Incorporating Athletes into Drug and Gang Prevention Programs

By Michael McDonald

Across the United States of America, drug and gang prevention programs are prevalent in a majority of the major populated cities. Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Houston all have these types of prevention programs but approach the problem of drugs and gangs in their communities in different ways. A great deal of money is put into these cities programs each year by the government in an attempt to decrease the problem of drugs and gangs in the community. Athletes are sometimes brought into the community to talk to high school students about the effects of gangs and drugs and steps to become a successful person later in life. Does this process help high school students or would it be more effective in elementary and middle schools? Large corporations such as Nike and Adidas could do more in terms of promoting unity in the community and help inform others of the fight against drugs and gangs in the community. Along with Nike and Adidas, local college athletes may also be able to help influence younger kids into staying away from drugs and gangs.

Major cities have several different ways of approaching the problem of drugs and gangs. In Los Angeles, the main prevention technique of informing the students about the problem of drugs and gangs is the D.A.R.E. program. This program, which stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education (Office of Postsecondary Education, 1995), gets their message across by sending a policeman to interact with an elementary school class. The policeman becomes known by the students in the class as a role model whom is there to inform the students about the dangers of drugs and gangs. In cities such as Chicago and New York, midnight basketball leagues were introduced in 1994 as an attempt to curb gang violence at night. The thinking behind this idea was that a majority of gang violence occurs at night, and the program encouraged gangs to come play basketball in an organized league at a time where they would normally be doing something illegal. The idea of midnight basketball leagues was successful because it helped in the decrease of crime (Huff, 1998). Basketball and sports is a great way to help in the fight against drugs and gangs but that will be discussed in more detail later. Houston has a completely different way of dealing with drugs and gangs in their communities. The city of Houston does not have an organized prevention program but uses its teachers as those who provide information similar to that of the police officers in the D.A.R.E. program. Teachers are told to incorporate information about drugs and gangs into their daily lesson plan. Students are educated while they are in elementary and middle school so they can be reached while they are still at a young age and more able to be influenced. It has been shown that cities with prevention programs as those in Los Angeles and Chicago are successful in decreasing the percentage of crime in the city rather than not having a prevention program in the city such as Omaha, Nebraska and Kansas City, Kansas (California Department of Education, 1994). In these cities with no type of prevention programs, kids at a young age are exposed to drugs and gangs and besides the help of their parents, are influenced by those in their communities who drive nice cars and have a lot of money,

Professional athletes are glorified by the media and looked up to by a large majority of the community in which they compete. Professional athletes sometimes have little free time because of the demands placed on them by the media, their team, and their sponsors. Not enough professional athletes go to schools to talk to students about the negative effects of joining a gang or doing drugs. This lack of effort by professional athletes in the community is a problem that needs to be addressed. Many athletes have foundations to help people who are less fortunate or have a charity event to raise money for a good cause but very few deal with drugs and gangs on a consistent basis. A survey was given to Minnie Gant Elementary School students in Long Beach, Ca which asked if they would rather have a D.A.R.E. officer come to class or a professional athlete. A majority of the students (72%) said they would rather have a professional athlete come to their class and speak. This would be a great idea because when students want something, they are more willing to listen. Pro athletes are prominent but do not always interact with the community and with elementary schools.

Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, Ca has produced the largest number of NFL players in the United States. Four years ago, several former Polytechnic alumni and now NFL players, including all-pro linebacker Willie McGinist talked to different groups on campus about staying out of trouble and the negative aspects of drugs and gangs. The athlete's felt that the discussion went well, "I think the students enjoyed the talk and felt they still have a lot to learn about life" stated McGinist after the talk. Students had different views about the discussion. Most students enjoyed the talk but felt that if they had heard the same words from a prominent sports figure while they were in elementary or middle school, they would have had more effect on their lives. This was a great opportunity for pro athletes to talk to students at a school but most athletes are reluctant to do so. Athletes, as well as others, feel the most comfortable in surroundings which they are usually in. This is why athletes are more willing to talk to younger people at a sports camp than in their classroom. Although athletes may talk to younger kids about the effects of drugs and gangs at a sports camp, those who are not financially able to attend the camp will not have a chance to listen to the athlete (California Department of Education, 1994). This is a large problem because those that are financially unable to attend camp are the ones who need to listen to the talk. Athletes in their community do a decent job of talking to young people about drugs and gangs but should talk to elementary and middle schools instead of to students in high school.

Talking to students while they are in high school does not have the same effect as talking to elementary and middle school students. The D.A.R.E. program takes this approach because children are most influenced between the ages of 10- 14 (Huff, 1998). Personally, I have spoken to groups of high school students, middle

school students, and elementary school students in my hometown about the effects of drugs and gangs. I spoke to them about steps they could take to become successful and two of those steps were to stay away from drugs and not to join a gang. The younger students who had not had as much influence to the harmfull effects of the society around them were more receptive and more willing to participate during the discussion. I have received letters from some of the younger students thanking me for talking to them or saying that they have seen me on television playing basketball and that they want to take the proper steps to become successful. Occasionally, I still receive letters through the basketball office from students whom I spoke with in their classrooms. I first spoke to students while I was a senior in high school but was able to have a lasting effect on them. If a local high school athlete can reach out to the community and have a large effect on students, imagine what a pro athlete who is in commercials and has shoes named after him could do for a community. A pro athlete would have a greater influence on the community than a high school student would because a pro athlete is famous and looked up to more than those in high schools are.

