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ED 310 107 SP 031 424

TITLE Role Models, Sports and Youth. NSSC ResourcePaper.

INSTITUTION National School Safety Center, Malibu, CA.SPONS AGENCY Department of Justice, Washingtm, D.C. Office of

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.PUB DATE Mar 89GRANT 85-MU-CX-0003NOTE 41p.

PUB TYPE Reports - Descriptive (141)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus PostEge.DESCRIPTORS Adolescents; Antisocial Behavior; *Athletes; Athletic

Coaches; *Athletics; *Delinquency Prevention; *Males;Peer Influence; Preadolescents; *Role Models; TeamSports

Research and numerous model programs suggest thatsport plays an important social role. Particularly among youth,sports and professional athlete role models help deter juveniledelinquency. An overv.!ew is presented of current efforts to involveyoung people, particularly inner-city black youths, in athleticactivities. A majority of sociological studies have shown that youngathletes, regardless of their socioeconomic status, are lessdelinquent than comparable non-athletes and are less likely to beinvolved in serious offenses. Well-known black male athletes haveproven to be effective role models for boys, not only in encouragingthem to engage in sports activities, but to resist peer pressure andthe drug culture. This booklet discusses ways in which youngsters arebeing persuded to become involved in sports and other activities. Aselectior, of articles from newspapers and magazines that deal withthis subject is appended. (JD)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THISMATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)"

ROLE MODELS, SPORTS AND YOUTH

NSSC RESOURCE PAPER

National School Safety CenterPepperdine UniversityMalibu, CA 90265

818/377-6200

First Printing--March 1989

U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

This document has Peen reproduced isreceived from the Person or organizationoriginating

C Minor changes have been made to improvereproduction Quality

Points of view nr opinions stated in If'is document do not necessarily represent officialOE RI position or policy

The National School Safety Center is a tertnership of the U.S.Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Education andPepperdine University.

Prepared under Grant %85 -MU -CX -0003 from the Office of JuvenileJustice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs,U.S. Department of Justice.

Points of view or opinions in this document are those of theauthor and do not necessarily represent the official position orpolicies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ronald D. Stephens, Executive DirectorStuart Greenbaum, Communications Director

Ronald W. Garrison, Field Services DirectorBernard James, Special Counsel

Brenda Turner, Project Editor

2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE

ROLE MODELS, SPORTS MID YOUTH

From collecting baseball cards, to playing Little League, towatching the World Series, either as a participant or as aspectator, sports has been a part of our lives since earlychildhood. Besides the obvious satisfaction we experience fromthis involvement, research and numerous model programs suggestthat sports plays an important social role. Particularly amongyouth, sports and professional athlete role models help deterjuvenile delinquency.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, educators, sociologists,psychologists and penologists have contended that sports canserve as an effective and powerful antidote to delinquency.During the 19th century, England became the first country toadvance the idea that involvement in sports can serve as adeterrent to delinquency. "In the English public schools . .

sport was used as a mechanism of social control," explainsresearcher Jeffrey 0. Segrave, author of the article "Sport andJuvenile Delinquency," which appeared in Exercise and SportSciences Reviews in 1983. "Specifically, sport was used as asubstitute for the stealing, bullying and drinking that dominatedthe leisure hours of the English schoolboy," he says.

The United States soon began to place more emphasis on youthsports as well, and President Theodore Roosevelt applauded thefounding of the Public Schools Athletic League in 1903.Roosevelt said that since the children in the tenement housedistricts of New York were deprived of play opportunities, "theenergies they should work off in wholesome exercise, in vigorousplay, find vent in the worst feats of the gangs which representso much that is vicious in our city life." J. Edgar Hoover, headof the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1924 to 1972,declared that "by diverting the physical energy of youth intoconstructive channels, Little League Baseball helps curb juveniledelinquency."

Many athletes have told about how being active in sports changedtheir lives. "Athletes themselves have also lent credibility tothe deterrent argument and have declared in biographies andinterviews that were it not for their athletic participation theywould probably have become involved in delinquency, crime anddrugs," Segrave points out.

Sports stars such as Jackie Robinson, Johnny Unitas, Lou Gehrigand Wilma Rudolph inspired countless young people and becameAmerican heroes. Many of today's youth still look to athletes astheir role models. A 1988 survey of some Missouri high schoolseniors asked the question: "Who are the heroes of today'syouth?" The seniors' top was Chicago Bulls basketballplayer Michael Jordan.

ROLE MODELS, SPORTS AND YOUTH (2) NSSC RESOURCE PAPER

NSSC'S URBAN SCHOOL SAFETY CAMPAIGNS

Because of the influence sports and athletes can have on youngpeople, the National School Safety Center has teamed up withseveral top professional athletes to tell kids that they canchallenge the negative influences of peer pressure, drugs,bullying and gangs to win in life. NSSC's Urban School SafetyCampaigns target high-crime, metropolitan areas.

Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching ace Fernando Valenzuela was thefirst to be featured in a full-color poster produced by NSSC, apartnership of the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department ofEducation and Pepperdine University. Valenzuela's advice to"Join a team, not a gang!" hit home for kids in Los Angeles,considered the youth gang capital of America. Los Angeles Countynow has an estimated 600 gangs with approximately 70,000 gangmembers.

In his message cn the poster, Valenzuela tells young people, "Ican't imagine there is a kid alive that, in his heart, wouldn'trather steal second base than a car; or knock the life out of aball . . . instead of another kid. Put your hitting, stealingand power to good use. Join a team, not a gang!"

Author and researcher J.H. Fichter conveyed this same messagewhen he wrote, "The boy who steals second isn't stealing autos."Sports proponents have long maintained that athletics occupiesthe spare time of youth--time that could otherwise be used indeviant behavior.

NSSC distributed the Valenzuela poster to approximately 1,800elementary, junior high and high schools in the Los Angeles area.Perhaps the best testimony about the success of the poster inreaching schoolchildren has come from a class of sixth-graders atan inner-city Los Angeles school. Each student wrote to NSSCrequesting a copy of the poster.

"Please send me a free poster of Fernando Valenzuela because Ialways say no to drugs and I am not into gangs or drugs. . . .

With that poster I can remind myself to stay out of gangs and saysay no to drugs and stay out of jail," one boy wrote. A girl inthe class said in her letter: "I know this poster is aboutFernando Valenzuela and that he's against gangs. I don't likegangs. I think it's kind of stupid. You just waste your life.It's better if you go to college."

Chicago Bears lineman William "The Fridge" Perry helped tacklethe problemsof schoolyard bullies by appearing on NSSC's secondposter. "The Fridge says, 'Bullying is uncool!'" is the captionfor the Perry poster, which was distributed initially to morethan 600 schools in the Chicago area and eventually to thousandsof schools nationwide.


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While many parents and educators alike have passed off bullyingbehavior as simply "kids being kids," the problem is a seriousone that can no longer be ignored. Research now shows that onein 10 students is regularly victimized by bullies. And bulliesoften don't outgrow their destructive behavior, according toresearch conducted by University of Illinois at Chicago ProfessorLeonard D. Eron. A study by Eron shows that young bullies whosebehavior goes unchecked are five times more likely than theirclassmates to have criminal records as well as job and familyproblems when they become adults.

Overcoming peer pressure is the focus of the most recent NSSCUrban School Safety Campaign, with a poster that featuresWashington Bullets standouts Manute Bol and Tyrone "Muggsy"Bogues. "Make peer pressure a challenge, not an excuse!" is themessage conveyed by 7-foot-6-inch Bol and 5-foot-4-inch Bogues,the tallest and shortest players in N3A history. The Bulletsplayers urge students to ". . . choose what's right for you. Sayno to gangs, drugs, bullying . . . and yes to you, youreducation and your future." More than 4,000 schools in theDistrict of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia received copies ofthe poster. (Although both players are now on different teams,the message and poster remain popular.)

Other athletes from major U.S. cities are being recruited forfuture NSSC Urban School Safety Campaigns.

ATHLETES AS ROLE MODELS

Debi Thomas, the bronze medal winner in women's figure skating atthe 1988 Winter Olympics, told Women's Sports and Fitnessmagazine that she decided to become a skater after seeing aperformance of the Ice Follies at age 3. Thomas also was laterinfluenced by a neighbor, Olympic gold medalist Peggy Fleming.

"Talented and accomplished individuals have always awakened inothers a sense of their own capabilities and a desire to fulfilltheir own potential," according to the article titled "Every GirlShould Have One." The article pointed out that "throughouthistory, role models have demonstrated what is possible, andothers have followed their lead."

Even those who have found success in other professions have beeninspired by athletes. Astronaut Sally Ride noted that she hadwanted to be a great tennis player. "Billie Jean King inspiredme to excel. And when I wanted to be the first woman in space,her determination and enthusiasm motivated me. Her spirit isinfectious," Ride said.

A report by the Women's Sports Foundation showed that more than94 percent of the women they surveyed mentioned public figures asrole models, including many athletes. One of the foundation's


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primary objectives is to ensure that girls are exposed topositive female role models.

Chris Evert, in a World Tennis magazine article, said, "My firstrole model, of sorts, was Maureen Connolly. When I was 11 yearsold, my dad did a clinic for Wilson with Connolly. I was one ofthree kids who got the opportunity to hit with her." Evert saidthat later she also admired Billie Jean King. "The one importantinfluence I think I've had on young players is sportsmanship,"Evert said. "The message I try to get across is that you shouldenjoy competition, and just compecing is more important thanwinning or losing."

The impact made by Detroit Pistons basketball All-Star IsiahThomas has ied one Detroit writer to say: "He's too good toapply the term 'role model' to, but that's what he is. And theremarkable thing about him is that he's a role model for allages. There haven't been many like that."

Thomas, who was named to the NBA All-Star starting team in eachof his first five seasons with the Pistons, often makes publicappearances and speeches on behalf of anti-drug and anti-crimecauses. As one of nine children growing up in a Chicago ghetto,Thomas knows all too well the destructive influence drugs, crimeand gangs can have on young people. Three of his older brothersalso began playing basketball but turned to drugs and crime (allare now rehabilitated). Thomas was determined not to follow thesame path.

"Isiah Thomas lived the dream of becoming a pro, alternatelyencouraged and dismayed by his brothers' initial success andultimate failure in turning a schoolyard game into a livelihood,"according to the article "The Book on Isiah," which appeared inthe February 1988 issue of Northwest magazine. Now, as one ofthe NBA's best, Detroit's youth listen to what Thomas has to say.The article recounts an incident in which two black youths at aDetroit drugstore were asked by a shopper if they knew whose facewas pictured on a poster:

"Everybody knows him," the two replied, almost inchorus. "That's Isiah." Then the taller of the twopantomimed a layup shot."Do you believe what he tells you?" they were asked."Everybody believes him," one of them said.

RESEARCH ON ROLE MODELS AND YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN SPORTS

Although research on role models for youth is limited, an articleby Spencer H. Holland in the November 1987 issue of EducationDigest stresses that inner-city young minority boys are particu-larly in need of male role models.


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The inability of urban public schools to stem the tide offailure that characterizes the plight of black male children inthe inner city is well documented," Holland says. "The mostcommon reasons cited for their academic and social failings arethat such boys come from poor, single-parent, female-headedhouseholds, they have no positive male tole models, and they viewthe educational setting as feminine and not relevant to theirdaily lives," he maintains.

A variety of factors appear to determine whether a child willimitate the behavior of an adult model. "Sex, race, power,authority, attractiveness, and perceived similarity to self areamong the determinants that have been found to be importantantecedents to imitative behavior in children," Holland says."This knowledge may provide us with an approach to the preventionof academic failure in inner-city black boys, specifically, andmale students, generally."

In many elementary schools, most of the administrators, teachersand counselors are female. Inner-city girls, Holland explains,"are exposed very early in their academic careers to positive,consistent, literate, black females who offer alternative rolemodels to those encountered in the girls' non-school environ-ments. But boys usually have little, if any, early exposure topositive male role models. "Most boys do not have male teachersuntil they enter the later elementary grades or junior highschool, and, for the inner-city boy, this is much too late," heconcludes.

Recruiting more males to teach in the primary grades is one ofthe solutions Holland gives for this problem. "Men who aretrained in early - childhood education can make a difference bytheir very presence as part of the instructional staff," he says.Holland urges community groups, religious groups and athleticorganizations to assist schools in training young boys byproviding positive role models.

Segrave suggests that the earliest known study on the subject ofrecreation and delinquency was published in 1907 by T. Burns.Burns concluded from a survey conducted in Chicago that "toprovide a probation district with adequate play facilities iscoincident with a reduction in delinquency of from 28 to 70percent, or 44 percent as an average."

An increasing amount of research has been done on the relation-ship between interscholastic athletics and delinquency sinceW.E. Schafer's groundbreaking "Participation in InterscholasticAthletics and Delinquency: A Preliminary Study" was published in1959. The majority of these studies have shown that athletes,regardless of their socioeconomic status, are less delinquentthan comparable non-athletes and are less likely than non-athletes to be involved in serious offenses.


Segrave cites several studies which found that athletes generallyhave a better sell- image, enjoy a higher peer status, and aremore interested in school and studying that non-athletes. Inreviewing the research, Segrave concludes that a number offactors seem to account for the lower delinquency rate amongathletes, including: relief from boredom, moral lessons,perceived peer status, non-deviant role models, constructive useof time, interpersonal skills and knowledge, strong socialcontrols, less internal and external pressure toward rebellion,and less need to assert masculinity through deviant behavior.

ATHLETES WORKING WITH YOUTH

NSSC set a precedent for working with sports figures in the pastwith its successful "Educating minors is a major league concern"public service campaign featuring New York Yankees superstar DaveWinfield and co-sponsored by the Winfield Foundation.

Begun in 1977 to promote better health and education for youth,the Winfield Foundation has come to concentrate its efforts oncombating substance abuse. Eric Swenson, the foundation'scoordinator for conferences and publications, said they arecurrently working with various communities to provide expertisein the development of community task forces or other organiza-tions to deal with the problem of drug abuse.

"Because of our prominence, professional and even collegeathletes can play a significant role in turning the drug Koblemaround," Winfield says in his book Turn It Around! "Whether ornot we are capable or comfortable in the role, millions ofAmericans, especially youngsters, look up to us. Athletes have aplatform from which to speak, a pedestal upon which we have beenplaced, that few others in America can command," he added. "Ihave used this platform in the past and will continue to use it.Being a role model is a responsibility and trust. . . ."

In the pro-education campaign with NSSC, Winfield emphasized theimportance of role models for youth. "Youngsters need positiveguidance and support--at home and in school--to achieve theirmaximum potential," he said. "They are looking for role models.It's our responsibility to show them the benefits of good healthand quality education."

