Type 5 Writing Assignment: Corrupt Athletes
             Steroids. Marijuana. Alcohol. Cocaine. Violence. The unfortunate truth is that no discussion of American sports in the past few decades has been complete without those words being mentioned in some context. Through this paper, I hope to gain an understanding of the different types of illegal behaviors, the people affected, and the outcome of the lives of Darryl Strawberry, Tonya Harding, and Lyle Alzado. The baseball great, Darryl Strawberry, who won World Series championships with the New York Yankees and Mets, has battled drug and alcohol abuse and criminal problems for years. Strawberry was sentenced to 18 months probation May 1999 after pleading no contest to drug and solicitation charges. In February, he was suspended from baseball for a year for testing positive to cocaine. In September of 1998, Strawberry was sentenced to two years' house arrest after admitting he violated probation by driving under the influence of medication and by leaving the scene of an accident. Strawberry, who is also fighting the return of his colon cancer, could have been sent to prison for that violation. Instead, the private drug treatment center, which officials declined to identify, served as his residence, corrections officials said. In 1990, Strawberry was arrested for alleged assault with a deadly weapon during an argument with his wife. They were later divorced. Three years later, he was arrested for allegedly striking his girlfriend. No charges were filed in either incident. In 1995, he was ordered to repay $350,000 in back taxes and sentenced to six months of home confinment, except for games. Later that year he was charged in California with failing to make child support payments. The people that have been affected by Darryl Strawberry's behavior would be us, the young impressionable minds, while he also affected his family and girlfriends. The outcome of all of the illegal behavior such...