Ten years ago the Badgers were headed to the Rose Bowl. Brent Moss tallied 158 yards and two touchdowns to be awarded the 1994 Rose Bowl MVP as the Badgers rolled over UCLA, 21-16. The next season the future seemed bright. Wisconsin seemed on the verge of repeating as Big Ten champs and rumors had Moss as a potential Heisman Trophy winner who was 282 yards short of breaking the school rushing yards record.
But late Nov. 9, 1994, police arrested Moss for possession of 0.4 grams of crack cocaine with intent to sell. Two days later, Head Coach Barry Alvarez suspended the 22-year-old senior, saying, \It's been a very difficult day. I feel as if it was one of my own children.""
Moss returned to Wisconsin that year, intent on finishing what he started before he left for the NFL-getting his degree and proving to his two children the importance of an education. But the lessons he learned as a UW athlete seem almost cautionary tales to the three athletes today facing their own legal troubles and the UW athletic department. They show the effects and problems that athletes have faced since he was running the fields at Camp Randall.
""I remember being at that age and you're trying ... to take care of responsibilities and you've got so much pressure on you to play good and be the best athlete you can be,"" Moss said. ""It's a tremendous stress ... managing school and being tired and getting your body under condition ... it takes it's toll. They don't think of the players as being human and having the same problems as everyone else ... it comes with the job. At that age I didn't understand that. Looking back I wish I had someone to tell me that, to let me know what I would be going through and what to expect and who to lean on to when you get into problems.""
The problem, UW-Madison Sociology Professor Jane Piliavin said, goes back to the pressure student-athletes face as young as grade school, which increases during recruitment time once they reach high school.
""If you read the literature in sports sociology there's kids as young as middle school being recruited into high school that want to have good teams ... It's more pressure than a person that age should be put under,"" Piliavin said. ""There's two things that can happen. One is that they can become really, really full of themselves and have an exaggerated importance of their place in the world, or they have breakdowns because they aren't mature or can't handle it.""
Piliavin and UW-Madison Pediatrics Professor Peter Karofsky, who has written articles on the subject of sports psychology, both disputed that the recent publicizing of athletic disciplinary problems, both on the UW campus and throughout the NCAA, proves an increasing trend in athletes getting in trouble. Instead, they called it an indication of more awareness through the media and in the public.
""There's certainly more??microscopic examination of athletic programs and athletes than there has been in the past. With the NCAA being a body that is really scrutinizing all campuses and the sanctions [being] severe, it's making everybody look into it,"" Karofsky said.
In addition, he pointed to the evolution of society as a reason that athlete misconduct against women has more recently come to light.
""We've become more PC- more concerned ... about women and women's rights,"" Karofsky said.
However, Piliavin said that the psychology behind athletes committing crimes, in particular those against women, are different than that of the average student.
""There's some evidence that both fraternity men and male student-athletes are the most likely to [commit violence against women]. Some of it has to do with a group mentality. They're are in it together and support and lie for each other,"" Piliavin said. ""I wouldn't say it's just an athlete thing, but any time you have a tight group of people. But an individual not in that social scene is not committing the crime in the same mentality ... There's also a sense of privilege that athletes have. They've come to expect they are more important than other people.""
Part of the problem, Piliavin said, is the pressure athletes are placed under by their coaches and by the school.
""Athletes are in a difficult situation ... the ones that are expected to make money for the university,"" Piliavin said ""They have no private life any more ... they go in public and to an extent it's like movie stars. They can't just have a college life like the rest of you can and they're too young for that.""
Moss knows this situation first hand, and he said it is something the university needs to pay attention to with its current athletes.
""There's a team doctor to give you pills for aches and pains,"" Moss said. ""They always need someone there ... who the athletes can feel comfortable and talk to and be confidential to mediate between players and coaches. So they have somewhere they can unleash pressures from society ...??so they can get relief and address the problem.""
Moss eventually pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession, and the Badgers' season struggled with off-the-field troubles that included a second teammate's arrest as they limped their way to the Hall of Fame Bowl, where they defeated Duke. After violating his parole and entering a drug treatment program, Moss struggled, jumping from free agency with the Miami Dolphins to playing for the St. Louis Rams and eventually playing in the Arena Football League. For Moss, while the past remains something he regrets, he also knows he can't change it and is hoping to work with football camps and kids.
""I'm thankful I get to raise two beautiful kids ... I've been all over the place and it's brought me a lot of joy-a lot of joy and a lot of heartache ... But all and all it's a great experience.\