Pros for Kids was founded in 1982 by former San Francisco 49erfootball players Delvin Williams and Larry Schreiber. Williams,an All-Pro running back in 1978, serves as executive director ofPros for Kids, a non-profit anti-drug organization based inNorthern California. Orlando Cepeda, Keena Turner and Mary T.Meagher are among the many Pros for Kids athletes who meetpersonally with young people, answering questions and tellingabout their personal experiences in the competitive world ofsports.

ROLE MODELS, SPORTS AND YOTITH (7) NSSC RESOURCE PAPER

In addition to its summer camps and numerous other activities,Pros for Kids operates an On Track program in various Northernand Southern California high schools, funded by a state grant.On Track is an intensive, semester-long program in which pro-fessional athletes become part of the school's teaching staff,conducting classes and various activities to help students keepfree from drugs and alcohol.

"From my own experience as a kid, I've always wanted to be anathlete," Williams said in a telephone interview. "I thinkeveryone at some time or another has had a dream to be anathlete. All through our lives, athletes have an impact on us."Williams, who himself overcame a drug problem, believes thatathletes--whether they've had problems with drugs or not--canserve as a positive role model to help influence kids away fromsubstance abuse. "That's what we've been trying to do--to useour influence to get kids to see that no matter what you want tobe in life, no matter what your dream is, you can attain it," heexplained.

Another organization that utilizes athletes as role models is theNew Jersey-based Lifegames. Former pro football player Al Dixon,who retired from the San Francisco 49ers after winning the SuperBowl in 1985, founded and now serves as executive director forLifegames.

In addition to maintaining a network of athletes throughout thecountry who are willing to do everything from counseling withyoung people to helping with a local program, Lifegames workswith the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services in itsresidential centers. "We particularly deal with emotionallydisturbed kids who are from socially neglected areas or have somesort of family problems," Dixon explained.

"The kids are very receptive to me and the other athletes simplybecause we usually start out with some type of sports campprogram where we get them to see that we are down to earth andwill do different things with them," Dixon said. This one-on-onecontact builds communication as the athletes continue to visitthe centers on a consistent basis. "We are able to talk to themabout what has happened with us during our lifetime, and theyopen up and talk about what's on their mind," he added.

Former Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys linebacker Ken

Dave Brunridge, Alvin Davis and Harold Reynolds; David Hughes,

Hutcherson, along with several other current and former profes-sional

the program progresses, the athletes plan to go to schools inthe Seattle area and lead workshops for small groups of young-sters,

them toward productive goals. Among the other athletesinvolved in Youth Challenge are Seattle Mariners baseball players

former Seahawks fullback; and Andre Anderson, who played footballfor the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.

sional athletes, in 1988 formed the Youth Challenge project.

sters, to serve as role models and mentors for them, and to help


Sam Brunelli, a retired Denver Broncos football player who nowserves as executive director of the American Legislative Councilin Washington, D.C., frequently speaks to young people and othersabout the benefits of sports and role models. "Sports can make adifference in young men's and women's lives," Brunelli said."Important lessons can be taught through sports. And let's faceit, college and professional athletes have always had a specialkind of rapport with young people," he continued.

"Next to parents, I think coaches and athletes have more successin leading kids lives away from drugs and into positive thingsthan anyone else. We've all seen how coaches and athletes canreach and influence for good the lives of the children of ournation in ways others simply cannot," Brunelli said. "Athletescan be role models because the competitive sports arena mirrorsreflections of life, where athletes couraTzously endure and oftensurmount incredible hardships and reversals. Through competi-tive athletics might just come the forging of one's character."

Brunelli went on to say that "sports has always been an arena inwhich children and athletes are measured in clear and universalstandards of measurement." With proper supervision and coaching,he explained, "the only limits are those of an individual'sGod-given abilities and the abilities of the best players of thegame. Sports is still an activity in which excellence can beseen and achieved each day, remaining relatively unaffected bythe general erosion of standards in the culture at large."

Students Unified with Pros Encouraging Responsibility, calledSUPER TEAMS, was founded in 1984 by Brig Owen, former defensivecaptain for the Washington Redskins football team. The anti-drugprogram for Washington, D.C., area youths is a joint effort ofthe public schools, the Commission on Public Health, and theNational Football League Players' Association as well as otherprofessional athletes.

With the help of trained counselors and professional athletes whothe students admire, SUPER TEAMS develops a core group of studentleseers and athletes to be role models and to serve as peercounselors in their high schools. These trained students alsoare used to positively influence younger children in theircommunities.

SUPER TEAM's three-phase program begins with an in-servicetraining seminar for coaches, school counselors, teachers, schooladministrators, parents and professional athletes. The secondphase of the program consists of an intensive five-dayresidential training seminar for students and adults. This phasealso includes the day-to-day operation of the program within theschools once the residential training is complete. In-the finalphase, follow-up and evaluation activities are conducted.Schools with a SUPER TEAMS program have reported more than a

10ROLE MODELS, SPORTS AND YOUTH (9) NSSC RESOURCE PAPER

30 percent increase in the number of honor roll students, andimproved grades have opened new opportunities for some studentswho never before considered attending college.

Many other athletes, both individually and jointly, have usedtheir influence to reach youth. The Los Angeles Lakers basket-bail team in late 1987 released an anti-drug rap video called"Just Say No." The Lakers spoke and performed in person at theLos Angeles Forum in Atria 1988 for 8,500 schoolchildrenattending an anti-drug rally organized by the Laker Wives incooperation with city and school officials. The Laker Wives alsohave completed another project, a 32-minute video titled "TheWinning Choice," in which Laker players discuss the perils ofdrug abuse with students. The video was distributed free toschools in Los Angeles and Orange counties during 1988.

Another Los Angeles team, the NFL's Raiders, joined with theLos Angeles Police Department during the fall of 1988 to dis-tribute 3 million football trading cards carrying an anti-gangmessage to children. The cards were handed out free during thesix-week campaign to boys and girls who approached a policeofficer and asked for them. A previous program had been con-ducted with Dodgers baseball cards and was equally successful.

In an effort to combat this nation's problem of drinking anddriving, the National Basketball Association, Major LeagueBaseball and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationformed a coalition called TEAM, which stands for Techniques forEffective Alcohol Management. One part of the TEAM mediacampaign has been the production of a number of public serviceannouncements, which have carried messages such as: "TheDesignated Driver--Your Most Valuable Player," "Don't Let aDrinking Driver Take You . . . Anywhere," and "Time Out. Don'tLet a Friend Drive After He's Had Too Much to Drink."

Although many athletes are using their status as role models topositively guide young people into making the right choices inlife, much more remains to be done. As Michael Cooper of the LosAngeles Lakers told the Los Angeles Times in a June 1987 articleseries on Sports vs. Gangs: "I'm always out there [giving talks]because I know that when I was growing up I was looking for help.That's what we're doing, trying to help one, two, as many Ls wecan."

INVOLVING YOUTH IN SPORTS AND OTHER kCTIVITIES

Former U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett, who wasselected by President George Bush to serve in the newly createdCabinet-level position of "drug czar" to combat our nation's drugproblem, has expressed his belief that sports can be a valuablepart of the educational process. As the 1987 recipient of theHumanitarian Award from the American Sportscasters Association,Bennett concluded his acceptance speech with these remarks:


Indifference, alienation, boredomthese are the killersof the spirit of the young. But sports can rekindle thatspirit. Sports are still a way to learn how to give heartand spirit to a common enterprise. Sports are still a wayto learn that it is better to believe and to fight than todoubt and to withdraw. Finally, sports are still a way tolearn, after either victory or defeat, that another day,another chance comes tomorrow. And so sports can indeed bea very good thing, a very important part of education.

Yet another killer is now preying on the spirit of America'syouth. Crack--the cheap, highly addictive, smokeah,le form of thedrug cocaine--has gained a firm grip on the lives of countlessgang members and other young people lured by the prospect ofmaking big money selling the increasingly popular drug. Newsweekmagazine began its Nov. 28, 1988, cover story on crack by tellingabout a Little League team in Detroit that had to fold during thesummer because "the players were too busy selling crack to playbaseball."

Detroit's youth aren't the only ones affected by drugs and gangs."It [gang activity] is definitely affecting the development ofyouth athletics here," said Charles Norman, field operationsdirector for the Community Youth Gang Services Project in SouthCentral Los Angeles. In a Nov. 27, 1988, article in the LosAngeles Herald Examiner, Norman added, "To give you an example,we used to have a lot of Little League baseball teams. We don'thave those programs anymore and I'll tell you why they stopped.I can remember many a day having our whole team hit the groundbecause of gang gunfire. I think that ran off a lot of thecoaches."

E.C. Robinson, head football coach at L.A.'s Locke High School,also believes gangs are the reason why he is seeing less kidstrying out for school sports. "It used to be that we'd have tocut people," he said in the Herald Examiner article. "So manykids now are choosing to get involved with gangs and drugs, Ifind myself begging kids to come out for the team. It seems likethe kids' minds today are preoccupied with gangs, not football."

In Detroit, Los Angeles and elsewhere in our nation's innercities, the prospect of making huge sums of money has lured manyyouths into drugs and gangs. "It's hard to convince a lot ofkids that drugs and gangs aren't the way to go when they seeolder kids driving fancy cars and wearing expensive clothes,"Norman explained. "Some of these kids are making thousands ofdollars a week. That's more glamorous than going to school andworking toward a college education and a job that'll pay $30,000,maybe $40,000 a year."

Believing that there must be alternatives to drugs, gangs andilliteracy, Reggie Morris, head basketball coach and a counselorat Los Angeles' inner-city Manual Arts High School, began aprogram with just that name: "There Must Be Alternatives."

1 2ROLE MODELS, SPORTS AND YOUTH (11) NSSC RESOURCE PAPER

Morris, who himself is a Manual Arts graduate, said he wantedstudents to see that getting involved in drugs and gangs "is adead-end street--the only things you can get out of it is thatyou'll and up in prison or end up dead."

Morris has presented There Must Be Alternatives assemblies forstudents at Manual Arts and other ar schools as well asconducting programs for churches and : special-interestgroups in the community. The presenta,.... ns have included panelsof individuals who could oe role models for the students--thosewho were good athletes but didn't make it to the professionallevel in sports and have had successful careers in other areas."We have an evaluation sheet at the end of the program where weask the kids to write down what their first and second optionswould be for a career. . . . So we have them start thinking aboutsome actual jobs."

One unique assembly presented during the 1987-88 school year atManual Arts, Morris explained, involved several rehabilitateddrug addicts and a young woman--a former Manual Arts student- -whowas serving time in prison for her gang activities. "She wasreleased from the facility for that day to come with her super-visor and talk to the kids about gangs, where her own involvementin gangs had gotten her, and how she has changed her mind,"Morris said. "She was real powerful and had a big impact on thestudents here." Part of the There Must Be Alternatives programsalso includes putting those kids who have problems with drugs andgangs into contact with some referral agencies where they can gethelp.

"Kids will find a role model, whoever is available, whether ornot that person is a positive or negative influence," Morrisconcluder. "So if a kid doesn't have a positive rola model, thenhe Lor she) may still end up with a role model, but it may be thedope dealer or gangster, the person who's riding around with abunch of money in his pocket and a brand new car and is 18 yearnold," he adds. "We need to have positive role models who areavailable, visible and accessible to the community and to thekids."

Robert Maher, principal of Cornwall Central High School inCornwall-Hudson, New York, has traveled around the countryworking with young people as part of his Student LeadershipProgram. "If you survey any given high school across thecountry, I think you'll find a pretty shocking statistic - -atleast I found it shocking as I spoke with kids when I traveledaround the country," Maher said. "About 50 percent of our kidscome from broken and/or single-parent homes. Although schoolswill do the best they can to assume some of the burden that oncefell on the family, there's a limit to what schools can do."

Maher said he believes schools should join with local recreationdepartments and religious groups to offer youths positivealternatives. "If we don't offer positive alternatives-- whether


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they be sports, a chess team, debate, intramural programs oractivities at after-school centers--I think, today especially,young people have a tendency to gravitate toward negativealternatives," he concluded.

Maher also said prevention methods need to begin early. "Peopleshould not be surprised to learn that a lot of kids' lives areshaped by the time they are in the fifth or sixth grade to thepoint where they've already been considering negative alterna-tives," he said. "If you lose them at that ,oint, you'll stillsave a few later, but it's almost the finished product at thehigh school level." Using himself as an example, Maher said, "Igrew up in New York City. And I know what saved me, as savedmany others, was involvement in sports and other activities."

One such organization that involves youth in sports and otheractivities is the non-profit Youth Development, Inc. inAlbuquerque, New Mexico. The after - school, sports'programinvolves children from 15 elementary schools who participate inleague competition. Executive Director Chris Baca said theyprimarily focus on latchkey children and kids who otherwise wouldnot be involved in sports.

"We want to build a sense of team and pride," Baca said. "Andthe kids really want to belong to somethini. We work veryclosely with school personnel, counselors and principals. Ifsome children are not doing well in school, we tell them theycan't be on the team. In almost every case, it's workedpositively."

The National Association of Police Athletic Leagues (PAL), ajuvenile crime prevention program, primarily uses involvement insports to prevent juvenile crime. "The idea is to create apositive, supportive environment where kids can learn teamworkand cooperation as well as see a police officer as a role model,somebody that can be their friend, not as someone for them tofear," said Sally Cunningham, director of marketing and memberser/ices for PAL's national headquarters in North Palm Beach,Florida.

Since its beginning during the Depression days of the 1930s, PALnow has at least 125 local chapters throughout the United Statesand Canada. Several of those who participated in PAL activitiesas youths have gone on to become successful athletes, includingWilt Chamberlain, George "The Ice Man" Gervin, Eric Money, CyrusMan,: and Althea Gibson.

"It's difficult to measure prevention," Cunningham says. "Someof our chapters have conducted studies, P.nd we do kaow that inyears past these cities had a certain number of kids involved incrime, and as a PAL has grown there has been far less .ime amongchildren," she added. Since PAL's national headquarters wasestablished five years ago, Cunningham said the organization'sgrowth has been "just unbelievable."


The PAL chapter in Richmond, Virginia, has experienced suchgrowth. "We're being overrun by kids," said Lt. Julius W.Richardson, program director for the Richmond Police Department.Unfortunately, limited city funds have kept the program fromexpanding beyond youths in a certain housing project. Approx-imately 350 kids are involved in the program, which includesbasketball, baseball, football and track for boys and girls."Usually when they get out of school at 3:10 p.m., the firstplace they stop is one of our centers," Richardson said.

Another program targeted toward school-age youth is the DrugEnforcement Administration's Sports Drug Awareness Program.Developed in conjunction with the National High School AthleticCoaches Association, the International Association of Chiefs ofPolice, the National Football League and the NFL PlayersAssociation, the DEA program targets coaches and student athletesto help prevent drug abuse among youth. With the help andinvolvement of coaches, student athletes are influenced andtrained to act as role models, using positive peer pressure todissuade other students from using drugs.

