When It Comes to Sports and Bad Behavior, Even the Legends Weren't Saints

April 20, 2006 — -- Don McPherson, a former star quarterback at Syracuse University and NFL player, knows a thing or two about the behavior of athletes. And despite public perception, he said the athletes of today are better behaved than ever before.

"The athletes who were the legends when I was a kid, these guys weren't saints," McPherson said. "They were party animals, womanizers, drinkers."

But now their exploits would be in the news, he said. "There's more media out there writing online, 24-hour news," he said. "As a culture, we're less likely to give those guys a free pass."

And to help make sure athletes and other students understand acceptable behavior, McPherson works with young people across the country as executive director of the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. The program starts with kids as young as elementary school discussing issues like alcohol abuse and expands as students get older to include topics like hazing and sexual violence.

As Duke University officials deal with rape accusations against members of its men's lacrosse team and the cancellation of its top-ranked team's season, those who work with students and athletes at other campuses say there are many ways to educate them about acceptable standards of behavior as they represent their schools.

"I think it's unfair on both sides to expect that 17-, 18-, 19-, 20-year-old young people, whether they're male or female, on a daily basis can resist the attention they get from everyone -- chancellors, the community at large," McPherson said.

"At the same time, it's not in any way an excuse for their behavior. If you expect people to cheer for you when you play, understand that there's going to be great scorn when you do something wrong," he said, adding, "that's why there's a scholarship. That's why there's media attention. It's part of that scrutiny."

Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., has been working with student athletes to combat campus violence for 16 years through its sexual assault services and crime victim assistance department. It uses peer educators and covers "interpersonal violence" like sexual assault, stalking, harassment and other violent acts, said Ruth Anne Koenick, director of the department.

"If you ask most people, Is it wrong to rape somebody, they're going to say of course it is," Koenick said, adding, "We try to get them to look at some of the more subtle things that we believe are rape supportive, things like language and how do you talk about women, how do you talk about sexuality."