Is the thought of being a leader repulsive? It is but only if by leadership I mean an inordinate amount of responsibility and service that inspires those I lead. Discipline is not welcomed by many athletes because it’s restrictive by nature and seemingly where there is no capacity for restraint, perhaps leadership becomes the dreaded enemy.

I coach players to lead without actually saying that word a whole lot. Why harp on a nebulous term when you can teach the the traits that accompany it. The problem is, however, that young athletes have never been young before. They’ve never been in what they would call the “prime” – athletic, carefree and nearly an adult. They’re interested in the prestige of sports but as a coach I can never tell if they’re absorbing leadership rather than being taught it.

It’s difficult to discern why or how young athletes perceive leadership because just when you think they’re getting it, one of your players is cited for being drunk in public. Another player avoids practice while yet another simply never works on the skills needed to play their sport. Consequently, there’s a break down on so many fronts that leadership is clearly and intentionally avoided. A coach is the vehicle that transports the players to a destination but you could argue that the coach can only transport passengers for whom leadership is not an obstacle. My job is to disguise the obstacle of leadership as an obligation/opportunity.

In C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters,” a demon named Screwtape concludes the work with a toast given at a sort of banquet for chief tempters and gentledevils. The monologue is rendered from the point-of-view of an adversary of the human race and illumines something noteworthy about what is needed for Democracy to fail in the world.

Screwtape basically says that if the demons can continue to tempt the humans toward the mindset of parity and equity to the extent that there are no great humans, only the kind who assimilate and look to be “like folk,” then Democracy in the purest sense will end. Democracy with a capital D is a political framework that involves the will of the masses in choosing and relieving leadership. It is the epitome of accountability in governance. But lowercase that “d” and Screwtape says humans are doomed because they will have created a world where it’s embarrassing to strive for anything higher than the person next to you.

First of all, C.S. Lewis is always a great read but this notion speaks volumes to athletes. It was not uncommon for me to be ashamed of my intellect as a young basketball player. God forbid you be both athletic and smart. The basketball subculture sometimes takes two forms from what I’ve seen: #1 the inner city make it or die trying mentality and #2 the nothing to lose/everything to gain paradigm. The first is possessed namely by the impoverished hoopers who view sports as a vehicle to wealth and freedom. The latter is often the perspective of wealthy athletes who don’t typically fit the stereotypical profile. These wealthier kids tend to be educated and well coached with multiple options lying beyond a high school diploma. Conversely, the poor ball players are desperate and have learned to see only one way out. It’s but one of many ways that our society teaches us that excellence beyond normative achievement is undemocratic. And that’s frightening.

If basketball taught me anything it’s that competing extends not from the court to the real world but from the soul to everything we attempt. Competing is as universal to how we live as breathing is. It will continue to be what separates one human from another while simultaneously serving the needs of humanity as a whole.

Basketball, drugs and second chances don’t necessarily occur and they most certainly don’t necessarily occur in that order.

Drugs generally get all the attention during Red Ribbon Week, a national anti-drug campaign formalized in 1988 three years after the murder of its inspiration DEA agent Enrique (Kiki) S. Camarena. But as I talk to athletes, students and casual drug users I’m learning that addiction is more the focal point than drug use. And I know the two go hand-in-hand but the main threat to young athletes is derailment at the hands of addiction.

Chris Andersen is a professional basketball player who earns his pay as a Denver Nugget and he’s a fan favorite with his multicolored tattoo sleeves and hair that has gained him the nicknmame “Bird Man”. He blocks shots and is the ultimate role player but the fans know his real story – that he’s an ex addict or perhaps, an addict in recovery. Three years ago Andersen was kicked out of the NBA for a “drugs of abuse” violation. The expulsion from the league cost him $14 million ($3.5 annually) and a four year contract.

My police friends tell me the threats of narcotics haven’t gone out of style. Crack is predominantly abused by African Americans, Heroine by Latinos, Crystal Meth by Caucasians. This is not to mention performance enhancing drugs and addiction to over-the-counter medicine.

Drug jingles, slogans debunking drug use and commercials are unmistakably cliche. But so are the effects drugs have on a life. It’s not an issue of being caught as much as it is about giving control of yourself over to something else. And I’ve never had a student athlete raise their hand when I ask, “Who wants to be a slave?” What’s better, getting a second chance or not needing one in the first place?