One-hour, one-day and three-day seminars and clinics are con-ducted for coaches to assist them in understanding the youth drugproblem and to show them how they can implement an awarenessprogram in their high schools. The seminars are staffed by ateam of DEA and FBI Special Agents and public affairs staff, keyplayers and officials from professional and amateur sports, highschool coaches who have successfully put the program intooperation, and other representatives from organizations who areparticipating in the program. "Amateur and professional athletesare an important part of this team because they serve as rolemodels for young people," according to a DEA representative.

The Forest Hills School District in Cincinnati, Ohio, served asthe basis for the DEA program. Although Forest Hills already hada traditional drug abuse prevention program, drugs and alcoholwere serious problems for students. Since it was initiated in1983, Forest Hills' sports-oriented prevention program has been asuccessful strategy in the battle against student drug andalcohol abuse. "We think we've made big gains," said Mike Hall,who was an athletic director when the program began and now is ahigh school principal in the Forest Hills district. "We saw anoverall and significant improvement. . . . We're not going to gettotal abstinence among our athletes, but we can get it undercontrol."

Other schools also are developing ways to involve students.Walker Middle School in Charlottesville, Virginia, has a programin which points are awarded to students who participate inafter-school activities. At the end of the year, certificatesare given to the top 10 boys and girls in each grade. Thehomeroom with the most points gets its name engraved on a plaquethat is displayed at the school. The program, which has been ineffect for more than 10 years, has been very successful and has


helped students have a feeling of belonging in addition todeveloping self-confidence and leadership skills, according to aNovember 1987 article in Principal magazine.

An after-school program began soon after the start of the 1988-89school year at Ashley Elementary School in the Denver, Colorado,area, where "the crack cocaine trade has become so bold thatchildren often find the drug lying in the streets," according toan article in Denver's Rocky Mountain News. With the aid of afederal grant and many volunteers, the school's 5- to 11-year-oldstudents may join a drill team, learn how to cook, do needlework,study computers or drama, or play basketball and other games.The parents of every child participating in the after-schoolactivities must show up at periodic sessions for adults onparenting skills and drug abuse prevention.

Los AngeleJ also launched an after-school program during the1988-89 school year that is aimed at keeping latchkey childrenout of gangs. About 300 of the city's elementary and junior highschools have extended their playground programs an extra twohours until 6 p.m. The city allocated $1.8 million to pay forthe salaries of two aides at each site to supervise childrenplaying sports or involved in other activities.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT ALTERNATIVES

Although some kids will become involved in gangs, drugs and othernegative influences, research and model programs indicate thatmany young people could be steered away from such a lifestylethrough the help of positive role models and becoming involved insports or other constructive activities.

The Los Angeles Times, in its series on Sports vs. Gangs, toldabout one such individual. Kenneth Williams was a gang member atage 12. Six of his friends had been killed in gang violence.And at 17, he found himself in Juvenile Hall weighing hisoptions. Williams said he figured he had three choices: Getkilled, go to jail or play football.

Knowing it wasn't enough to quit his gang, Williams actuallymoved during his junior year. At Locke High School, Coach E.C.Robinson served as a role model for Williams. "I knew the day Imet the man [Robinson] that I would never be a gang memberagain--I'd be a football player," Williams said. Choosing sportsearned him a college scholarship and a new direction in life.

"When I see someone going in that direction [toward ganginvolvement], I tell them they're going to lose their life. I

tell them I used to be in the streets and I know what it's about.Either you're going to be in jail the rest of your life, oryou're going to be in the ground," Williams concluded. "Playball, and you'll get a new direction in life."

16


RESOURCE ORGANIZATIONS

Drug Enforcement AdministrationDemand Reduction Section1405 I Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20537

Lifegames1022 Ironbound AvenuePlainfield, New Jersey 07060201/769-6143

National Association of Police Athletic Leagues200 Castlewood DriveNorth Palm Beach, Florida 33408305/844-1823

Pros For Kids1011 Cadillac Way, Suite CBurlingame, California 94010415/343-8279

SUPER TEAMS1411 K Street, N.W., Suite 910Washington, D.C. 20005202/783-1533

There Must Be Alternativesc/o Coach Reggie MorrisManual Arts High School4131 South VermontLos Angeles, California 90037

The Winfield Foundation2050 Center Avenue, Room 420Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024201/461-5535

Youth Development, Inc.1710 Centro Familiar S.W.Albuquerque, New Mexico 87105505/873-1604

REFERENCES

Chapin, Dwight. "Big Gains for Drug Program." San FranciscoChronicle, November 29, 1987.

Crouse, Karen. "Ganging Up Against the Preps." Los AngelesHeral Examiner, November 27, 1988.

Evert, Chris. "A Role Model." World Tennis, October 1986,pp. 36-37.


"Every Girl Should Have One." Women's Sports and Fitness,June 1986, p. 54.

Gorlick, Arthur C. "Athletes Challenge Students to Succeed."Seattle Post Intelligencer, December 3, 1988.

Holland, Spencer H. "Positive Primary Education for Young BlackMales." Education Digest, November 1987, pp. 56-58.

Jeanes, William. "The Book on Isiah." Northwest, February 1988,pp. 20, 24, 56.

"Lakers Take Court for Drug Message." Los Angeles Times,April 5, 1988.

Law, Ralph L. "It's Participation That Counts." Principal,November 1987, pp. 48-50.

Libman, Gary. "Lakers Say Yes to Video, No to Drugs." LosAngeles Times, September 4, 1987.

Morganthau, Tom, and Mark. "Crack, Hour by Hour."Newsweek, November 28, 1988, pp. 64-79.

Morrow, Denise. "Area High School Seniors Pick Their Heroes."Daily News & Advertiser (Booneville, Missouri), Feb 17, 1988.

"Raider Trading Cards Put Down Gangs." Los Angeles Times,September 28, 1988.

"School Hits Back at Drug Trade: After-school Programs Offered."Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colorado), September 28, 198'8.

"Schools Will Extend Playground Hours." Los Angeles Times,January 3, 1989.

Segrave, Jeffrey 0. "Sport and Juvenile Delinquency." Exerciseand Sport Sciences Reviews 2 (1983):181-209.

Teaford, Elliott, and Yount, Robert. "Sports vs. Gangs"(three-part series). Los Angeles Times, June 23-25, 1987.

U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration.For Coaches Only: How to Start a Drug Prevention Program.Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1986.

U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration.Team Up for Drug Prevention With America's Young Athletes.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1984.

U.S. Department of Justice, NationaI%Institute of Justice.NIJ Reports, July/August 1988, pp. 9-10

1


Winfield, Dave, with Swenson, Eric. Turn It Around! There's NoRoom Here for Drugs. New York: PaperJacks Ltd., 1987.

Woolf, Norma Bennett. "Recruit Coaches and Athletes to HelpBattle Drugs." American School Board Journal, February 1986,p. 36.

,

13


I

U.S. Department of JusticeDeug Enforcement AdministrationDomand Reduction Season

-A( Al i

a.

Sports Drug Awareness Program

History and Development

For the past several years, DEA and FBI SpecialAgents have been working together in a professionalsports drug awareness program. Teams of agentshave met with players in each of the major leaguesports to discuss activities within their jurisdiction thatimpact on the professional athlete: drug trafficking,drug abuse, and other offenses, such as gambling.This program has been extremely well received.

In further recognition of our responsibilities to reducethe demand for drugs drug abuse preventionthe Drug Enforcement Administration developed theSports Drug Awareness Program in conjunction withthe National High School Athletic Coaches Associa-tion, the International Association of Chiefs of Police,the National Football League, and NFL Players Assoc-iation to reach 5.5 million high school athletes withdrug abuse prevention information. This program wasformally inaugurated by Attorney General WilliamFrench Smith in Lexington, Kentucky on June 27,1984. Additional organizations that have joined in theprogram include the Federal Bureau of Investigation,Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinnuency Prev,_ rition,National Basketball Association, National HockeyLeague, Major League Baseball, National Federationof Parents for D7ug Free Youth, National Association ofBroadcasters, National Federation of State HighSchool Associations and the Sporting Gods Manufac-tureres Association.

The goal of this program is to prevent drug abuseamong school age youth, with special emphasis on therole of the coach and the student athlete. , We want toinitially reach 48,000 men and women coaches in20,000 high schools across the country who can, inturn, help us reach the 5.5 million student athletes. Forthe most part, the coaches are loaders i and keyteachers In the schools who have earned respect and

loyalty from their student bodies. With the help and in-volvement of the coaches, we feel that student athletescan be influenced and trained to act as role models, us-ing positive peer pressure to dissuade other studentsfrom using drugs.

The key elements in carrying out this program in-clude the distribution of a brochure to every coach inthe United States. The brochure, entitled "ForCoaches Only: How to Start a Drug Prevention Pro-gram," provides information to roaches on the need forhigh school prevention programs involving student ath-letes. This is intended to provide awareness and getthe attention of the coaches to the program. Secondly,we are distributing a booklet of materials containing anaction plan and guidelines on how to start a drug abuseprevention program for student athletes. This booklet,entitled "Team Up For Drug Prevention," contains adescription of a model high school program it Cincin-nati, Ohio. Finally, we are providing some one hour,one day, and three day seminars and clinics forcoaches in order to assist them in understanding thenature of the youth drug problem and how to take thenecessary steps to develop and implement a programin their high schools. These seminars are staffed by ateam of DEA and FBI Special Agents and Public Affairsstaff, key players and officials from professional andamateur sports, high school coaches who have suc-cessfully put this program into operation and other re-presentatives from organizations who are participatingin the program.

The presentations and assistance deal with such is-sues as the profile of an athlete, the impact of drug andalcohol use on an athlete and team, how the coach fitsin, where the coach can go for help, how to commun-icate with athletes and LAI description of a model highschool program in action. In the first twelve months of

20

7

this effort, over 7,000 coaches received instruction ondrug abuse prevention. During the same period over100,000 of the specially prepared sports drug preven-tion publications have been distributed.

Immediately after the program was launched DEAreceived an overwhelming response from numerousagencies and organizations involved in various aspectsof education and sports, as well as from many criminaljustice and community organizations. As a result, inNovember 1984, with support from approximately 40other groups, DEA launched a second phase of this ini-tiative. Each participating entity has pledged to use itsunique constituency to help prevent drug abuse bydirecting prevention information and messages towardthe 57 million young people now in kindergartenthrough college.

We are now involved in carrying the Sports Drug Aw-areness Program into homes by way of drug abuseprevention public service announcements. The first ofthe PSA's developed in September, 1985, featuredNFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle with Gene Upshaw,Executive Director of the NFL Players Association. Inearly 1986 a second PSA series was completed. ThesePSA's featured DEA Administrator John C. Lawn andDave Winfield of the New York Yankees. They have aspecial message for youth who may drink and usedrugs to prove they're adult during prom and gradua-tion time.

0%.".....**,..0.

For further information, contact:

Demand Reduction SectionOffice of Congressional and Public AffairsDrug Enforcement Administration1405 I Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20537

For futher drug and alcohol abuse preventioninformation, contact:

Prevention BranchNational Institute on Drug Abuse5600 Fishers LaneRockville, MD 20857

National Clearinghouse on Drug Abuse Information11400 Rockville PikeRockville, MD 20852

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism5600 Fishers LaneRockville, MD 20857

National Clearinghouse for Alcohol InformationP.O. Box 2345Rockville, MD 20852

21

August 1968

Seattle, WA(King Co.)Seattle Post IntellIgencer(Cir. D. 200,495)

DEC 3 1988

4.AI len s P. C. e I ,t trio

Athletes challengestudents to succeed

By Arthur C. GorllckP4 Reporter

Big Ken Hutcherson, former line-backer. for the Seattle Seahawks andthe Dallas Cowboys, stood in thecenter of the gymnasium floor at the

Central District's Garfield High School

yesterday."What we have to say is very

Important," he told rows of studentslining bleachers in the building, wherewalls are covered with squiggly scriptsignatures of the Bloods and Cripsstreet gangs. "But we're not .here to

talk to everybody."And it was clear that some of the

kids chatting and laughing and gig-gling didn't want to hear the voicebooming over a loudspeaker.

But it was also clear that therewere many others who blocked out the

background murmur and the shoutsand whistling.

They were the ones who staredentranced and listened attentively asHutcherson and at least eight otherpresent and former professional ath-

letes broke the ice at Garfield for a

new program, Youth Challenge, to help

guide kids away from drugs and gangs

and violence.Rayon Johnson, executive director

of Corporate Action against Drugs,

which sponsors the Youth Challenge

project, says i6 mission "is to build

creative and re.oductive citi'ens from

the ashes of despair, confusion and

resentment."He helped found the program

earlier this year and enlisted top area

corporations when he felt "somethingwas missing" from his career as a

marketing executive.As the program progresses, the

athletes plan to return to Garfield end

other schools and lead workshops for

small groups of youngsters, to serve as

, role models and mentors for them and

to help steer them toward productive

goals.+

"Where there is no vision, people

perish," Harold Reynolds, second base-

man for the Seattle Mariners, told the

kids in Ihe..gym's bleachers. "It'sup to_ you _10 make your schoolwhat you want to make it."

Steve August, former SeattleSeahawa lineman now in thetrucking business with Tony Ben-jamin, a former teammate whoalso participated in the YouthChallenge assembly at Garfieldyesterday, told the kids aboutgrowing up poor in housing pro-jects in San Bernardino, Calif.

"We're interested in you . . .we're interested in your future,"August said earnestly. `I knowwhat it's like not to have things."

Not all of the athletes talked at

the session, but all tphayed in ashort basketball garr4 against theGarfield Bulldogs faculty.

Among them were Alvin Davis,star first baseman di the SeattleMariners; David Hughes, formerSeattle Seahawks fullnack; AndreAnderson, who played footballwith the Dallas Cowbclys and NewYork Jets, and Dave Brunridge ofthe Seattle Mariners.

The kids shouted, screamedand applauded when their teach-ers dazzled the athletes by steal-ing passes and swished three-point shots from midcourt.

They stomped their feet andbarked like bulldogs as a shortfaculty member dribbled skillfully

Three Beattie police officerswho had given up a day off to helpwith the Program Robert A.Davis, Daryl Stone and John E.Manning were enthused.

"All id* at all schools richkids at rich kids, poor kids at poorschools they're all under pres-sure these days," Manning said.

"Some pf these kids just don'tknow how to ask for help," Davissaid. 9 think these athletes canteach them how."

But Mariner Reynolds wasn'tso sure.

