Topic:
As a NCAA Division II student-athlete I have witnessed first-hand the double-standard present for female student-athletes. Although men and women are -in theory- subject to the same rules and regulations of the NCAA, there are inconsistencies within each schools athletic program. The subject of this research paper will be on the ‘behind-the-scenes’ instructions and penalties NCAA division II athletes at Pace University receive from their coaches and other staff in regard to the use of “soft” drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. This study will also look at the expectations and penalties of a student-athletes academic success.
Literature review:
There is little to no research on this subject as the only people present to witness it are (1) coaches and staff- who could get in trouble with the school they work at if they were to reveal private conversations between athletes and staff, and (2) athletes- who would not want to jeopardize their eligibility or scholarship. This combined with the fact that the majority of adults in the United States do not have much sympathy for the complaints of underage students results in a system that can enforce any rules they want any way they want without much scrutiny.
At the recruiting stage of a student-athletes career, all prospects are required to sign a NCAA contract. The first official visit to a college campus is where a recruit signs their first one. It entails that they will at no time consume alcohol or other drugs while on campus. If they chose to pursue a career as a student-athlete this is the first of many contracts they will be required to sign in order to maintain their eligibility. Both men and woman are required to sign these contracts.
A common rebuttal to the argument that men and women are subject to different expectations regarding the use of banned substances is “It is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to consume alcohol and all NCAA athletes signed a contract stated they would not use tobacco or marijuana, so neither men nor women should be in the situation of defending their drug/alcohol use regardless.” However, this is simply not the case. A 2008 survey on underage drinking reported that over 70% of young people have consumed alcohol by the age of 19. And a study by the National Institute On Drug Abuse reported that 35.1% of 12th graders had used marijuana in the past 30 days prior to the survey and 21.2% were frequent users. This means that approximately ¾ freshman coming into college will have already consumed alcohol and ¼ will have already used marijuana. For the NCAA to expect any of their student-athletes to uphold their promise in the contract they signed is just short of outrageous.
Academics are also a large part of student-athletes eligibility requirements. A 2006 study by Betsy M. Hada, B.A. and William Bauer, Ph.D. at Marietta College on student-athlete GPA’s found that the mean GPA for female student-athletes was 3.06 while the mean GPA for male athletes was 2.73. Only 1 mens team (tennis) out of the total 8 keeping an average above a 3.0, while 5 of the 8 womens teams managed to maintain an average above a 3.0. A study done by the College Sports Project, an initiative of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, analyzed the GPA’s of 83,728 students from 84 Division III colleges and found similar results. The average of the male athletes was 2.88 while the average for female athletes was 3.20
Significance:
The main theme of this study is the fact that female student-athletes are held to a higher standard than male, and therefore punished more severely. The use of banned substances is considered more deviant when the offender is a woman. When the offender is a man the common response is “boys will be boys”. This kind of thinking is misogynistic and unfair. The solution to this problem may not necessarily be that neither men nor women should receive harsh consequences for actions involving the use of “soft” drugs/alcohol that the majority of the population is using anyways (though this would be ideal). An adequate solution would simply be a consistency in the outrage presented towards each student-athlete in violation of his or her contract.
Methods:
The population of interest for this study is the student-athletes at Pace University. My research will be based on interviews with student-athletes, age 18-21, all of whom have in some way gotten into trouble with either Pace or their coach. The interviews were of a less structured style in order to get a true sense of how the athlete felt towards the situation for example their attitude/ demeanor towards their past mistakes as they were being interviewed. The study consisted of 3 female and 2 male student-athletes.
The first male interviewee was a Freshman Lacrosse player who had been written up (received a written disciplinary notice from a resident advisor) 5 times since the beginning of the school year. 4 of those incidents included the use of alcohol and only 3 were reported to his coach. The repercussions for these incidents were “Conditioning for one of them… I had to lunge a quarter mile… and that was really the main one, the other two were stupid so coach kind of understood”.
The second male interviewee is a freshman on the swim team and was on academic probation from the university after he “didn’t hand in 15 homework assignments and skipped a few classes” he says while chuckling. Just from this alone it’s clear this athlete does not hold much regard for his actions. He goes on to explain “my coach was pretty chill- disappointed… disappointed would be the word” when asked how his coach disciplined him he responded “now I just have to come in every week and my coach checks up on how I’m doing in my classes, and I wasn’t allowed to practice until I got all my homework assignments handed in [2days]”.
The second male had never gotten in trouble previously for drugs or alcohol though when asked about his teams policy on the use of drugs and alcohol he believed “Drugs are totally banned and I’m pretty sure that alcohol is frowned upon for most of the year… [And the unofficial policy] is from the New Year to the end of January is ‘dry season’ and that’s enforced by your captains” meaning absolutely no drinking for that month. “Otherwise it’s kind of just common knowledge that we’re going to be drinking”.
