Friday, January 14, 2005
Fame, fortune,felony:
The brief history of profes
sional sports criminals ...
By Chris Lafuria
sports commentary
Pro athlete. Superhero. Role model. Well-be
haved. If you believe that these words are synony
mous, skip over this article. If you proceed to ana
lyze this article, you may stumble upon the true
history of criminal sports figures.
The naivete of the American public will be ex
posed when the list of troubled professional ath
letes is uncovered. My intention isn’t to slander or
to directly attack the characters of professional
sports; however, I believe that the truth behind the
temptations and deceit revealed by theses proficient
athletes should be discovered by the public.
The NFL is packed with colossal beasts whose
intimidating statures are utilized on the field as well
as off the field. In many instances, a football player
can use his physique and fame to gain advantage in
many compromising situations. Drugs, sex and
violence are top among the list of crimes commit
ted by pro football players.
Domestic violence and sexual abuse is a prob
lem that has affected the United States for years.
According to women’s advocacy programs, every
nine seconds in the U.S. a woman or wife is beaten
by a male or husband. The NFL has become some
what familiar with domestic abuse.
The likes of former Seattle Seahawk sack-mas
ter Cortez Kennedy, Baltimore Ravens all-pro line
backer Ray Lewis, former Houston Oilers QB War
ren Moon, Buffalo Bills wideout Eric Moulds,
former Vikings defensive genius John Randle and
New York Giants defensive back Tito Wooten have
all been arrested for domestic violence.
In addition, Denver Broncos quarterback Jake
Plummer has been arrested four times for sexual
Many pro-athletes have found themselves in
trouble with the law in cases involving drugs and
alcohol. Former NBA stars Charles Oakley and
Shawn Kemp have repeatedly been surrounded by
a quandary dealing with drugs. . While playing with
the Toronto Raptors, Oakley stated, “You got guys
out there playing high every night. You got 60 per
cent of your league on marijuana. What can you
do?”
After an intense training trip to Orlando the swim team prepares for weekend competitions
to prepare for championships
Swimmers focus in Florida
By Samantha Cibula
sports co-editor
The start of the New Year for the men and women’s
swim teams meant heading to Orlando.. Although
the swimmers experienced nice climate changes Jan.
1-8, they didn’t experience much sand castle build
ing.
“We weren’t close to a beach like we were last year
but because of that we were able to do more when we
weren’t swimming,” said sophomore Whitney
Marshall.
The swim team originally planned to go to Veto
Beach Florida but due to hurricane damages, the swim
team had to change their plans. The blue and white
trained at the Orlando YMCA Aquatics Center where
they shared pool time with division 11, HI and I schools.
The training schedule was also different than what
the team usually experiences. Coaches Jen Slack and
Joe TYistan kept the team busy with five hours of train
ing a day.
“We put in a lot of hard work,” said junior captain
Steve Schleicher. “We trained twice a day for two
hours in the pool and then an hour of dry land.”
A more intense training schedule was topped off
with long course practices once a day. Topically the
team practices ina2s-yard pool, but experienced train-
In the NFL, many players have been busted for
illegal possessions. Oakland Raiders defensive
tackle Warren Sapp was arrested for marijuana pos
session. Buffalo Bills star defensive was convicted
of a DUI and also for refusing to comply with a
blood test. Michael Irvin, a professional who is on
top of the list for Hall of Fame candidates, was ar
rested for marijuana and cocaine possession. This
shows how pertinent and customary drugs are to
pro sports.
Other selections of violence and misbehavior
have affected the lives of many athletes. Who can
forget this past summer when Kobe Bryant was
arrested for a suspicion of rape surfaced? Other
examples include former MLB slugger Jose
Canseco was arrested in tandem with his brother
for beating up two men in a club. Former Pitts
burgh Steelers wide receiver Yancey Thigpen was
charged three times with armed robbery. Former
NBA forward Scottie Pippen, 76-er star Allen
Iverson, former NBA loudmouth Sir Charles
Barkley and former NFL wide receiver Andre Rison
have all been arrested for illegal weapon charges.
One of the most surprising criminal pasts belongs
to an NFL star whose recent resurgence with the
New England Patriots. Corey Dillon has had a his
tory of trouble. Some of the charges he has faced
includes a DUI, possessing stolen property, crimi
nal trespassing, reckless endangerment, intent to sell
illegal drugs, twice obstructing a public servant, re
sisting arrest, theft, assault, and malicious mischief.