"I think they know how toask" he .stlid. "I think we've justgot to le* how to hear themwhen they do ask for help."lcagi

22

past tall, lanky John Gregg, aformer .Seattle7Stiper'Sonic, andlaid the ball through the rim.Garfield's faculty won 23 to 21.

Later, Aaron Ruth, 15, a 10thgrader, said he and his *Mendswere "caught up in the excite.meat" of the program.

"It was fun, " said LynnettaJohnson, 14, a ninth grader, whosaid she was moved by some ofthe stories the athletes told oftheir lives. "It's sounds like backthen, things were hard."

"I thought it was great," saidBijan Washington, 14. "It mayhelp some kids keep away fromdrugs. But they'll have to want tohelp themselves."

Pico Rivera, CA(Los Angeles Co.)Pico Rivera News(Cir. W. 15,126)

SEP 2 0 1St?

Montebello, CA(Los Angeles Co.)Montebello News(Cir. 2xW 17,360)

SEP 2 0 19V

JAM'S P. C. II Est. Ma J111101°5 P. C. $ En. NOS

Valenzuela pitchesfvr drug-free kids

" of a team, not a gang!" native to gangs. "Make no mis-says Los Angeles Dodgers pitch- take, gangs are bad news!ing ace Fernando Valenzuela to Brothers fight. brothers. Mem-Los Angeles County youth, who hers kill and let killed," Valen-are the focus of a new anti-gang zuela sari. "Put your hitting,public service campaign spon- stealing and power to good use.Bored by the National School Join a team, not a Bane'Safety Center- With 04 assistant of the Los

A serious problem in large cit- Angeles School's superinten-ies throughout the United States, dent's office the poster is beinggangs and gang warfare are in- distributed to all 1,500 public ele-creasing at extraordinary rates mentary, junior high and seniorin the Los Angeles area. More high schools in Los Angelesthan 200 gang related killings County.have occurred in Los AngelesCounty this year, an 80 percentincrease over last year, accord-ing to the Los Angeles CountyDistrict Attorney's Office.

NSSC, a U.S. Department of-Justice school crime preventionprogram, is using Los Anlilesas a prototype for locallied re-sponses to the national cam-paign. Pro athletes in New York,Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit,San Francisco and Miami willalso be called on to talk kids outof gang involvement in their re-spective cities.

The primary component ofeach local effort will be the pro-duction of a poster featuring aprominent athlete, which will bedistributed to schools. In thisfirst effort, Valenzuela promotesteam sports as a positive alter-

?3

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

High-Energy Hero

Yankee All-Star LaunchesNational Campaign

by Neil Scott

When Yankee All-StarDave Winfield stepsto the plate, an imme-diate advantage goes

to the Bronx bombers. Pitchersthink twice, opposing managershold their breath, and the fans gowild. Dave Winfield is the kind ofplayer who makes things happen.

For the past 15 seasons, Winfieldhas been a dominant force in majorleague baseball. In five of the lastsix years he had over 100 runs bat-ted in (RBIs), and he is a perennialAll-Star for the New York Yankees.

On the field for the New YorkYankees, Winfield speaks with hispowerful bat, but off the field Win-field is equally successful at mak-ing things happen. He speaks withhis actions and strong personalcommitment. Over ten years agoWinfield started the David M. Win-field FoundatiOn, which has direct.ly impacted over a quarter of amillion kids around the country.The major concerns of the Founda-tion are drugs and alcohol, whichWinfield calls "the biggest threat tothe youth of our nation!'

In recent years, especially in lightof Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No"campaign, numerous professionalathletes from various sports havejumped on the eel"'- ity bandwagonto crusade agai. alcohol anddrugs. Lately it has become the "inthing" in sports and show businessto "talk the talk!'

Dave Winfield, who is no newcom-er to the anti-drug effort, "walks thewalk!' He was actively involvedwith the anti-drug movement longbefore the "Just Say No" campaignbegan. In fact, "Just Say No" is notone of Winfield's favorite slogans.

"The next step beyond just sayingno is turning it around. We want to

..

When it's timefor war, the country

has to come together.

move the nation from a passive neg-ative statement to positive collec-tive action;' said Winfield in arecent address in the nation's capi-tal as he unveiled the latest phaseof his national "Turn It Around"campaign.

"It's going to take more than theefforts of the President of this coun-try and his wife. Everyone has to be-come involved," 'continued Win-field. "When it's time for war, thecountry has to come together!'

Winfield'snlirn It Around" cam-paign includes an anti-drug video,which has been translated into fourlanguages and distributed to 62countries; numerous national andlocal media appearances; his re-cently released book Turn ItAround There's No Room Here ArDrugs (included in this month'sBookshelf on page 54); and a major

concert and rally on March 29,1988at Constitution Hall in Washing.ton, D.C., which will feature toprock performers, and sports stars.The rally is being billed as a "Pos-sibility of the Future" Celebration,and it will honor the achievement ofthe nation's drug-free youth.

The profits from Winfield's bookgo directly to the Winfield Founds-tion, wh;ch raises about $400,000annually. Although the Fbundationhas been involved in other projectsin the past, all of the resources arenow being put into "Turn ItAround!'

Located in Fort Lee, New Jersey,The David M. Winfield Foundationhas a staff of four full-time andseveral part-time employees. In ad-dition, there's a strong volunteercorps that continues to increase insize and is mobilized to assist withvarious aspects of the campaign.

It may appear to some that "ThniIt Around" may conflict with Dave'sother life as the N.Y. Yankee's supe-rstar center fielder. Winfield hasbeen able to master both roles.Yankee owner, George Steinbren-ner, however, has been less than ex-cited about Dave's off-the-field ac-tivities, often calling them "distrac-tions." Winfield continues to an-swer this criticism with home runs,RBIs, and spectacular catches inthe typical Yankee tradition.

Even during the baseball season,Winfield remains active in the fightagainst alcohol and drugs. OnYankee road trips, his free time isspent talking to kids in school,making media appearances, andconsulting with community lead-.ers. The intensity of his concern andmotivation to community positiveaction is unwavering. Each year hiscommitment and level of activityincrease.

Winfield commands respect. Inaddition to his physical stature,Winfield is articulate on many sub-jects, having been a Williams schol-ar at the University of Minnesota.He's certainly more than "just aballplayer," albeit an All-Star ball-player. He's an athlete, humanitar-ian, entrepreneur, and communica-tor, he's a hero in the true Americantradition.

41

San Francisco ChronicleNovambe: 29, 1987

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Tom Dunce{

When former 49ers back Delvin Williams talks, kids like these at Oceans High School in Pacifica listen

Big gains I

DELVINfor drug C-1

programBy Dwight ChapinVOMMISDKOWNRA

IX SEVEN SEASONS with theSan Francisco 49ers and MiamiDolphins, Delvin Williams wasamong the best running backs

in professional football.He twice rushed for more than

1,200 yards, was an All-Pro in 1978and was on two Pro Bowl teams.

But there's no telling what hemight have accomplished if he'dhad a blocker like Nancy Reagan.

The diminutive First Lady cer-tainly isn't constructed along thelines of those bruisers who play inNational Football League offensivelines. But she has considerableclout, and she created perhaps themost important opening DelvinW:lliams ever ran through, fouryears after his football career end-ed.

Some background first:Williams retired from the NFL

In 1981 under a cloud of drug allega-tions, and he now freely admits thatbecause of the pressures of per-forming, he used amphetamines toge4 "up" for games and cocaine tottay high after them

IN 1982, WITII his problem incheck. he and another former

Ver. Larr hreiber, founded ananti -drug organization called Prosfnr Kids.

.1..' saw a void at all levels of druguhuse education Williams says.i"Because of my own involvement

*WI drugs, I wanted to enlightenyoung people. 1 thought the best;ay to do that was through sportsItgums, ha% mg the kids ask us ques-ions and hearing what we went

Viroueli."Pros for Kids, a non-profit corpo-

Attlion had almost no budget at theIlan and Williams ran things from

hump in Los Altos. He invested,plenty of blood, sweat and his own)stoney, but he couldn't come up:a.ith a lot of sustained financial support elsewhere. J

In the early years, not enoughpeople were buying. With the out-ook at its darkest in 1985, Nancy

'Pagan, whose own "Just Say No"lo drugs campaign was well under,vay. said she would attend the

groups second annual fall fundraising dinner.Ts Williams was euphoric, for aminute ur two.

"Then I thought, 'Now thatwe've gut her, u hat are we going to4lo with her?'" he says "But I)leedn't have worried. It worked:Out just fine. She's a very nice per-pan . and has become very special tome. You really can't measure whatshe's dune for Pros for Kids. Herpresence, and her involvement

-with our program. kind of legiti-Mized what we're doing.", Not to mention helping raise a-bundle of money.

The organization netted 2110,000from the 1985 dinner, and 'made4300,000 more in 1986, when Mrs.;Reagan made a return visit.

Those funds, coupled with a

widestate grant that will pro-

:vide 2384.000 annually through'lune 1989, have brought some secu-tity to Pros for Kids.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

THE BUDGET FOR fiscal yearIII86-87 Is 81)00,000, and Williams

AlyS it probably will top $1 millionIPPX1 year.

Ile Is now almost as concernedith managing money properly as

u fah raising it."It's super important that I be a

good administrator," Williams, whoservers as executive director of Eros.tor Kids. says. "People see the flashof our operation the kids gettinghelp from athletes like Orlando Ce-teda and Keene Turner and ala-yT. Meagher but they don't see therest.

"We have between 30 and 35 peo-ple on staff, an office in San Mateoand an outpatient drug counselingoffice, contracted through SanMateo County. in South San Fran-Cisco. Alonk with our state-fundedkogram. which we call On-Track,awe have a Teen Alternative Pro-ram, 'which helps kids learr, to'help eath other, and we run several

weeklong, coeducational summerday camps around the Bay Area.

The growth has not been with-out pain, for Williams and his or-ganization.

"Because I n. ' no business expe-rience, I've haa to learn by doing,by trial and error." Williams says."The responsibility of dealing withpublic funds is just as stressful asbeing an athlete was. Personally,I'm now able to recognize wherepressure is coming from, why, andhow to back away from it. But I'malways cognizant that I don't wantto do anything that isn't right. Justthe slightest appearance that some-.thing was wrong would give a badmessage to the public."

Williams says he has had to dealwith a measure of cynicism aboutPros for Kids, as well as continuing

'Because of soyownInvolvementwith drugs, Iwanted toenlighten youngpeople'

Delvin Williams

scrutiny both from contributorsand outsiders.

"People will say, 'Well, I don'tknow if that will work, " he says."Some people think we're rich,which is certainly not correct, andothers say athletes are riot good rolemodels, and that the ones who haveused drugs should not be going intoschools and talking about it.

"They say we're glamorizingdrugs. but I think just the oppositeis true. We've been taught all ourlives as athletes how to come back,how to get up when we've beenknocked down. I think athleteswhether they've had difficultieswith drugs or not can be excel-lent role models, in a really positiveand organized way."

The organization of Pros forKids is one of the things Williams ismost proud of, and he offers theOn-Track program as a prime ex-ample.

it's aimed at reducing the inci-dence of drug and alcohol abuse inyoung people by using well-knownmale and female professional andamateur athletes to not just preachbut teach motivating kids to de-velop goals and coping skills.

Funded through a bill authoredby Assemblyman Art Agnos and ad-ministered by former teacher CarolBurgoa, On-Track is reaching sta-dents at schools throughout the BayArea and in Orange County, andwill be expanding.

Dr. Glenn Nyre, an independentevaluator hired by the State De-partment of Education to monitorand evaluate the outcome of theprogram, says, "It's been receivedvery well in the schools it's been inso far. Since it's new, we want to geta picture of how it affects students.We'll be doing post-testing in Janu-ary to see whether the students'outlooks are changing, whetherthey're learning how to resistdrugs, whether teachers are pick-ing up the OnTrack material andintegrating it into other classes. Butall things point to its having a posi-

tive impact."

TWO SCHOOL LEADERS whohave had experience with On-

Track agree."It had an excellent effect here,"

says vice principal Gary McAdam ofPittsburg High School, site of a pilotprogram last spring. 'The overalloperation was great but, to me, thekey was the individual (formerWarrior guard Raymond Town-send) running it. He was such astrong and likeable person he reallyset an example. At some level, heprobably reached most of the kidsin our school."

?6

Principal Al Campbell of Pacifi-ca's Oceana High School, which cur-rently has an an On-Track program.alsO credits the coordinator, formerUniversity of California and prode-fensive back John Sullivan.

"I've seen evidence of the trustthe youngsters have developed inhim," Campbell says. "On the dayshe is not actually bringing the pro-gram to them, he just visits on cam-pus. Students et down with himand talk. There's an exchange."

That's what Delvin Williams hadin mind from the beginniag.

"We have to put some things inplace to help kids make transi-tions," he says, "not just ease themthrough or ignore their problemsaltogether, the way we so often donow. In many cases, we're not ad-dressing the issues, we're turningout victims.

"1 think this is particularly truewith young athletes. We spend mil-lions of dollars making them biggerand stronger and faster but wedon't put a cent into developingtheir minds."

PROSFOR KIDS will hold s 19117

dinner Tuesday night at thlFairmont Hotel, with sportscasterPat Summerall as emcee and Giantspresident and general manager AlRosen as featured speaker (in place

of NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle,who had to bow out at the last min-ute because of another commit-

ment).Nancy Reagan will not be here

this time, but her sentiments will.After the 1986 dinner, she wrote

Williams:"1 want yott to know how very

proud I am of the work you haveaccomplished in focusing attentionon substance abuse. ... For eachyoung life that you touch, giving ahealthy, positive role model to follow, you are giving our country a

future leader."Words like that used to be about

all that Delvin Williams, 36, had tosustain him and his struggling or-ganization, but he's back in the pub-

lic spotlight he occupied in the late70s. The years have made himmuch more secure, he says ("I don'thave to try to maintain a high any-more. I can feel content playinggolf or going home and watchingTV") and he seems utterly confi-dent about what's ahead.

"A guy has donated more than1,100 acres in the Napa Valley tous." he says, "and we may build anational training and developmentcenter for drug prevention there.We already have spinoff branchesin Miami and Austin, Texas. My goalis to have a Pros for Kids chapter inevery city where there is a team wecan work with, providing athletesand role models for young people.If all goes according to plan, wehaven't even touched the tip of theiceberg."

Recruit coaches andathletes to help battle drugsRV Norma Bennett Woolf

WHEN TURPIN .o., Schoolcoaches yell, "Go team,"

they're not just cheering their footballplayers on to another touchdown.They're urging student athletes to jointhem in a battle against drug and alcoholabuse.

It's all part of a sports Arug preventionsect An at 7,:orest Hills (Ohio) SchoolDisnict (K-12; enr.: 6,500), which schooladministrators believe has helped reducedrug and alcohol vce among studentathletes and cheerleaders.

