Drugs in College Football: Symptom of a Societal Problem

"I think that this is not a football problem, this is a national problem. This is a problem with all students, except they don’t have to go through drug testing …"

Former LSU star Tyrann Mathieu has been in a drug rehab in Houston since August 13th, according to various news sources. This is not a moment for rival fans to celebrate. Sometimes, those of us sitting in our comfy chairs playing armchair quarterback forget that the star athletes we admire or curse on Saturdays are college students every other day of the week. While we expect the students representing our schools to display character at all times, they are still kids. Many are learning to become leaders, some are clinging to their upbringing.

Drug use has increased in the United States over the last few years among high school and college students. As coach Saban pointed out in the article quoted above, drug use is a problem on campuses in general. When we see an athlete suspended for a violation of team rules, it simply means that student athletes are tested for drugs while most students are never tested at all. The athletes are the ones in the public eye. No one sits in front of the TV on Saturday watching fraternity intramural football or dorm league soccer. We put our college athletes on pedestals.

Outside of the BamaHammer world, I have worked at various levels for secular and faith-based addiction treatment and counseling programs. I am still heavily involved in the faith-based setting and I see people from almost every age group every week who struggle with this issue. The public perception on marijuana use has changed dramatically over the years. Every addict with a needle in their arm knows they are making a mistake. When you buy your weed from your parent or sibling, there is a moral disconnect — the perception is that it is not wrong. Here’s some facts for you to absorb:

• 60 percent of teens consider their high school to be “drug infected.” This means drugs are readily available for sale or use on campus.
• Nearly half report that they get their drugs or alcohol at home from family or close friends.
• A growing number of teens do not consider marijuana use to be harmful.
• The first use of marijuana for teens in rehab is typically around age 12.
• One rehab reported the average age for teens in treatment as 14.
• Synthetic marijuana use is on the rise. It has no connection to real marijuana and the long-term effects are unknown.
• The majority of teens in rehab in Colorado are there for marijuana acquired through the legal medical marijuana programs in the state.

Overcoming the acceptance factor is difficult, and sometimes impossible. In Alabama, marijuana is the drug of choice (DOC) of most people in treatment under the age of 25. Despite what people may say, it is a gateway drug. Of those people under age 25, more than half enter treatment due to a court order rather than a personal decision. This is an indicator that teens who use drugs also have co-occurring brushes with the legal system. Consider these facts from the Alabama Pride Survey of Schools also:

• 40 percent of high school students report physical threats at school.
• 10 percent of high school students (and some as young as age 10) carry a gun.
• 30 percent report trouble with the police.
• Nearly 30,000 Alabama high school students report being involved in gang activity.

Did you read that? Rolando McClain didn’t develop a gun waving habit in college at Alabama. Neither did Michael Dyer at Auburn. It’s a safe bet that the Honey Badger didn’t start using drugs after he arrived at LSU either. Students don’t become thugs when they arrive on campus, they bring that mentality with them from home — they need to be deprogrammed.

College kids are going to make stupid mistakes, but we have to be proactive in influencing their decision-making skills. Sometimes, as we have seen recently, high school kids who have never been in trouble before begin to act differently when they become involved in the recruiting process. Maybe they start to believe the hype; maybe they are pressured by their peers to live up to a stupid nickname; or maybe they just have no role models of their own before becoming one themselves. It can be overwhelming.

In the interview with Saban, he mentions having motivational speakers, counselors and psychologists available to speak to student athletes to help them make mature, intelligent decisions. College coaches have a hard job in this respect, because they are often trying to undo years of ingrained behavior and bad influences. Coaches can’t make up for years of bad, or nonexistent, parenting.

Despite some of the bad stories in the news, they are having a lot of success. Most players do not get in trouble. Unfortunately, some students get to school and make bad decisions that cost them their careers, their freedom and, in some cases, their lives. Some make it all the way through the system and resort to thuggish behavior after they graduate.

One of the common complaints I have had in dealing with teens in counseling is that they seek help and then go home to the bigger problem – their families. Some programs simply can’t do enough to influence players to leave the thugs at home when they come to college. Other programs just are not doing a very good job.

All programs can do more to create better leaders. All incoming student athletes should be required to take a public speaking course, for example. While this would help them in media interviews, it would also help them understand the decision-making process that accompanies a leadership mentality. If you choose your words carefully, you will learn to do the same with your actions. Many students, perhaps because of social media, now have a pronounced inability to communicate properly or relate to others. Students, not just athletes, should be required to participate in at least one extra-curricular campus or community organization. Involvement in serving others creates character.

This article is not meant to excuse the players who make mistakes. Taking drugs, committing a robbery, or brandishing a weapon is a choice and everyone should be held accountable for the choices they make. However, I believe in redemption stories. If Honey Badger gets his life together, we’re pulling for him.

It’s one thing to abuse an opponent on the field in a football game. It’s unacceptable to celebrate someone’s struggles in that other game called life. I still wonder what might have been if Sherman Williams had left the street mentality back home instead of taking it to the NFL with him.

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