Large corporations such as Nike and Adidas have the money and the capability to help with prevention programs but do not do all that is possible to help different communities. Nike and Adidas sponsor some of the top athletes in the world including Michael Jordan, Ronaldo, Kobe Bryant, and Ken Griffy Jr. but they do not go into schools and talk about drugs or gangs. Although it may be unfair to

criticize these top athletes because of the demands they have upon them, the two companies sponsor over 200 athletes (Katz, 1994). Some athletes in each community could make an attempt to talk with elementary and middle school students about the effects of drugs and gangs but do not. Many major cities have pro teams in which an athlete is sponsored by Nike or Adidas and these corporations have the power to put in their contract that they have to talk to elementary and middle schools as a type of prevention program but do not. These companies make a large sum of money from camps and tournaments each year but the revenue does not help children learn about drugs and gangs. In an interview with David Pump, who works for Adidas and runs the Double Pump organization is in affiliation with Adidas basketball, we talked about revenue that is made during the summer in the month of July. During this month, Adidas sponsors a tournament in Las Vegas which has more than 60 teams from across the country. Each team has to pay $600 to participate in the tournament, the referees work for free, so Adidas only has to pay for the time they spent in the gym. According to David Pump, the profit made from the tournament exceeds "$I 0,000". During this time, Nike also sponsors a tournament in which their profits exceed thousands of dollars. These companies sponsor many things and spend millions of dollars advertising their perspective companies but they also waste money that could be used towards a type of prevention program.

An example of Nike wasting money which could be used towards prevention programs is the salary that was paid to former summer league coach Pat Barret (Interview with Frank Burleson). Barret coached a team titled VBA (Values for a Better America) which was one of the best teams in the country and was sponsored by Nike. He was paid a salary by Nike to lure the best high school talent on his team on which they would wear Nike shoes and apparel. Nike does this not to benefit the player who has worked hard to obtain a high level of skill, but to give themselves a chance to make money off of them later in their basketball career. The thinking is that if the athlete plays for an all-Nike summer league team, they may be influenced to go to a Nike sponsored college. Nike makes their money directly from the athlete later if the athlete is gifted enough to be drafted and become a good player in the National Basketball Association (Katz, 1994). Nike will want to sponsor the person if they can bring in a profit. More than likely the individual will want to continue wearing Nike shoes because they had been doing so since high school. George Raveling, director of Nike promotions, agrees that system is what is on the mind of those working for the company. Mike Bibby who was the second pick in last years NBA draft fell into this "Nike pipeline" when he was a junior in high school and the same can be said about Kobe Bryant who is a now sponsored by Adidas. He wore Adidas throughout high school with the money that there two companies make from sponsoring top athletes, camps, and tournaments along with the original revenue they bring in, they have enough money to advertise in particular communities which need prevention programs. With large corporations such as Nike and Adidas promoting prevention programs and using their power to influence young students, the crime rate may not change immediately but the younger generation may have a different perspective on, drugs and gangs.

College athletes occasionally reach out into the community and do community service but college students have time constraints which limit their activity. It is a known fact that at Stanford University, the athletes on the basketball team do many things in the community. By being exposed to athletes who are doing well for themselves, kids in middle and elementary schools see that they can possible be like that person later in their life. According to Jamie Zaninovich who works in the Stanford athletic department, the Stanford basketball team is annually scheduled to visit the Stanford Children's Hospital, East Palo Alto during Christmas time, Special Olympic clinics, and helps organize a three on three tournament in East Palo Alto. By doing these things in the community and talking about the negative aspects of drugs and gangs, individuals feel that they now have a personal relationship with the athlete. Some athletes on the basketball team such as Arthur Lee and Mark Madison are on covers of magazines and when children see and have conversations with them, they remember what they said because they are prominent athletes in the community.

The problems of drugs and gangs are a factor in large cities as well as small rural towns. Prevention programs do a great job n helping to decrease the problem

but athletes in the community as well as large corporations could do more to help the effects of drugs and gangs in the communities. This could be done by sending prominent figures and star athletes into their local elementary and middle schools and talk to the students about staying away from drugs and gangs. When large corporations which have a major influence over students and enough extra money to put into prevention programs, a significant change in the way young students look at drugs and gangs will be recognized.

Works Cited

Personal Interview with George Raveling. February 27, 1999.

Personal Interview with David Pump. February 27, 1999.

Personal Interview with Frank Burleson. February 23, 1999.

Personal Interview with Jamie Zaninovich. March 1, 1999.

Survey given to students at Minnie Gant Elementary School

Katz, Donald. Just Do It. Adams Publishing: Holbrook, Mass. 1994.

Introduction to National DARE Parent Program,. The Bureau: Washington, D.C.

1993.

California Department of Education. On Alert! Gang Prevention. Sacramento,

Ca. 1994

Huff, C. Ronald. CoMparing the Criminal Behavior of Youth Gangs and At-Risk

Youths. U.S. Department of Justice: Washington, 1998.