? In this paper, I will look further into this question. I will examine all levels from high school to the professionals. Sports are assumed by many to promote those character traits that are desirable by most in society. These qualities are fair play, sportsmanship, obedience to authority, and hard work .1 Are all these things true about athletes? Do athletes really make good role models?

There is a lot of debate on whether or not the use of drugs is a problem in the athletic system today. Over the years, it has become evident that athletes participate in deviant activities, and one of the main things that they partake in is the use of drugs. Alcohol, despite the increase in education and prevention efforts, remains the drug most widely used by high school students. Peer pressure also plays a large role in the amount of abuse that student do to their bodies. Many athletes try to duplicate what they see in the movies. For example, in 1995, a movie titled The Program came out. It was about a football player whom everybody loved. He partied, drank, and still played well when it was time to. There was a

Athletes are more likely to take drugs that enhance themselves physically and psychologically than those people that do not participate in sports. Many of the drugs that athletes choose to use are stimulants and many drugs have anabolic effects. Some examples of the substances and their effects are: Amino acids, which stimulate natural production of growth hormones, amphetamines and cocaine which make you think you have an increase in strength, alertness, and endurance, caffeine which reduces fatigue and many more 6.

y, he says that he is realizing what his life is amounting to. Nothing!! He now knows that he has to clean up his act because, not only is he hurting himself, he is hurting everyone else around him.8

The most notable case that involves an athlete and the crime of murder is the O.J. Simpson case. One night, supposedly, Simpson went outside his ex-wife's house and murdered her and her new boyfriend. The evidence that was found around the crime scene, all pointed to Simpson. O.J was even in a car chase with the police when they were trying to take him into custody. He was running from the cops. He finally gave in, and they arrested him. The trial for this case is a memorable one. First of all, the trial lasted more than a year. There was trouble finding a jury for this case, due to the fact that it was such a popular case. There were signs that pointed to a setup, but most of the evidence pointed right to Simpson. The police officer that was the first to arrive on the scene made some racial comments. The case was televised everyday while it was on. If you had any interest in sports, or criminal justice, you were watching this case.15

In my hometown of Keene, NH, there were a couple of high school basketball players that got arrested during the season for possession of alcohol. This not only got them suspended for four games, but it hurt their team as well. These two players happened to be starters, and there team ended up losing all four of those games that they were out.4 This isn't the only time that this has happened in Keene. My sophomore year in high school, there was eight guys that were on the baseball team that were at a party that happened to get broken up by the police. Four out of the eight got caught, while the other four ran away. The four that got caught got suspended for four games each, while the other four told the coach that they were also there. They too got suspended, but only for two games. This too affected the baseball team. I am not saying that it is only athletes that get into trouble with alcohol, but when they do get into trouble, they stick out more then non-athletes.

There are more serious crimes that are committed by athletes. A great example of this is Mike Tyson. Tyson is a professional boxer, who came into the sport when he was just a teen. He grew up in Catskill, NY, which is a real tough neighborhood. He had no father in his life, and had to fight to survive. Tyson had already been arrested 53 times by the time that he was sixteen. It is obvious that he has some troubles. In 1992, Mike Tyson was convicted of rape. He was in jail for three years, and then was released on good behavior 12.

He got back into boxing, and won a couple of matches after a couple of years. He then had a big match against Evander Holyfield, in which he lost. Over a year period Tyson rehabbed, and trained hard. He then had his rematch with Holyfield. The match didn't make it out of the 5th round. Tyson came out with some aggression, and started throwing haymakers. Tyson spit his mouth guard out halfway through the round, and then bit Holyfield's ear. The top half of his ear had been bitten off. Mike Tyson got kicked out of boxing for this act of aggression. He has since been reinsta

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Approximate Word count = 2523
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)