The program is considered so success-flu that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Ad-m:nistration, the National High SchoolAthletic Coaches Association, and severalprofessional sports leagues have high-lighted it at conferences and coachingclinics.

Here's how the Forest Hills Programworks: Using their influence with youngathletes, coaches discuss the dangers ofdrugs and drinking and recruit studentathletesespecially team captainstosupport the antidrug campaign and to dis-courage drug and alcohol use by bringingpeer pressure to bear on teammates.

Before Forest Hills established its pro-gram, a school survey found, youngathletes were having the same problemswith drugs and alcohol as other students,in spite of training rules regarding use ofsuch substances. The May 1983 surveyconducted at Turpin High School in For-est Hills, for example, found that 64 per-cent of the senior class student athletesand cheerleaders had taken a drink (luringthe sports season, 16 percent had smokedmarijuana, and 4 percent had taken drugssuch as cocaine and heroin.

Although Forest Hills already had atraditional drug abuse programfeatur-ing classroom lectures for prevention anddiscipline, counseling, and referralnospecific group of students was singled outfor attention. But clearly something moreneeded to be done: Rumors of drug andalcohol use among student athletes werewidespread, and a few young athletes

Norma hotness Woolf is a free-lance writer leCincinnati.

36

were suspended because of the problem.The move to highlight drug abuse

among athletesand to recruit athletes tohelp in the effortgrew out of a drugawareness meeting for parents conductedby the Turpin High School athleticboosters dub in February 1983. Respond-ing to growing concern following themeeting, Athletic Director Mike Hall(now a high school principal) and twocoaches attended an out-of-state seminaron drug aliuse and sports. When thegroup returned, Hall, coaches, and schooladministrators planned a program to takeadvantage of the relationship between

. coaches and athletes to combat drug use.Hall admits organizers had a powerftil

advantage going for them: They wereconcentrating on a select group with ahighly developed sense of camaraderieand loyalty. "Athletes are a captive audi-ence," he says. "They have a loyalty tothe team that students don't have to alge-bra class.. . . You can walk into a lockerroom of 25 kids, and if the coach says'Pay attention,' they pay attention."

This team spirit gives the program anadvantage over traditional school drugabuse programs, Hall adds. Peer pressureamong teammates is a strong influence indiscouraging drug use. Drawing athletesinto the program, however, dependsheavily on the efforts of school coaches,Hall says.

"Without the coaches, we would havequit right there," he says. "But thecoaches bought into the program. Theyaccepted it as a challenge, and they de-cided to do something about it."

To succeed, coaches must set an ex-ample for their players by strictly enforc-ing training rules concerning drugs andalcohol, even if that means suspending astar player from a team, Hall says.Coaches also must recruit team captainsto enforce training rules and to serve asrole models.

And coaches are asked to do more: todiscuss the dangers of drugs and alcoholat least once a week during team prac-tices, to learn the signs of drug abuse sothey can identify users, to abide by train-ing rules, and to confront team playersabout situations outside of school whendrugs or alcohol will be available.

To recruit parental support, school of-ficials invite athletes' parents to school tocosign training rule pledge cards. Underthe terms of the pledge cards, athletesagree not to use alcohol or drugs duringthe sports season, and parents promise tohelp make sure the kids keep their word.

The major support of parents is in theform of athletic booster clubs, which inprevious years have purchased and dis-tributed copies of "My Parents Don'tThink I Drink Because I'm In Sports,"a publication of the Minnesota Associa-tion of Youth Sports. Boosters also spon-sor postgame, alcohol-free parties forteam members and cheerleaders.

Students who already are addicted todrugs or alcohol need more than warningsabout the dangers of such substances.For these students, the school system hasset up a support network of teachers,school nurses, and counselors trained torecognize and deal with drug abuse. Back-ing them up the schools n. arrangedfor aid from inpatient and outpatientmedical clinics in the Cincinnati area.

To encourage students with a problemto come forward, the policy of suspend-ing athletes who use drugs or alcoholduring the sports season is waived if anathlete asks for help.

School officials say they are pleasedwith the results of their program. A sec-ond survey in May 1984 indicated thatdrinking decreased by 16 percentagepoints among junior high student athletesand by 9 percentage points amongathletes at one high school. Marijuana usedropped 2 percentage points amongjunior high athletes but rose 18 pointsamong athletes at one high school.

Hall says, "We think we've made biggains. We see an overall and significantimprovement. . . . We're not going to gettotal abstinence among on: athletes, butwe can get it under control."

Singling out it ident athletes is onlypart of the answer, Hall says. Schools stillneed a drug prevention program for allstudents. But, as Forest Hills has discov-ered, a sports-oriented prevention pro-gram could be a successful strategy forschools that are looking for a small vic-tory in the battle against drug and alcoholabuse.

If you'd like to learn more, write fora free copy of For Coaches Only: NowTo Develop a Drug Prevention ProgramFor Athletes and Team Up For Preven-tion, U.S. Drug Enforcement Adminis-tration, Public Affairs Section, 1405 I St.N.W., Washington, D.C. 20537. 0THE AMERICAN SCHOOL BOARD JOURNAL

Ganging up against the preIlifitaree CrouseHerald Examiner staff writer

he graffiti- graced back-board on the playgroundblacktop stands unused.

The bleachers at thei. I high school football game sithalf-empty.

The sidelines, benches andddgouts lie barren.

Mhat's going down in the innercity?

Where are all the kids whoonce flocked to South CentralL.A. playgrounds for pick-upgimes? Where are the crowdsUpit used to make high schoolfootball contests a social happen-ing? Where are all the youngathletes who couldn't wait to tryout for their prep football, basket-ball and baseball teams?

'Pose those questions tocliches, players and local resi-dc,rits and they invariably point tothe writing on the wall ... and onthe buses, park benches andbillboards of the neighborhoodakywhere local gangs deem fit toleave their graffiti calling cards.

Gann,. they'll tell you, arefrightening:kids away from theplaygrounds and spectators awayfrom high school games, and areproviding teen-agers with a finan-cially lucrative alternative toafter-school sports. They are, inshort, shooting down literallyas well as figuratively athleticdreams and long-standing sport-ing rituals of today's inner cityyouth.

"A lot of youngsters still aspireto be athletes," said CharlesNorman, the field operations di-rector of the Community YouthGang Services Project in SouthCentral Los Angeles. "But youhave the kind of situation nowwhere they'll be playing ball onthe playground and gangs willjump them. Sooner or later they'llend up putting the ball down andjoining the gangs, to protectthemselves if nothing else.":' Bryant (whose last name is

tieing withheld) was such a young-ster. An earnest young man oftwenty -odd years with a well-muscled torso that suggests anathletic past, Bryant once passedhis days running with a gang.Now, as a member of the CYSPgraffiti unit, he spends countlesshours wiping up the very acts ofvandalism he used to carry out.

-"When I was younger, I stayedaway from that (gangs). I loved

sports so I used to hang out at thepark all the time," Bryant said."Then one day a friend of mineand I were shooting baskets and agang came by in mo-pads andbikes and started circling us andbroke up the game and beat usup."

Bryant's voice grew softer."When that keeps happening

to you," he said, "you feel like youcan't really do what you want to

"So many kids noware choosing to getinvolved with gangsand drugs, I findmyself begging kidsto come out for theteam. It seems likethe kids' minds todayare preoccupied withgangs, not football."LC. RobinsonLocke High Coach

do, so you just go ahead and join agang."

"It (gang activity) is definitelyaffecting the development ofyouth athletics here," Normansaid. "To give you an example, weused to have a lot of Little Leaguebaseball teams. We don't havethose programs anymore and I'lltell you why they stopped. I canremember many a day having outwhole team hit the ground be-cause of gang gunfire. I think thatran off a lot of the coaches."

"The gangs pretty much havetaken over the parks," Bryantacknowledged. "If you're a kid,you don't want to hang there."

By the time Bryant reached histeens, he was the one inflictingthe playground beatings. His loveof spirts notwithstanding, Bryantshunned high school athletics be-cause, as he explained, "I was toobusy hanging with my friends andwondering what we were going toget Into next."

INIYANTS ADMISSION doesn'tsurprise E.C. Robinson. Robin-son, who just concluded his ninthyear as the head football coach at

PR

Locke High, believes gangsthe reason he has to jogmemory to recall the last timefootball tryouts drew a crowd.

"It used to be that we'd havecut people. But now, we can'tthat," Robinson said. "So makids now are choosing toinvolved with gangs and drugs,find myself begging kids toout for the team. It seems likekids' minds today are ppied with gangs, not football."

Robinson's lament cleartranscends sports and campRichard Masson, who coabasketball at Jordan Highseven years before movingCarson in 1982, said, "Inpast, we had a lot more numEvery year, it's declining a libit and I think the gangsdefinitely one of the reasonsit.

"When I was at Jordan," Nson continued, "we lost a lotkids out of fear. These were kiwho weren't into (gangs) and wwanted to play, but they wafraid. They lived on theside of the railroad tracks athey were scared to walk hoafter practice. There were bound-aries and different projects thatweren't conducive to crossing. Itwas tough."

One Jordan player who didtraverse the danger zones wasLimy Friend, who played forUSC on an athletic scholarshipafter starring for the Bulldogsfrom 1978-82. He graduated fromUSC In 1986 with a degree inPublic Administration and UrbanPlanning and is currently begin-ning his second season as Mas-son's assistant at Carson.

Growing up, Friend befriendedgang members, but he said henever felt pressured to join theirfold. "They never bothered meand I was very focused, so I wasnever tempted," Friend said. "Isaw in basketball a way of better-ing myself. I knew from the time Iwas pretty young what I wantedto do with my life and it wasn't(gangs) or getting involved withdrugs.

"I'd look at the older guysselling drugs on the street cornersand I'd think that I didn't want togrow up like them. I didn't wantto be constantly looking over myshoulder, constantly worryingabout getting shot at."

ONARLO DAVIS, a softspokensenior on the Manual Arts basket-ball team, was fired upon. It

RFCT inDif At/A11 let r

happened two summers ago and itchanged the sometime gang mem-ber's life.

"I was out on my porch with afriend and some guys drove byyelling gang names," Davis re-counted. "The next thing I knew,they were firing shots. When theshots occurred. I dove and Iremember hearing my friend say,'I got shot, I got shot.'

"They just got him in the leg,but it kind of gave me the jitters. Ihad gotten shot at earlier becauseI was with the wrong people, butwhen you have a friend get shotright in front of your face, it's theworst thing you can imagine. Allyou can think is 'I'm next.'

."I stayed in the house for awhile after that," Davis said. "Ihad nightmares where I'd wakeup at night hearing gunshots. Itmade me think, 'Do I always wantto walk down the street worryingabout getting shot or do I want todo something positive with mylife?' "

The choice was clear-cut. Davisstarted spending as many as 51/2hours a day in the Manual Artsgym honing his basketball skills.

As a result, the 17-year-old isnow in a position to earn whatseemed hopelessly out of reach afew years ago, namely a collegescholarship (he has received let-ters from Cal State Northridge,the University of New Mexico,New Mexico State and TexasTech). Moreover, he can walk thestreets of his neighborhood, cladin his purple-and-gray letter-man's jacket, with more pridethan fear.

"People see me now and they'llcome at me in a positive way," hesaid. "They won't say, 'Come back

and hang with us.' They'll go, 'Idon't want you to get back into it.Keep doing what you're doing. Iwant you to be someone.'

No one wants to see Davissucceed more than Davis himself,which is why he tries to look theother way when his stylishlydressed peers drive by in theirspanky new Cadillact and flaunttheir drug-subsidized wealth.

"It's hard when you have towait three months to save upenough money to buy a pair oftennis shoes and you have iliendswho drive fancy cars and wearfancy clothes and can afford to goto the mall and buy 10 pairs ofsneakers anytime they want."Davis said.

"WS HARD to convince a lot ofkids that drugs and gangs aren'tthe way to go when they see theolder kids driving fancy cars andwearing expensive clothes," Nor-man of the CYSP acknowledged."Some of these kids are makingthousands of dollars a week.That's more glamorous thangoing to school and working to-ward a college education and ajob that'll pay $30,000, maybe$40,000 a year."

Carson basketball Coach Mas-son concurred. "I've had a coupleof my former players come up tome with big bucks that they gotdealing drugs and say to me,'Where else can I make this kindof money? I'm making more in'one month than you do in a year.'They don't see that it's wrong.They just see the results."

The results are often boughtthrough bloodshed. As the vio-lence increases, more and morespectators at high school sporting

events are fleeing the scene witheyewitness accounts of the bar-barity:

Earlier in the season, aFairfax female student was shotas she left the school parking lotafter the Colonials' homecominggame 'against Westchester. Theshooting was preceded by a dis-turbance in the parking lot thatslowed the final three minutes ofplay a: football players stopped.to waif h the outburst.

T .e weeks ago, at thestart r, ..ie second half of a gamebetween Carson High and DorseyHigh at Jackie Robinson Field,two gunshots were fired outsidethe stadium. Security guards in-side the stadium quickly scat-tered but the game continueduninterrupted.

Two weeks ago, a fightbroke out among gang membersnear the north end zone at Veter-ans Stadium in Long Beach,where a full house had gatheredto watch Carson play Banning. Noinjuries were reported.

For Colts basketball CoachFriend, who was a spectator atVeterans Stadium that evening,the scuffle remains as vivid amemory as yesterday's practice.

"It woke me up and made merealize just how out of controlgang violence is becoming," hesaid. "I think it's a shame whenyou can't go out and enjoy your-self for two hours without havingthe element of fear present. Withthings like that happening, I'mscared myself, to be honest withyou."

So, admittedly, is Carson foot-ball Coach Gene Vollnogle, al-

though in his case, the seed offear was planted long before thisyear's incidents at Jackie Robin-son and Veterans stadiums.

"I'll never forget a game weplayed at Crenshaw in 1983,"Vollnogle said. "We were in theweight room dressing when theCrenshaw athletic directorknocked on the door. He told methere had been an unfortunateincident, that a kid had just beenstabbed right out on the blacktop.

-Mc kid was dead, but theycouldn't move him, so to get to thefield, our kids ended up having toliterally step right over the body.There was blood all over theplace It was a terrible. terrible

sight. I doubt that I'll ever forgetit."

Fairfax co-coach Ron Price,Who was coaching at Crenshaw atthe time of the stabbing incident,called the potential for gangviolence at high school sportingevents "frightening," and added ableak afterthought.

"I'm not sure there is anythingyou can do about it," Price said."To me, it seems like it's asituation where there are a lot ofparents who have failed to curbtheir kids and everyone else issuffering for it."

Friend disagreed. -It's notreally anybody's fault," he said."You can't put the blame on kidsor adults. The bottom line Is.everyone chooses the life hewants to live."