Fortunately, Corey Dillon has turned around to lead
a rushing attack on one of the NFL’s most produc
tive offense.
Many times, power becomes corrupt. Along with
fame comes the same fraudulence that is often hid
den to protect an athlete’s character.
My purpose is to reveal the abundance of the
criminal mischief in professional sports. Disobe
dience and mischief aren’t directly synonymous
with professional sports, but there are a solid few
individuals who have proven that a position of fame
can lead to bad behaviors.
Each respected league should throw a red flag
when such malicious behavior is shown. Also, a
great deal of misbehaviors can be avoided if the
public was more aware of these conducts. An im
age is a terrible thing to have tarnished. Revealing
misbehaviors and harsher penalties can prevent an
‘Training in a 50- meter pool is really different then
the standard 25- yard pool,” said sophomore Alexis
Puhala. “The change made practices more difficult,
but all the work we put in will payoff when it comes
time for championships in February.”
The intensity and mix of long and short course prac
tices was doable because die team faced no outside
distractions and were able to focus 100 percent on
training.
“The intensity the team performed at was great,” said
Coach Slack. “The team did an excellent job training,
I think we got the best results yet training-wise this
trip.”
A trip to Universal Studios was mixed into the train
ing trip.
“We went to Universal Studios and were asked to
participate in the holiday parade,” said freshman
Amanda Wiest. “Because we participated in the pa
rade, we got passes to the rides so we didn’t have to
wait in line.”
Time in Florida gave the swim team a break from
Erie and a chance to focus completely on training. Back
at Behrend, the men and women will jump right back
into competition Friday at Mount Union and then Sat
urday against Edinboro at home. The team hasn’t com
peted since Dec. 4.
SPORTS
Hockey team skates
for playoff birth
By Samantha Cibula
sports co-editor
A perfect winter for some entails enjoying win
ter sports including a much anticipated hockey sea
son. A time for NHL fans to seek revenge on teams
who last knocked their team out of the Stanley Cup.
However, this winter isn’t like winters of the past.
The snow on the ground isn’t as abundant as some
would hope and hockey arenas around the coun
try aren’t being filled with our favorite NHL teams.
What is one to do without NHL games filling
the flat screen TV this winter? For some fans, tak
ing their mind off NHL has meant following col
lege hockey more closely. We don’t have a varsity
hockey team to follow but instead we have a dedi
cated club team carrying the talents and dedica
tion of a varsity team.
The Behrend men are on the brink of what could
be a big season. A disappointing season last year
left the men with only a pair of wins. This year the
team came to practice knowing changes would be
made in order to put their name at the top of their
division. Head Coach Derrick Gates took matters
into his own hands by changing the way the team
practiced.
“Coach Gates has us more disciplined this year
and our practices focus more on our endurance,”
said junior Joe Persang. “This year we are out
skating other teams.”
The perks of team changes in practices and atti
tude are seen in the 6-6-2 record. Last year their
record placed them last in their division. This year
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the team is looking to win their division.
“Our progress from last season is 110 percent,”
said Head Coach Gates.
A division win will give the blue and white a
playoff birth. The men face Edinboro Saturday at
8:15 p.m. at the Igloo in a game that could change
their season. If the men win, they will be setup for
a playoff birth, but a loss will potentially take them
out of playoff contention.
“We will have to see about playoffs,” said Head
Coach Gates “I think we can do it, but its up to the
guys.”
The team faced Edinboro early in the season but
came up short of a win in a 5-3 game..
“Going into this game we haven’t made many
adjustments from our last meeting,” said Head
Coach Gates. “We just come to each practice and
train harder, our attitude and condition have
changed but our game is still the same.”
A playoff birth will begin to ice the cake on a
cutting edge season. A season that was the host of
11 p.m. to midnight practices and a $5OO fee out
of each players pocket.
Unlike varsity sports, club teams are responsible
for funding the bulk of their season. This includes
practice time, buses, referees, equipment, meal
money and more.
Although the NHL is on strike, the blue and
white are joining college teams around the nation
who are bound to let their talents be known. With
playoffs on their mindS the Lion’s hit the ice Sat
urday with one common goal; and that is a vic
tory.
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