Jerry Montez had a promising future in basketball. In high school, he made the starting varsity lineup as a freshman, won the Kansas state basketball championship title all four years in a row, received numerous awards, including Gatorade Player of the Year, went both All-American and All-State, and was offered full-ride scholarships for basketball to Division One schools such as Villanova, the University of North Carolina, and Kentucky. Jerry also made the starting lineup of the USA National Junior Olympic team as a sophomore and participated in competitive tournaments worldwide. Jerry planned on entering into the draft for the NBA after his sophomore year of college, but before he could do so, tragedy struck. Unfortunately, throughout his
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According to the Justices of the Vernonia School District v. Acton Supreme Court case, “Students who voluntarily participate in school athletics have reason to expect intrusions upon normal rights and privileges, including privacy” (646). As the ruling indicates, student athletes are already required to follow school rules and discipline, get a physical exam, obtain insurance coverage, and maintain a minimum GPA. In addition, numerous student athletes must be willing to use locker rooms to shower and change their clothes, further reducing their privacy. Mandatory student athlete drug testing may temporarily intrude into a student’s private life, but student athletes already expect to give up certain privacy rights and freedoms in order to participate in a school sport. In any case, mandatory student athlete drug testing is designed to keep the student safe and away from drugs, not to limit the student athlete’s …show more content…
Acton Supreme Court case, by committing to a sports team, student athletes expect to capitulate certain privacy rights and privileges. Additionally, drugs are avoidable, and if mandatory student athlete drug testing keeps student athletes safe and away from drugs, it is imperative to require it. Moreover, the tragic case of the failure to keep Jerry Montez safe from drugs was not a singular incident; many athletes have fallen short of their dreams because of drugs. For example, Len Bias was selected second in the 1986 NBA Draft by the Celtics, but was found forty-eight hours later dead in his dormroom from a cocaine overdose (“Shocking and Tragic Sports Deaths”). Chances are that if Jerry Montez or Len Bias had been drug tested and received help, they would have been holding the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy
According to the Justices of the Vernonia School District v. Acton Supreme Court case, “Students who voluntarily participate in school athletics have reason to expect intrusions upon normal rights and privileges, including privacy” (646). As the ruling indicates, student athletes are already required to follow school rules and discipline, get a physical exam, obtain insurance coverage, and maintain a minimum GPA. In addition, numerous student athletes must be willing to use locker rooms to shower and change their clothes, further reducing their privacy. Mandatory student athlete drug testing may temporarily intrude into a student’s private life, but student athletes already expect to give up certain privacy rights and freedoms in order to participate in a school sport. In any case, mandatory student athlete drug testing is designed to keep the student safe and away from drugs, not to limit the student athlete’s …show more content…
Acton Supreme Court case, by committing to a sports team, student athletes expect to capitulate certain privacy rights and privileges. Additionally, drugs are avoidable, and if mandatory student athlete drug testing keeps student athletes safe and away from drugs, it is imperative to require it. Moreover, the tragic case of the failure to keep Jerry Montez safe from drugs was not a singular incident; many athletes have fallen short of their dreams because of drugs. For example, Len Bias was selected second in the 1986 NBA Draft by the Celtics, but was found forty-eight hours later dead in his dormroom from a cocaine overdose (“Shocking and Tragic Sports Deaths”). Chances are that if Jerry Montez or Len Bias had been drug tested and received help, they would have been holding the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship trophy