That kids are increasinglychoosing a life more destructivethan wholesome rankles Jeff, asurvivor of the South Central L.Agang scene who is now assistingNorman at the CYSP.

"It makes me mad because Isee kids who are good athletes notutilizing their talents," said Jeff(whose last name also is beingwithheld).

It also upsets him to see theeffects gangs are having on every-one else. "In the games I've goneto recently, I've sensed a real fearamong the students, the facultyand the players, a fear that wasn'tthere back when I was in highschool 10 years ago," he said."People will go to the gamesbecause they want to show theirsupport of their school, but theredoesn't seem to be the enthusiasmyou used to see. It's like thepeople are all in an alert stance.They all have that fear in theback of their minds that something could happen."

?9

inn) Alivice CIVICS

Tuesday, June 23,1967

kick it an / IM Asolss Itims

The KillingFieldsIn Some L.A. County Schools,It's Matter of Life and Death

"Under this tree,aboy died."Engilmen. former festbs11 and+ et PAssusal Arts

By ROBERT YOUNT and ELLIOTT TEAFORD,Times Staff Writers

Jeff Engilman walks the halls and watches, forthat's his job now at Manual Arts High School, afenced-in compound. As head of security, he tries tomake sure that students slay In and non-studentsstay out.

He checks for hall passes. He looks into suspicioussituations. He easestense moments forfrustrated substituteteachers.

As the coach from1979-84, be won twofoott,111 championships.

"During !lunch),right over here, rightunder these fencespa ngland-style theyheld the kid and snotAim i n the head . . .

My fullback was kiRedthe following weekend

because ,they said ,he was seen talking to the policeman.Me was riding homethey jumped out of the hedgesGNI they shotgunned him." Jeff bwillnwin

Reggie Morris. Manual's basketball coach, is alsoOH p.m.

A few miles away, at Johnson continuation school,Please me GANGS, Page 4

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30

GANGSCeatiased from Page 1he stomps, he shouts, !ra whimpers.He tries to brainwash, he says.Whatever it takes. Gangs, drugsand decay in the inner city havemade Morris almost desperate.

There mast be alternatives, Mor-ris. Central city coach of the yearlast season, tells students in hisassemblies.

Basketball is an alternative. It,and other Sports, used to be the wayout But the significance of sportsto the inner city has dwindled.

in a recruiting war with thegangs," Morris says.

APPornnUy, the gangs are win-ning. Last season, only 11 of about1,300 male students went opt forthe Manual Arts basketball team. -

aEngilman, pointing at a spot on

the Manual Arts campus with the1$) murder of Michael OUT stillfresh in his mind, said "Gang-land-style, they held the kid andshot him in the head."

Carr, a suspected member of theOn gang who was not involved inathletics, was killed during lunch-time while school was in session.

The next weekend, Earl Bonsin-ger, who had been the startingfullback for the school's footballteam, was shot and killed ridinghome on his motor scooter.

"They jumped out of the hedgesand shotgunned him," Engilmansaid.

Engilman said that a one-timeManual Arts football player wasarrested in connection with theCarr killing.

*le wanted me to be a characterwitness. At the time I said, If youwant me to be a character witness,first el all. I kicked you off thefootball team. Second of all, if I'm acharacter witness for you, then theCrape blow me away. If I don't, theBloods blow me away.' So I just saidI'm not going to do anything.

"So .l lost two players. One wasmy starting fullback. These guyswere teen-agers."

Since those killings in 1981,street gangs have gained evenmore influence in the city andcounty of Los Angeles.

Paralleling a steady increase ingang activity is a decline in sportsparticipation in many areas, mostnoticeably South-Central Los An-geles and the inner city.

More kids are joining gangs andfar fewer are going out for highschool sports.

Male students, coaches andschool administrators say, arelooking for an easy way out, and inmany situations, that appears to bea street gang.

In gang areas, membershipmeans community prestige andinfluence.

It can also mean quick and easymoney. Many gang members selldrugs, especially in South-CentralLos Angeles, according to police.The expensive cars and jewelrythey display seem to offer a tempt-ing option for a youngster who willprobably decide by the time he is injunior high whether he will join agang or go out for sports.

The gang opUon apparently isWinning but in a curious mixture of'cultural values, sporting events arefrequent backdrops to gang .10-knce. Thus, gangs not only spoilithletics by skimming potential'athlete% but by ruining athleticevents as well.-k In the last year alone, there havebeen three shooting Incidents in-volving gangs and sports:

July 27, 1984 Troy Batiste, aguard on Crenshaw's state champi-onship basketball team and a re-cent graduate, was shot in the legby three carloads of gang members.

The attackers shouted gang slo-gans as they fired in front of afast-food restaurant near theschool at 3:15 asn. Batiste's team-mate, Marcus Williams, was alsohit, but suffered only a fleshwound.

Police could not explain theattack because the victims werenot known to have any gangaffiliation. Police said the shootingwas probably a case of mistakenidentity.

Oct. 3, 1986. Gunfire erupts

during a fight between rival gangsbehind the stands at the Pasade-na- Monrovia football game inMonrovia.

Many of the 1,300 fans ran out ofthe mends in terror, and two by-standers suffered gunshot wounds.

The game was canceled, andplayers, coaches and officialscrawled off of the field on theirstomachs.

March 2, 1987. At ValleyChristian High in Cerritos, enroll-ment 500, Russell Poelstra, a trackand field athlete, and another stu-dent, Randy Talsma, were ahot andwounded in front of the school'sweight room by assailants, thoughtto be gang members, In a planneCattack.

31

The incident was allegedly trig-gered by an argument betweenValley Christian students and gangmembers the previous night at alocal pizza parlor.

Taken individually, the threeshootings could be dismissed asisolated incidents, as some schoolofficials have suggested.

Taken together, though, they arehard to ignore.

Some school officials have alsosuggested that gang problems arestrictly off-campus problems, thata natural overflow brings commu-nity problems into schools andtheir athletic programs.

There were 135 assaults involv-ing knives, guns. or both, in the LosAngeles Unified School Districtduring the 1985-86 school year.

Ira Reiner, Los Angeles districtatiurney; said that there are 400 toBOO street gangs in Los AngelesCounty. Most in South-Central LosAngeles are affiliated with either oftwo major groups, the Crips and theBloods, he said. Reiner estimatedmembership of both predominatelyblack groups at 40,000-50,000. Oth-er estimates, however, are consid-erably lower.

Reiner was quoted in The Timeson June 10 as saying: "They arewell armed. They carry Uzi andMac-10 machine guns, sawed-offshotguns and semi - automatic ri-fles. They outgun police officers'when they have these weapons.

"Right now, the gangs are activeIn narcotics trafficking. Large-scale Colombian cocaine distribu-tors are starting to deal directlywith street gangs because they arestreet-wise, highly organized andwilling to bees vicious as necessaryhi order to enforce drug trafficking.They are willing to kill at the dropof a hat."

Los Angeles My Atty. JamesHahrtsaid: "I don't nave it, youtius isn't 'West Side Story' we'redealing with here.

"It's vicious criminalsa lot ofkids, plus an even higher percent-age of young adultswho organizeto deal drugs, pull armed robberies,burglaries andif anybody gets intheir wayto kill people."

There have been more than 200gang-related kilhngs in Los Angel-es County this year, an 80% in-crease over 1986, according toReiner. He said the projected 1987total is 585 killings, compared to325 last year.

And, as gang participation goesup, sports participation goes down.

Listen to the coaches:Reggie Morris. L.A. Manual

Arts basketball coach, "I haven'tcut anybody (not good enough tomake the team) hi three or fouryears. This year. I had 11 guys (onthe varsity basketball team) whenthe season ended. When it began, Ihad 11 guys. The days of having 80guys trying out are gone."

The enrollment at Manual Arts,located near Vermont and MartinLuther King Jr. Boulevard in Cen-tral Los Angeles, was 2,572 in theschool year just ended. Roughly50% were boys.

Paul Knox, L.A. Dorsey foot-ball coach, "The numbers aredown. . . . If we didn't have thedrugs and the gangs, we might get5-10 more kids on the footballteam."

E.C. Robinson. L.A. Lockefoodmir coach:"When I first start-ed, I could cut. But not now. I hateto say It. but now with the gangsand the kids trying to sell drugs. it'sa hassle getting kids out for thefootball team. If I can get 40 kids

out for the team at Locke, I'm doinggood. Now, we're begging kids tocome out for the team."

Can, Compton Domin-guez athletic director: "I couldmake up a team of guys who (couldhave been outstanding athletesbut) never played."

They are not playing. accordingto Carr and others like him, be-.cause they are in gangs, selling;drugs, or both.

Engilman, the Manual Arts foot-ball Coach from 1979-1984. theReseda Cleveland coach from1964 -86, and the new coach atReseda in the fall, put it this way:"They're gang members first, andstudents and football players sec-ond."

Athletic events, however, possi-bly because they are communityevents, continue to draw ganginterestand gang violence. Somerecent incidents:

At Dominguez High in Comp-ton Sept. 28, 1984, a gang fightbroke out in the stands during theDomingues-Cerritos Gahr footballgame.

The dot forced cancellation ofthe game, although there were noserious injuries reported and. ac-cording to Carr, no players were indanger.

The fight spread, though, in-volving up to 100 people, accordingto Darrell Walsh, Gahr footballcoach. It spilled onto the tracksurrounding the football field.Players and coaches, fearful ofshooting, hit the ground for fiveminutes until the fight was brokenOIL

Engilman recalled another oc-casion when be and Willie Nixon, aschool policeman, apprehended agunman on the Manual Arts cam-pus.

The gunman was on campus tokW a member of the football team,he later told Nixon.

"We chased him all over towhere be had to draw his gun onme and luckily Willie (Nixon) wasthere to (apprehend biro)," Engil-man said.

Said Nixon: "lie did admit that hecame up here to kill this kid. Andthe jerk we caught this guy was16 years old, 6 -5, 195 pounds. Hecould have played wide receiver,been a basketball player."

Rock-throwing incidents by al-leged gang members apparentlyeager to protect their oaf also arecommonly described by coaches:

Paul Knox, Dorsey footballcoach, said that his team had been"rocked" by gang members.

During Dorsey's 1984 game atCompton High, there was shootingand some rock throwing, althoughKnox said it had occurred "downthe street" from the stadium.

When the team was on the busleaving Compton High, however."We got rocked," Knox said.

1981, coming back fromSouth Gate, the bus had to stop atAlameda, at the train tracks, andwhoom! Jordan (High School) kidshit us," Engilman said.

"They hit us with rocks, any-thing they could get their hands on.I had to take two kids to thehospital.

it was definitely gang-related.They knew who we were."

"For baseball, sue have to ploy atHarvard Pork, which is on 62nd

Street. Which is Blood country. Well,a lot of our kids are Hispanics. Sinnwhen I suns coaching, they didn'twont to go down there. They werescared. One of our security agentshas to go down there for us to play aganne." Jefingelman

3 2

From the violence in the gangareas has arisen fear. It afflictsparents, students and other peoplein the community.

Fear of gangs is the controllinginfluence for many people.

Several coaches interviewedfeared that their comments mightbring gang retaliation, and onecoach refused to be photographedfor the story.

Dorsey is a school that drawsstudents from outside its bounda-ries. Athletes and other studentshave to travel through territoriesto get there. They are often targets.

Said Knox: "We do have kids getharassed and jumped and chased.One of our track kids on Monday(May 11) got Jumped on prettygood. He's got a concussion. Ithappens regularly with athletes."

In another instance several yearsago, Engilman said, a Manual Artsfootball player bid a sawed-offshotgun in a travel bsg, taking itwith him to a road game.

"He had to go to Jordan and be'was scared," Engilman said

"We didn't know about it withlater, until he was far away fromthe school. Then we beard about itfrom some of the guys on theteam."

The 1984 Dominguez riot result-ed in a three-week boycott of allsporting events at Dominguez bythe rest of the San Gabriel ValleyLeague.

"I wonder if someone will haveto get shot before something Isdone," Gahr's Walsh said at thetime.

Monrovia and Pasadena haveagreed not to play each other infootball next season in hopes ofheading off another gang incidentsuch as the shooting last October.

"We don't want question marksin our minds next year," Al Clegg,the Monrovia football coach said.

Indeed, Clegg said, security athome games will be increased."We're just going to evaluate whogets in," he said.

Knox said the 1984 rock -throw-ing incident came as no surprise tohis team.

The team had been afraid on thebus ride to Compton because thedriver had taken a back route,hoping to avoid trouble.

S-41 0 0

n looked in their faces and I sawthat we were not going to win,"Knox said. 'They were intimidated,not by the team, but by thesurroundings. We've never bad totake precautions like that before.

"At Jordan, gang memberswalked right through the footballwarmups once. They said somethings to our kids and kept going.That raised a few eyebrows."

KC. Robinson, Locke footballcoach, said that fear can override aplayers' on-the-field motivations.

"It's the gang stuff that's goingto affect their playing." Robinsonsaid. "You fear the gang. You can'toperate if you're afraid someone'sgoing to start shooting in thestands.

"During the season they'll tellyou there's an incident of a shoot-

ing where they'll feel there will besome sort of retaliation. They'll tellyou, 'I have to go home early today(from practice) ' And I'll ask whyand they'll say 'Well, somebody gotshot last night.'

"And they want to get homebefore it gets dark. If something'sgoing down in their neighborhoodor on their block then they'll feelthat Ion the field), you know."

After the Carr-Bonsinger slay-ings in 1981, L.A. University re-fused to play its first-round bas-ketball playoff game at night atManual Arts.

"They didn't want to come overhere at night," Morris said "Andyou really couldn't blame them."

Daytime radios is not immuneM geng-solated incidents. either.linglIman adds "There have beendays whim we (coaches) used to goarm. baseball practice carrying

Morris acknowledged that he'sscared.

"This is my 14th year here," besaid "I haven't been in the service,but I've seen two people die, andboth of them died right here atschool."

Morris said that be talks toathletes and tells them: "Hey,you've gotta go to class, do this, do6at.

"They say 'OK, fine.' The bast'week, they're pulling the trigger onsomebody.

"So sometimes, you back off andsay, 'Maybe Td better not my thisto the person,' In fear of retails-Osn."

Said Engilman: "We've all beenthreatened, many times. Whethereach (threat) is gang related, wenever know."

Many teams worry about playingat a school in an area controlled bya gat .g at odds with the one thatcontrols the team's own area. Sev-eral seem especially to fear oneplace "the Doghouse," L.A. Jor-don. That's particularly true of.Locke, Jordan's traditional rival.

"Jordan High School is the onlyplace kids really fear," Robinsonsaid. 'They on fear Jordan. They

hate to play at Jordan."Jordan High sits on 103rd Street

in Watts, a couple of miles fromLocke but in a different realmaltogether.