The next part of the study consisted of female-student athletes who had committed equal or less severe offences compared to the previous male student-athletes.
The first female is a freshman on the volleyball team and has never been in trouble for drugs or alcohol with her coach or the school. Her first semester as a freshman she explained to her coach that math was her weakest subject and she would most likely get a C+ in the class. “My coach seemed fine with it and said she was glad I was being honest, after that semester had ended I finished with a 3.3 GPA overall even though I finished that class with a C+ like I said I would. But when I had my end-of-year with coach she said that since I got a C+ in math I had 12 hours of study hall per week I had to complete in the tutoring center and I had to send her weekly academic reports of what I had due that week in every class and what we were working on.” The penalty for missing her study hall hours was one set of lines for every minute she was late.
Regardless of the fact that this female student-athlete was upfront and forthcoming with her coach and still managed a high GPA overall she still punished. For the entire spring semester, she ha to fit in 12 hours off study hall along with classes, practice, lift, and conditioning each week.
The second female student-athlete interviewed is a sophomore and on the volleyball team as well. She has no history of academic probation or trouble with alcohol or drugs. “I woke up one morning with a hickey on my neck and I freaked out. I had practice later that day so I went to coach’s office before and told her I would have to practice with my zip-up pullover on because I had a hickey. She was pissed. We had a tournament the next day and she said I would only be allowed to play if I wore an Under Armor turtleneck underneath my jersey. She said she was really disappointed with me and went on about respecting my body and all that. She said if anyone in the athletic department saw it or found out it would give the entire volleyball team and program a reputation. She told me to give a talk to the incoming freshman next year about respecting ourselves and our bodies too.” The first male lacrosse player interviewed said “whenever a dude comes to practice with a hickey coach and everyone just ignores it”.
The last female student-athlete interviewed is a freshman on the basketball team and had no history of getting into trouble with alcohol or drugs. “I was walking into my building and the person I was walking in with was carrying a pack of beer. I didn’t even know but when the RA stopped us she wrote me up too. I had to go to a hearing and I got the charges dropped since it wasn’t my alcohol but my coach still made me go to three extra 6:00 am practices that week along with all our other training.” This player also had consistently good grades throughout her freshman year.
Conclusion:
Not only were the female athletes punishments much more severe, but they also suffered more shaming from their coaches. The sophomore volleyball player was told that by receiving a hickey she was disrespecting herself and her body and that could lead to repercussions for the entire volleyball program at Pace. In general, the women who were interviewed held a different manner throughout the interviews- they were more embarrassed by their actions and punishments compared to the men whose interviews were more lighthearted- as though they viewed the past incidents as a ‘not a big deal’. The coaches of the male teams clearly were much more lenient on their players that got in trouble.
The female basketball player was punished by her coach even thought she was cleared of all charges by the Residency Board. Her coach punished her before she was even able to make a mistake. While the male lacrosse player got 3 strikes from his coach (so far) and has yet to receive any serious punishment besides one extra session of conditioning, regardless of the fact that he was guilty each of the three times he got written up.
Each of the female athletes also had a history of good behavior and the incident discussed was their first mistake. This held no weight, however, with their coaches when it came down to disciplinary action. Coaches of the male teams were far more likely to be understanding and give second chances compared to the coaches of the female teams.
The results of this study prove that society still expects women to “act lady-like” while boys are given the “boys will be boys” excuse. The constant expectation of perfection from coaches and staff adds a mental toll to the already hectic lives of female student-athletes. And when they inevitably make a mistake, the shaming they endure as a result follows them for weeks after into every other aspect of their life.
Limitations:
This study was of a very small group of people at a small school in Pleasantville, NY. This obviously cannot be an accurate representation of the entire NCAA, so for future studies I would recommend involving more schools from across the nation. Also, a survey of the percentage of female students that get into trouble with their coaches/school vs. male students would be helpful to visualize the actual overall importance of this issue. Since this study is so small, it cannot even truly be considered representative of Pace University, however, it poses questions and brings to light enough inconsistencies to justify more research on this topic.
Works Cited
Survey: Underage drinkers get alcohol free from adults.” CNN.com. June 26, 2008.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
MADD Statistics. www.madd.org/statistics
Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking. https://www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/statistics.aspx
“Marijuana.” What Is the Scope of Marijuana Use in the United States? N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015. <http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-scope-marijuana-use-in-united-states>.
Hada, Betsy M., and William Bauer. “A Study of The Student-Athletes Grade Point Average In and Out of Competitive Season.” Marietta College, 2006. Web. <https%3A%2F%2Fetd.ohiolink.edu%2F!etd.send_file%3Faccession%3Dmarietta1147874690%26disposition%3Dinline>.
“Grading College Athletes.” Economix Grading College Athletes Comments. N.p., 15 Oct. 2010. Web. 05 May 2015. <http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/grading-college-athletes/?_r=0>.