Why Athletes and College Students Should Cut Down on Drinking

Joe Montana, a former Notre Dame standout has a son who was among 11 Fighting Irish athletes arrested on misdemeanor charges of underage drinking at a party (Trotter 1). A total of 44 people were arrested after city police responded to a call about a fight near a roadway and discovered the party (Trotter 1). Most of those arrested had been released on $150 bond and if convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail (Trotter 1). Getting arrested because of underage drinking has not only affected the team, but affected the whole school. Athletes are a reflection of the school. Some could be the center of attention.

Since sports are such a popular thing in college, the school could sometimes be described in certain ways because of this. Even if you are not an athlete this could affect you. Athletes are a major part of your school and will continue to be. My main three points about athletes cutting down on alcohol are described as a problem and cause followed by a solution. The problem is that there is a declining physical health of student-athletes who drink. The cause is the availability and ease at which illegal alcohol can be obtained on college campuses and the solution is to change drinking policies on campuses for student-athletes. I am also a student athlete and will be explaining how the ease in which student athletes can illegally obtain alcohol is causing a national epidemic for their mental and physical health.

Athlete’s alcohol consumption was found to be high. There is a high percentage of athletes who need mentoring or even need counseling. Alcohol is becoming an addiction and needs to stop. Alcohol sponsorship is one of the reasons athletes drink so much. The sponsors are encouraging them to drink. Some athletes are getting paid for sponsorships. This is a positive action but also have a negative to it. The positive is that athletes are promoting and developing sponsors. The negative to this is the alcohol. Athletes are going to drink more because of the alcohol sponsorship.(News Reporter-Staff News Editor).

The problem is that there is a declining physical and mental health of student-athletes who drink. Athletes who drink are slowly breaking down their body. In 2015, Bergin the National Strength and Conditioning Association stated “Chronic alcohol use can lead to difficulty in managing body composition, nutritional deficiencies, and depressed immune function, resulting in increased risk of injury and prolonged healing”.

A small dose of alcohol could affect your body. After the alcohol enters your body, your body will start to metabolize the alcohol instead of carbohydrates. Even after a drink of gatorade, the alcohol will over power and take over your body. Drinking alcohol causes a buildup of lactic acid which produce muscle contractions which are also known as cramps. Cramps are caused by many factors. One factor is dehydration and alcohol plays a big role. Your body starts to lose water which is the reason of dehydration. It is the tightening of the muscle and could last for several minutes. If you drink alcohol after a workout, it is basically a wasted workout. All of the positive lactic turns to negative acids when alcohol is put into your body. It causes a longer recovery and could sometimes be the reason why your recovery is so long.

In 2015, Bell from the NCAA stated” It is particularly alarming that 30 percent of these student- athletes report experiencing blackouts, which are red flags for developing an alcohol addiction. In addition, more than 30 percent have done something they later regretted and more than 25 percent have been criticized for their drinking”. The more you drink the worse you will feel.The amount and how long you drink plays an important role. Occasional drinkers may experience blackouts. The chance of breast cancer is going up in moderate drinkers and long term drinkers start to have brain dysfunctions. Athletes will not have the chance to be their best when drinking.

The cause is that there is an availability and ease at which illegal alcohol can be obtained on college campuses. There are many ways to get alcohol underage including fake ids, relationship with others and popularity. Fake ids are a common way to get alcohol while being underage. In 2017, Parker a news editor from the News record stated that a student said “I got my fake the summer going into my sophomore year — very easy to get — ordered it online from a website on Reddit, ‘r/fakeid.’ It took a month to get here from China”. This is from a regular student. Athletes could also participate in these actions. In 2018, The Bateman Law Firm stated that “The young, however, do not seem to care. Statistics say that more than 60 percent of college students turn to fake IDs to facilitate underage drinking”.

This shows how easy it is to get a fake id. Some athletes would choose to get one which could get them into a lot of trouble. Consequences differ from fines to expulsion, and even jail time. (What Are the Penalties for Using a Fake ID in South Carolina).The next cause is having relationships with others and popularity. Students tend to get alcohol from friends and other people around. It's simple as asking your older friend for some. Alcohol can spread around very fast and athletes need to cut down on drinking. Popularity also plays a role in the cause. For example, Trevor Lawrence, the starting QB for Clemson. Say Trevor had a great game and he decides to go out that night and a man sees him out and decides to offer him a drink. This shows how popularity can come into effect dealing with alcohol and athletes.

There is always a solution to any problem. People should only sell alcohol to athletes on the weekends and also set accountable goals on reducing the intake. This is when a person takes responsibility in any action; good or bad. Selling alcohol on the weekends would reduce both incidents and problems on the body. In 2017, Venci from the Green Bay Press stated that “The St. Norbert College women’s basketball team learned a costly lesson Thursday when the school announced the squad will not be allowed to play the next 10 games on the schedule after an on-campus alcohol-related incident involving several players”. The case could have easily been worse. Alcohol are putting athletes careers at risk and will continue until you decide to make better decisions. The incident happened in the middle of a weekday. Selling on the weekends could have made it a slimmer chance to get in trouble. Coaches should set accountable goals for their players. In 2019, Shelly Frost from Chron stated “Custom goals for each employee allow you to focus on the specific weaknesses related to accountability”.

For example, our coach divides us up into teams. We are all accountable for each other. It is based off points. If you do anything wrong, it is a minus one. You could also earn points by community service and other functions. If your team have any negative points you have to run unless you have a player with positive points to balance it out. This could tie into the alcohol problems. We could make players accountable for each other. Players grain trust within each other to do the right thing. You could hold each other to only drinking on the weekend. According to James from Substance Abuse it stated “And drinking is regarded as such a normal part of a young athlete's lifestyle that the only absolutely sure way to prevent abuse would be to have chaperones or security personnel travelling with each team, says former National Hockey League coach Jean Perron”. This is a way to cut down on drinking. This is an example of holding someone accountable. You are with them to watch how much you can drink.

In conclusion, today I discussed how the ease at which student athletes can illegally obtain alcohol is causing a national epidemic for their mental and physical health, which includes the problem which is body issues,the cause which is easy access, and a solution of accountability and only sales on the weekend. If you want to become a better athlete physically and mentally, then you should lower your drinking habits. Each year an estimated 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol related unintentional injuries. Remember, alcohol can break down your body in a short term, and long term way so you should stop. Athletes are getting in trouble more and more for alcohol. (College Drinking Changing the Culture).