Locke is in a rather quiet resi-dential neighborhood. Jordan, onthe other band, is between twogovernment projectsthe Imperial

and the Jordan Downs,hotbeds of gang activity and one ofthe most crime-ridden areas in LosAngeles, according to police.

"It's a very bad image," saidformer Jordan football Coach EdWoody, who will be succeeded inthe fall by Jordan graduate DarrylDivinity.

school's reputation breedsfear, Robinson said, which meansthat many potential athletes chooseto attend Valley schools ratherthan take their chances in the innercity.

"There are kids living In theLocke district who want to play."Robinson said. "You call the par-ents and the first thing they say isWell, look, what about the gangs?'

"That's one reatoon you have a lotof kids that are being bused outthey're afraid of the pressure fromthe gangs."

Knox said: "A big problem is our(Dorsey's) reputation as a roughschool. (Dorsey is located nearRodeo and Farmdale streets, nearRancho Cienega Park).

"Maybe it's the Blood element.That's why the kids go to the bus.We've had incidents on campus oraround the campus, and we do havea hard time convincing parents tosend their kids here, that, hey,Dorsey isn't all that bad.

"A lot of kids end up going toFairfax or the bus (to the valley)It's a constant fight."

Next: The economic lute of thegangs.

4 Part 111/Ybesday, June 23,1967 *

no. saes Ohne.

The Watts Rivalry That Is Never Settled:the Bloods Against the Crips

By ELUOTT TEAFORD and ROBERT YOUNT,Times StaffWriters

What it the biggest rivalry in Watts?Lit Jordan High School vs. Locke?Or is it the Bloods vs. the Crips?It's difficult to tell.Each year, Jordan and Locke meet in a nonleague

football game known as the "Super Bowl of Watts." Atthe end of the game, there is a winner and a loser.

But for the gangs, it's an ongoing contest without afinal score. The buster never sounds. It's never over.

Segments of the two largest, though only looselyorganized, Los Angeles street gangs wage 24-hourwar. Bloods fight Crips. Ceps fight Bloods. Crips fightother Crips.

.Although in many ways, gang rivalries transcendthe battles on the playing field, the two are oftenentwined.

Jordan and Locke are natural rivals. Both are inWatts. Jordan is on 103rd Street, between twogovernment projects, the Jordan Downs and ImperialCourts. Locke is about three miles away on 111thStreet.

The entire area is a hotbed of gang activity in LosAngeles.

Each school takes a different approach to the game.Ed Wocidy, former Jordan football coach, calls the

game a tension resolver."We've had games with Locke where everything

was taken out in the football game, everything comesout on the field," Woody said.

lverything meaning gang-related tension in Watts.E.C. Robinson, Locke coach, said his players gear up

for the game, but fear playing at Jordan.Woody and others have said that competitive

emotion Is sometimes mistaken for gang rivalry."Sometimes you have a conflict on the field and it'll

be blown out of proportionthat w01 set us back 10years," Woody said. "Instead of looking at it as aflaring of tempers, they'll more or less sometimes say,That's gangs.'

"Fairfax and Jordan, a flaring of tempers 'That'sgangs,' they'll say. That's not gangs, it's just a flaringof tempers. Happens in every game."

The Locke kids fear Jordan, Robinson saidnotJordan's athletic touns,but the area gangs.

Kenneth Williams, a former Locke running back,said: "We were scared to go to Jordan. We didn't wantto go to Jordan. We hated Jordan. We were scared ofgetting shot."

Four years ago, there was a fight in the Mande atJordan during the annual game, Robinson said. It is theonly incident of gang violence during an athletic eventthat Robinson can recall in the eight years he hascoached at Locke.

Williams did not recall specific incidents, but said:

*There would be threats and there would be talkbefore. But there would be a lot of police there forprotection. Nothing rally happened, except a fewscuffles fin the stand .s well as the game itself)."

Woody feels otherwise.

"I definitely think that Jordan High is one of thesafest in the (Los Angeles Unified School] district," hesaid. "Unfortunately, a reputation, one that we don'tdeserve, exists. I think it's just an old reputation thatwon't die.

I've never been scared," Woody said. "The thingabout 'Bulldog City' is, we'll go anywhere. That's alongwith the community, also. Some schools worry aboutthreats, idle threats by kids. Not at the Doghouse.We'll go anywhere, to any school, and participate inanything."

SPORTSCoe Angeles (timesWednesday, June 24,1987

Valley Coverage, Pages 12-13

F/CO/Parl

Drug MoneySelling Out of a GenerationHow Do You Keep Them in School When There's Big Bucks on Street?`11 used 1 o be, athletics were the way out of this

mitifreameal for a young black. . . .Nowadays,why theAn worry about k? Why spend time I n college for fourgawk le get out .f allege and wake thirty, fortythousand dollars a par when some .1 these kids arewaking ft; sewn thousand dollars a week sellingmailer

-mu.i NIXOELee Mr*as Pao Dent. =Mel straw

By ROBERT YOUNT and ELLIOTT TEAFORD,Times Stan Writers

Athletics can provide a way out of the inner city,says Reggie KOITE, the basketball coach at ManualArts High School in Los Angeles.

Athletic talent can lead to a college scholarship and,sometimes, to a professional sports Weer. Evendiscounting the pro career, though, a college education

:Tsto give a young man or woman a wider choiceeenthan can be found in the inner city.

is not attractive enough anymore,.81kron SciSti.khe starting Laker guard who graduat-

ed from Mominpide in Inglewood in 1979, notices thistoo.

"1 think they're discouraged," Scott said. "In 79, webooked at sports as a way out of the ghetto. You know,to make it, to buy your nother and father the thingsthey've always wanted.

"I think kids today look at it pretty much the sameway, but they don't want to work at it. They want tofind the quica munvy and sell drugi."

The arrival of cocaine and crack, Its derivative, aseconomic elements in the inner city has realignedvalues, according to administrators and coaches. Fromthis has sprouted a new materialism, Morris mid, and ittranscends the discipline and dedication needed topursue athletics. Money is the idol.

::;?HE $1,000-A-WEEK'7.:ALTERNATIVE

Gang emblems or colors are strictly prohibited atManual Arts High, but Reggie Morris wears colors ofhis own.

Sports .GangsSecond in a series

IMCK SIM / t. Anew Two

At Manual Arts High School, only 11 of approximately1,200 male students went out for the basketball team.

'15

GANGSCoat lased from Page 1

His sweater, a conservative grayy-neck, is adorned with variousbuttons, one an international cir-cle-slashmeaning noaroundblock letters reading "GANGS." Agold cross hanging from a chain isconspicuously exposed outside hiscollar. All are part of the ReggieMorris alternative. He wantsyoungsters to see him as a walking,living example that a clean life inthe inner city is possible.

"I try to use myself as anotherexample," Morris said. "Anotherperson wbo is alive today becausehe's stayed away from drugs."

Apparently, few on the ManualArts campus subscribe to Morris'philosophy. Flashiness is preva-lent. Exotic cars are parked aroundthe grounds.

Morris can offer himself, his Citybasketball titles in 1877 and 11. hiscoach -of- the -year awards, his in-telligence and understanding, histime and his patience.

All of that brought Just 11 of theroughly 1.200 male students atManual Arts out for the varsitybasketball team last season.

"It's not just affecting athletics,it's affecting education," Morrissaid.

"How do you combat someonethat will come up to us withliterally two, three thousand dol-lars in their pocket, driving aMercedes or a BMW. at 16,17 yearsold?"

At Locke High in Watts, wherethe parking lot also was dotted withexpensive-looking cars, the sameholds true. according to E. C. Rob-inson, the football coach.

"Rizht now, I know of five kidswho could be starting on thefootball t.'am. but they're out sell-ing drug! 'Robinson said. "Theywill tell you. 'Hey. I make Just asmuch money as you do.'

"You see kids riding around innew cars You'd be surprised. Iknow a (former played who's notplaying now that's got a brand newMercedes

Detective supervisor ,Robert_IC.jackaon.of the Los Angeles PoliceDept.'s gang section said that al-though those gangs that are pre-dominantly Latino have remained"traditional" still primarily con-cerned with "turf" controlblackgangs of South-Central Los Angel-es have turnt.1 to dreg traffickingas their primary activity.

Part III/Wednesday, June 24, 1987 it

"Members of those (black) gangspie selling the drugs, there's noetnibt about that," Jackson said.

The ,Lakere'. Michael _Cooper.;AM spends much of his free timespeaking to youngsters, said: Ifyou do it the drug way you can bethe boss. I think kids are falling

Oey to that because it is the easyay out. Or the easy way up, shall

trice say."0. Said Willie Nixon, LAPD officer*signed to Manual Arts: "You sit"them down and you tell them aboutIpw much better off they'll be iflimy have an education, and aneducation will cost them 815.000 a

far, and the only way they'reing to get that education is

It sports.°, It's hard as bell to do that when

/he kid has 83,000 in his pocket.": Ernie Carr,' athletic director at

4ominguez High in Compton. said:"Kids In our community are softer,'Clore apathetic. You'd think thatirpming from a poorer, minoritypommunity, they'd be more mote-Sated to change their environment.

"The process of education is notps appealing as when I was in hightZhool 20 years ago."

Willie West, who has won Citytind state championships as bas-ptball coach at Crenshaw, agrees.

West said that lack of disci-pline developed through constant1mcposure to drug-related mon-ey keeps some prospective ath-letes away.; "They tend not to want to go

through the rigors of physicalgiorkout, the discipline," West said.`1 think a lot of other guys whopossibly could or would be goodathletes have chosen to be sellersaJ various things to make money.tither than staying out there and.PIN** sports."

&Land Houston, dean at Manua'Arts Air years, said that in histime there, gang and drug activityhad increased dramatically whilesports was declining at nearly thesame rate. A fundamental lack ofdiscipline is to blame for that,Houston seed.

If there's one basic characteris-tic gang members have, it's lack ofdiscipline." ;:ouston said. "If theywere disciplined, taey would takeover the city."

In some cases, money hasbrought the drug dealer promi-nence and a new role as the bigman on campus.

16

"It used to be, 'You're going to goto college, you're going to besomebody and you're going tomake it," Morris. said. "Here's aguy who's 16 years old with moneyin his hand, who says: 'I've made it!I don't need education, I don't needbasketball.'

"It used to be, 'I gotta make theteam! I gotta make the team! I get agirlfriend if I make the team.' I usedto have t,, cut guys because theyweren't good enough. the days_ of.having 80 guys try out and havingproblems with that are over."

When do kids develop the rolemodels ankelkides toward sports%galley carry withiheminto high/Moot and beyond?

Coaches say it's in junioriilfhachool.-And in Los Aftiiiirnuahighs, sports programs have be-come virtually nonexistent. Also)11b.A.Junior highs, gangsmiorta

AND COCA ME ROCKS111JR.Otier.00ICTI

"Gangs used to not be so had inthe Junior high schools," Robinsonsaid. "But now, by the 10th grade,it's too late."

Det. Jackson agreed. "By thetime they get to high school,they've been inundated by gangactivity." he said. "Their attitude is'What's in if for me?' "

The Lakers:Scott.said that kidschoose gangs or athletics betweenthe ages of 14 and 16.

"A lot of kids in the communitygot involved because they thoughtit was something cool," Scott said"But in a lot of gangs inthere's no way out .The only wayout is death. That's Ow way ifgoes."

Ed Woody, rimier Jordan foot-ball coach, agreed, partially.

"Many of the kids are in gangswhen they're in junior high schoolso you really have to redirect theirthought." he said.

He also said, however, that insome cases such redirection waspossible, noting that he has hadnumerous athletes who were gangmembers when they got to Jordan,then dropped out of the gangs toparticipate in sports.

"They really haven't been tohigh school, where they havesports," Woody said. "You have toredirect the energy they have, intosports."

THE OTHER15 HOURS

`It used to be, "You're going to go to college,you're going to be somebody and you'regoing to make it." 'Here's a guy who's 16yews old with money in his hand, who says:"I've made it! I don't need education,' don'tneed basketball."'

41114101E WNW tetensol AM besitelkal wadi

Jeff Engilman, former footballcoach at Manual Arts and now incharge of security there, said thatsuch cues were not common. "Bythe time we get them. sometimesthey're so influenced, there's noth-ing you can do about it."

Morris said he used to approachpossible athletes. who looked as ifthey might be gang members,about playing basketball, but noMOM.

"If I see the guy who Is 6-7, withthe hat, with the dress, with the(gang) look, he's not going to wantto conform," Morris said.

Because of gang exposure at suchearly ages. Drug Abuse Resistance

Education (DARE) programs, co-sponsored by the police departmentand the school district, are present-ed in each of the district's interme-diate and elementary schools.

Heavy gang exposure is also whyMorbLgives his "There Must BeJUternatives" &slabber-to stir-"dent groups of all ages.

Promoting sports as an alterna-tive to gang membership and drugsapparently must be done at anearly age, or the imprinting of thejunior high school years is likely tooverride whatever "positive brain-washing" can later be achieved

"Ile should have been home in bed;it was way past his bed time."

--Crenshaw IlesketheN CoachWilli* West. en Trey Min*.

siteenne victim and beekeibon plow.

Troy Batiste, a guard on Cren-shaw High's 1866 state champion-ship basketball team, was shot inthe leg by three carloads of gangmembers in front of a fast-foodrestaurant last July. Police laterexplained the shooting as an appar-ent case of mistaken identity. But itoccurred at 115 in the morning.

School peopleteachers, *drain -istrators, coachescan only influ-ence students during school time,nine hours a day at most. includingtime on the athletic field.

What happens after that, andduring vacation time, it, in thewords of Engilman, "totally out ofour control."

And that is a huge part of theproblem.

"If I could keep them for 20 hoursa day, I would," said Morris, whoadded that there's never enotit ,

"positive brainwashing" to offsetthe bad influences of the environ-ment.

"I've known a kid that's in prisonright now that could have been atop-notch player," Engilman said."This kid was 6-5, 245. He couldnot stay out of the gangs. I wouldtalk to him and talk to him, andeverything at school would lookOK, and he would straighten up fortwo weeks. Then hack again.

"See, while they're here, I cancontrol them, I can watch them. Ihave absolutely no control overwhat happens when they walk outof here."

In the ideal situation, entalinfluence takes over w en kids

leave school for the day. Unfortu-nately in the inner city, there is noparental influence in many cases.

"That's the problemthey haveno parental support whatsoever,"Engilman said. "You deal withsome of the parents and it's justridiculous.

"Some of (the students) don'teven have parents. Some of themlive with their grandparents. Thatroute is shut out right there."

Still, educators keep trying be-cause there are times when "it doeswork," Engilman said.

Locke's Rohl-mon said: "In th,,particular area, a lot of kids haveonly one parent, and a lot of timesit's the mother. At night, she can'tcontrol those two kids and the twolittle kids at home.

