The news over the weekend of former Washington State University football star Ryan Leaf’s arrests for breaking-and-entering and theft of pain-killers was just the latest chapter in a life that once showed great promise, but had gone terribly wrong. Others have had similar stories; like Leaf, former New York Mets star Daryl Strawberry’s drug addiction was complicated by a diagnosis of cancer. Other sports figures, like Brett Favre, were able to face their addiction early, took advantage of support systems, and went on to have successful careers. Some sports heroes, like Mickey Mantle, had their addictions hidden from public view with the connivance of the sports media. Leaf was not as fortunate as some “famous” addicts, mainly because he left behind a smoldering trail of charred bridges since his college days; nobody really wanted anything to do with him or his problem.
But what about another “famous” drug addict who seems to have been the beneficiary of an endless supply of second chances from his employers? I am talking, of course, about the infamous case of Steve Howe, former major league baseball pitcher. In his first four years in the majors playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Howe demonstrated the potential to be one of the premiere relief pitchers in baseball. He was voted National League Rookie of the Year in 1980, with a 2.66 ERA and 17 saves in 59 appearances. In 1983, he posted a career best 1.44 ERA and 18 saves in 46 games (before rules were eased to make it easier to record a save). But looking at his career stats, one cannot help but to observe some anomalies. For example, he seems to have not played at all in 1984—or 1986, 1988, 1989 and even 1990. Did injury sideline him? Not at all. A chronology composed by ESPN in 2006 tells the sordid tale:
• 1982 -- Enters drug rehabilitation after the season.
• June 29, 1983 -- Fined one month's salary ($53,867) and placed on probation by the Dodgers after admitting a drug problem.
• July 15, 1983 -- Reported late for game and suspended two days by the Dodgers.
• Sept. 23, 1983 -- Missed team flight to Atlanta and suspended indefinitely by the Dodgers for what the team says is cocaine dependency. Goes into substance abuse rehabilitation.
• Dec. 15, 1983 -- Suspended for one year by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn for cocaine use.
• May 1984 -- In a grievance settlement, agreed not to play in 1984.
• June 23, 1985 -- Fined $300 by Los Angeles for arriving three hours late for a game.
• July 1, 1985 -- Placed on the restricted list by the National League for three days at the Dodgers' request after missing a game against Atlanta. Released by the Dodgers two days later.
• Aug. 12, 1985 -- Signed by the Minnesota Twins, but released a month later after missing three games with what the team said was a "temporary recurrence" of cocaine problem.
• March 20, 1986 -- Signed by San Jose of the California League.
• May 15 -- Suspended by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues after allegedly testing positive for cocaine. The following month he was suspended again through Dec. 31 for the same reason; San Jose released him the day his suspension was over.
• July 11, 1987 -- Signed by Oklahoma City of the Class AAA American Association; the Texas Rangers purchased his contract the following month.
• November 1987 -- Agreed to two-year, $1.2 million contract with Texas.
• Jan. 19, 1988 -- Released by Texas after violating aftercare program by using alcohol.
• April 4, 1990 -- Signs contract with Salinas of the California League.
• Feb. 1991 -- Signs contract with Columbus of the International League.
• May 9, 1991 -- Contract purchased by the New York Yankees.
• Nov. 5, 1991 -- Signs one-year contract with the New York Yankees.
• Dec. 19, 1991 -- Arrested on cocaine charges in Kalispell, Mont.
• June 8, 1992 -- Suspended indefinitely after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Missoula, Mont., to a misdemeanor charge of attempting to buy a gram of cocaine.
• June 24, 1992 -- Suspended permanently by Commissioner Fay Vincent.
• Aug. 18, 1992 -- Fined the minimum $1,000 and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service by a federal judge in Montana and placed on probation.
• Nov. 11, 1992 -- Reinstated by a baseball arbitrator.
• June 22, 1996 -- Released by Yankees (his six years with the Yankees were hit or miss—but he seems to have avoided arrests on drug charges).
• June 24, 1996 -- Arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York when a police officer spots a loaded .357 Magnum pistol in his carry-on baggage.
• April 1997 -- Signs with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League in comeback attempt at age 39 but quits midseason because of an arm injury.
• Aug. 19, 1997 -- Critically injured in a motorcycle crash and later charged with drunken driving. Charges later dropped after prosecutors decided his blood test was improperly obtained.
• April 1, 1999 -- Suspended as a volunteer coach for his daughter's softball team in Whitefish, Mont. girls' softball team (he was involved in an altercation).
• April 28, 2006 -- Dies in a one-vehicle car accident in Coachella, Calif., when his pickup truck rolls over in the early morning. Howe was 48.
What ESPN left out in that last incident was that an autopsy suggested that Howe was high on meth. One may be forgiven for asking how could someone with Howe’s record avoid significant jail time; probably for the same reason that hockey players get away with seriously injuring opponents with sticks and fists: The sport is “handling” the situation by levying fines and suspensions. Yet although Howe proved particularly immune to the effects of this “handling,” it wasn’t until after almost a decade of receiving second chances year after year, that in 1992 baseball commissioner Fay Vincent decided enough was enough and “permanently” suspended Howe from baseball. But yet again Howe seemed to be resistant to punishment: Soon afterward, an arbitrator incomprehensibly reinstated him. The punishments for his drug use were so modest (especially in criminal courts) that it was deemed “unfair” that he should be punished beyond his original penalties—akin to sex offenders being held after they did their “time.”
Like Leaf, Howe could not change his nature—and that nature was self-destructive and seemingly absent of all common sense and judgment. But unlike Leaf and many others, Howe’s demonstrated talent kept his career alive far beyond its expiration date. Why Howe benefited from a clear case of double-standards can only be explained by the belief that Howe’s ability to throw a baseball was not effected by his weakness for drugs; it was a “personal” issue, not a baseball issue. But Vincent was right and baseball was wrong; for the sport to “forgive” such repeated instances of criminal activity (unlike PEDs, whose use is not subject to criminal jurisdiction—former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger even vetoed a law banning PED use in California high school sports) strained credibility. That police and prosecutors were even more lenient on Howe proves that entitled athletes with such “issues” cannot help themselves; society must do it for them.
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