Sports Violence Is Out of Hand

Lately, it seems that almost every day there's news about some well-known athlete in trouble with the law for allegedly raping, shooting, stabbing or beating someone to a bloody pulp in a bar fight.

Witness the disturbing developments that unfolded just this week: Mark Chmura of the Green Bay Packers is charged with sexually assaulting his teenage baby-sitter. Jury selection began in the Atlanta murder trial of Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. And a judge ordered former Carolina Panther Rae Carruth to sell his home and liquidate his NFL retirement account to help pay child support for the baby he fathered with the girlfriend he's accused of murdering.

Unfortunately, allegations of violent acts committed by athletes aren't confined to the professional ranks. Rashard Casey, quarterback for Penn State, stands accused of beating an off-duty police officer unconscious this week outside a bar in Hoboken, N.J.It's time to take a long, hard look at what's causing the spillover of brutal aggression from game time into players' personal lives and to implement tough measures to reverse this chilling epidemic.

Some athletes who have a tendency to be extremely aggressive even out of uniform have been shown to have low serotonin levels in the brain. They can be helped greatly by medication and need to know that the stigma attached to such treatment is nothing compared with the trauma of being behind bars.John Niland, the former Dallas Cowboys lineman, said, "Any athlete who thinks that he can be as violent as he can be playing football and leave it all on the field is kidding himself."

That's why it's also important for coaches and teammates to recognize players who are the most at risk of getting into trouble and to do something about it.

Coaches like Bob Knight, the Indiana University basketball coach whose brutish behavior has thrown his career into a tailspin, don't help. Instead, we need caring, responsible team leaders to take a personal interest in how players, especially rookies, are getting along with their teammates and in their personal lives.Some players come from homes without healthy male images or neighborhoods where domestic violence and criminal behavior are commonplace. Why not give each rookie player a mentor from the team to help with the transition from college to pro sports? Professional athletes also should be required to lecture college players about the dangers of substance abuse and violence. Often, you learn most by teaching.

Consistently meting out fines, suspensions and bans already has helped to reduce drug and steroid abuse in the NFL. Such stiff penalties need to be handed down as well to players who exhibit hostile, unsportsmanlike behavior — on and off the field.

As parents and fans, we can do our part to help cut down on violence in sports by boycotting products endorsed by violent athletes or the merchandise marketed by their teams. We also can try to prevent the problem before it starts by reintroducing and reemphasizing sportsmanship among our children who play sports.