"I talk to all my kids' parents at

3'7

I.,SPORTS VS. GANGS

IN Second In a Series

least once a week. I let them knowabout the books and their grades,or I feel like they're beginning tohang with the wrong crowd. If Ididn't call the parents once a weeknow (in the spring), we wouldn'thave a team in September.

"Once you call all the parents,they see where you are concerned.For good or bad, they'll get on thatkid."

An allegedly gang-relatedshooting that wounded a track andfield athlete and another studentMarch 2 on the Cerritos ValleyChristian campus was the result ofan off-campus confrontation be-tween students and gang membersat a pizza parlor.

It was very much an eye-open-er," said Todd Hoistege, ValleyChristian track and field coach."We had some very good chapels atschool about this, and how we, asChristians, should act out in societyto try and work against these kindof things.

"Especially off campus, when we(coaches) are not around. We werethinking we were protected fromthe outside world realities. So Ithink it kind of burst our bubbleand made is realize where we areand what is happening (around

...

The duel of influences, as it were,makes it difficult for a student todevelop a balanced life style, Westsaid.

"Because of where they live,more or less the kid has to be a typeof schizophreniche's got to liveone life at school and live anotherlife when he gets home," West said.

"He has to be one person atschool, and then he has to switchback. And a lot of kids quit playingbecause they just can't deal withthat. It's tough.

"It takes a very strong person tobreak away from that. I've heardcoaches tell kids living that kind oflife that they don't know if they'llsee them the next day or not."

Morris hopes the energy of hismessage, at least, will carry overinto the other 15 hours.

In these assemblies, rm saying'I don't know you but I care aboutyou," Morris said. I can keepthem for eight hours a day, positivebrainwashing for eight hours.

"But once they get out on thestreets, man, society's a mother."

Nod: II Wag gasp aid athistles.

Cob Angelis Mutts

How One Gang MemberBroke Out of the Trap

By ROBERT YOUNT and ELLIOTT TEAFORD,Times Stall Writers

One day, when Kenneth Williams was 17. he found himselfsitting in Juvenile Hall. weighing his options.

The way Williams figured , it, he had three chokes: Get killed, goto jail or play football.

Williams was a gang member at 12. Six of his friends had beenkilled in gang violence. And here he was in Juvenile Hall.

"I got busted, spent a few days in Juvenile Hall," Williams said.1 didn't want my mother to cry. 1 didn't want herb have to sit athome, knowing 1 was running with a gang, getting in trouble.

"I decided in my heart to play sports, and that's what 1 did. 1think it was always in me."

Williams transferred to Locke High School in Watts, away fromhis local gang, after his junior season at Gardena. He had playedfootball at Gardena, maintaining his gang affiliation at the sametime.

At Locke, he shed his gang ties and helped the team to an 11-1record and a berth in the City 3-A championship game.

As a senior, he gained more than 500 yards as a starting runningback.

He went on to Santa Monica College, where be started atrunning back in the 1885 and 16 seasons, earning All-WesternState Conference honors both seasons. Williams said he plans logoto Fresno State, where he hopes to continue his football career, inthe fall.

He rushed for 790 yards last season for the Corsairs. He had1,670 yards in his two seasons, fourth-best in Santa Monicahistory, according to Robert Taylor, Santa Monica assistant coach.

"Once he started playing football, he cut loose," E. C. Robinson,Locke football coach, said of Williams. "I think the reason be didwas he knew for a fact that if he messed up again, he was goingback (into custody)."

At Locke, Robinson served as a role model for Williams."I knew the day I met the man (Robinson) that I would never be

a gang member againI'd be a football player," Williams said.The move, Locke, and Robinson changed Williams' life."I never go back to the old neighborhood, never think about that

part of my life because it was wrong," Williams said.He said that sports usually does not rank high in a gang

member's priorities."He's not thinking about sports," Williams said. "He's thinking

about drugs and gangs. Maybe a couple are thinking about sports."Out of 10 guys I knew in the neighborhood, I'd say two went to

school or (played) sports. The other eight went to gangs and drugs.And then they'd go to jail or die."

Williams said it isn't enough just to quit a gang."I moved," he said. "That's how I got out. It was in my heart to

play sports and that's what I did. But I had to get out."When 1 see someone going in that direction, fall them they're

going to lose their life. I tell them I used to be in the streets and Iknow what it's about. Either you're going to be in jail the rest ofyour life, or you're going tThiNiti the-ground:

"Play ball, and you'll get a new direction in life."

sportsysGangsThird in a series

)6 .Angcles Minceorsday, June 25,1987

SPORTS

Coaches Fight RecruitingWar of Different NatureOnce Students Become Involved With Gangs,

It's Nearly Impossible to GetThem Into Athletics

By ELLIOTT TEAFORDand ROBERT YOUNT,Times Staff Writers

The llthgrader caught ErnieCares eye one day last fall inCarr' a physical education class.

Students 6 feet 4 inches talltend to eland out ingeneral P.E.

Carr, the basketball coach andathletic director at DominguezHigh School in Compton, per-suaded the young man to attendan off-season varsity practice

after school.The youth arrived in jeans. He

bad no basketball attire exceptfor his shoes He didn't have agym bag. Still, he showed prom-ise. He picked up the fundamen-tals quickly His movementswere graceful. He dunked thebasketball effortlessly. Carrthought he had found a diamondin the rough.

Then the problemsbegan.Carr saw the player only about

once a week. He was "habitually

absent" from school. Carrnoticedthe student hanging around withthe "wrong people" at school.

"You want to indulge the ef-fort," Carr said. "But you don'tsee him for a week. If you try toohard on them, spend all yourtime, you'll lose the kids youalready have in the fold. Theovertures you make toward themaren't going to be heard."

Carr said that twice in the pastschool year he approached stu-dents he thought might be gang

members because he alsothought they could be basketballplayers.

He wasOfor2.

OCoaches in areas of high gang

activity are waging a bitter fightto entice potential athletes awayfrom the gangs.

Some are mildly successful.EdWoody, former L.A. Jordan Highfootball coach, said he was able tobring as many as nine gang

39

members a year into the majorsports.

But for others, such as ReggieMorris, Manual Arts basketballcoach, the numbers don't exist.They just aren't able to interestgang members in athletics forany extended period of time.

Apparently, cote students getinvolved with gangs it's nearlyimpossible to get them out.

Said Pyron Scott, the Lakerguard who graWiled --from

Please see GANGS, Page IS

Ceatiaued ham Page 1Morningside High in Inglewood in197x. "A lot of kids in the commu-nity got involved because they

; thought it was something cool. butin a lot of gangs in L.A. there's noway out. The only way out isdeath.

7 That's the way it goes."Kenneth Williams. a former

Locke High ioolball-player and alsoa former gang member, said:"There was pressure Ito join thegang) But I also thought it was

. something that was cool, tome-: thing that would make you be cool.

The gangs were everywhere. Youcouldn't miss it."

SPORTS VS. GANGS

Willie Allen. Pomona basketballcoach, said: "Once (students) getinvolved (with gangs). they tend tostay away from athletics. I guessthe gang becomes the family. Ath-letics is a family, too. Maybe they'can't be in two families at once.Maybe they can't break away.There's a lot of pressure from thegang to stay."

Indeed, most coaches have sto-ries of gang members who man-aged to break free of the gangs,only to falter and fall back.

Woody said that frequently.there are large numbers of gangmembers out for football at thestart of the season.

How many stick it out?"Maybe six or seven," Woody

said. "We usually lose them toeligibility. That's when he getsback with his friends, kind of slipsback into that old mold."

Sometimes, though, an incidenceof gang violence will push someover the line to athletics for good.

Last year, Howard Robinson, atailback and nose guard on the 1981Jordan team, was shot and killed.

"It forced the kids participatingin sports to realize, to open theireyes.** Woody said "Some told me,they didn't want to get involvedwith gangs because of this, thatthey wanted to stick with sports."

For the most part, though, thecoaches say, there is steady trafficaway from sports.

Experience tells E. C. Robinson,the football coach at Locke inWatts, that he shouldn't botherwith prospects he believesare gangmembers. They usually are troubleand rarely complete the season.Despite past failures, however,Robinson remains hopeful.

"I had a kid 'transfer) from*Carson WWt two years ago now,"P.obintion N.id. "He was about 6-9and about P85. He played lineback-er. And the reason he left Carsonwas because he was in a gang. Hewas out for a while, but it got sobad. He was a Blood and aroundhere it's the Crips. He wasn'tworking out."

. Robinson said he wins over only.50% of the players who are alsogang members. His is one of thehigher ratios.

Morris, basketball coach at Man-ual Arts, has also become frustrat-ed in his efforti to !sway the gangmembers. - Unlike Robinson, Morrishas stopped approaching prospectshe suspects are gang members.

in all honesty, I don't do it asmuch as I used to because if Isee aguy who is 6.7 with the hat, withthe dress, with he look, he's notgoing to want to conform," Morrissaid.

'Ten years ago, we could ap-proach everybody. There are guyshere, right now, that are in gangsand drugs that are 6-6, 6-7. RealProspects."

Rare though they may be, there.are some lasting successes. Somestudents have shed their gang Uesand played in high school. Somehave even gone on to play incollege.

Those victories encourage somecoaches to keep trying with gangmembers who show potential asathletes.

If you could talk to 100 kids andone kid changes I think you'vemade some progress," Scott said.

0According to In Reiner, L.A.

district attorn . there are be-

tween 40,000 to 50,000 gang mem-ber, belonging to 400.500 gangs inLos Angeles County.

The police department has 15,000names of known gang members inits computer listing.

There are gang prevention pro-grams in Los Angeles Countyschools and the communities, andthey have received more exposurerecently because of a higherawareness of drug problems in thiscountry.

Still, there apparently are notenough programs to counter ganggrowth. 'Thm_were...4150_estab..lished gangs in 1986, up from 920 inOK according to the CommunityYouth Gang Services Project.

40

One of the oldest school-relatedgang prevention programs, Altez.natives to Gang Membership,. wasstarted in 1982 in the Paramountschools.

Other similar programs, spon-sored by the United Way, harebeen started since then. In the SanPedro, South-Central Los Angelesand Pasadena -Altadena areas.fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade stu-41014.-10-11110118IL_PtsiraMs 4-signed to point out pltentatirts.The idea is to each the childrenhow to stay out of gangs, in hopesof eventually cutting off gang re-cruitment altogether.

,panYerches, in charge of UnitedWay area gang programs, says it's.working.

"The success rate is very high,"Vetch*. said. "We give them apre-test and a test after the pro-gram, and according to those testfigures, 90% are saying no to gangsand drugs."

Said the Leiters' Scott: "Theyhave math, they have biology finthe schools). I think it would begreat to have a class on inner-citygangs. If you could di) anything Justto scare them about what gangsand drugs can do to them."

Before the Paramount programstarted, a survey found that 50% ofthe students there approved ofjoining a gang. That figure fell to10% after the program was insti-tuted.

There arc other recently devel-oped school programs, among themproject Heavy '- the L.A. UnifiedSchool District, Cops for Kids inL.A. County and Turning Point inOrange County.

So far, however, gang preven-tion programs have not beenenough to offset gangs' enormousinfluence.

Steve Valdivia, who runs theL.A. County-sponsored Communi-ty:loath Gangs-Services Projeot,says the gang problem is so over-whelming that adequate resourcesare simply not available.

[GANGS

"Anywhere. !don't think you canfind the resources," Valdivia said."As it is. Weft having 188,000 cutfrom ..... budget next year (front aCounts ' .udget of 11.1 million)."

Still. Valdivia said, the programis effective, with leagues set up topit rival gangs against each other ineverts contests instead of fireSSW

"(The games) can sometimes bebloody affairs, in that they don'twant so wear the traditional fait-ball gear and really want to get intoft," Valdivia said.

"We hope to see some communi-cation. Something to win except agun battle. Instead they can wintrophies on the foothill field.

'Ten sure there have been kidsthat have returned to school andfollowed school sports as al ave-nue. It's a short-term solution forproblems between the gangs."

The Community Youth GangServices Project has 5 offices, em-ploys 56 workers and hac. another20 volunteers, Valdivia said. Thatfor the 50,000 or so gang membersin L.A. County, he added.

0There are many answers to the

gang problem. And yet there are noanswers.

Coaches, school officials. policeofficials will do most anything topersuade students to stay awayfrom gangs.

They scream. They whisper.They plead. They scold. Theywarn. They trick.

And yet, the problem persistsand grows.

Without sports, though, theproblem might be even worse.

Said Richer' Vladovic, Lockeprincipal: 'Sports have been aunifying factor (in) breaking d'wngangs. I really feel that.*

Vladovie believes that Robinsonis a big influence on his players. Infact, Robinson had the starters onlast season's football team attend aclass that prepared them to takethe Scholastic Aptitude Test forcollege.

if they wanted to play footballfor him, they had to be at school at7 o'clock in the morning for thatclass," Vladovic said.

Said Michael 400per,pft4 Lak-erm .1Tni always out there (giving-talks) ber.tise I know that when Iwas growing up I was looking forhelp. That's what we're doing,trying to helm one, two, as many aswetaKir

Morris, Minuet's basketballunit % *mild Eke to see more ofthat kind ofbelp,

"Ve need athletes returning (thtalk in the schools) and saying,This is where hard work got meand it ca' ito the same for you,' 7 hesaid. "I bed one pro athlete from alocal team tell me that he couldn'tdo it because he was on vacation;Vacation? We need recognizablefigures to come out and be role10bdels."

CT, "Dominguez basketballcoach, said: "You have to separatethe 9- to l4-year-olds from the IS-to 27-year-olds hanging out doingnothing. Younger kids come into

41.

contac with this guy and he has agreat impact on them. They identi-fy with the success of the olderguy. Maybe it's girls or money, bywhatever means he got it. Theolder one have chosen their path."

. Said Woody, formerJordan foot-ball coach:

"On the weekend, I've chal-lenged Imperial Courts and JordanDowns (two government housingprojects) to a football game. Soinstead of getting out there duringthe week and shooting each otherand fighting, I get the (sideline)chains and throw them out afootball and they get rid of theiranxieties out there on the footballfield. It's a good old sandlot footballgame. I've been doing that for fiveyears."

Despite all that, the gangs haveestablished such a foothold that thetrend away from sports may beirreversible. Joining a gang hasbecome accepted culturally. Join agang, deal drugs and earn lots ofmoney. It's the easy way, the coolway.

Go to school, get good grades,play sports and graduate, then go tocollege, get good grades and gradu-ate. That's the hard way.

For the RecordWillie Nixon was laisi4entified in

the second installment of Sports vs.Gangs in Wednesday's cc itiona. lieis a policeman for the Ica AngelesUnified School District.

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