So I’m watching “The Sports Reporters” the other day.

For those of you who do something other than watch TV on Sunday mornings, the show features sports writers discussing the sports issues of the day.

On this particular Sunday, the hot topic of the day was the drug arrest of Michael Irvin, the highly-talented and well-paid wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys.

The three white reporters on the show talkedÿabout how Irvin, who came from humble beginnings, blew his chance to be a role model for children growing up in similar situations.

When Irvin was found in a Dallas-area hotel room with a former teammate, two exotic dancers and two plates full of cocaine and marijuana, he fell victim to his own fame and greed, these reporters said.

The one black reporter on the show had a slightly different angle on the story.

Although he didn’t excuse Irvin’s actions, he said Irvin had forgotten that behavior that is acceptable for white athletes is not acceptable for black athletes. He said that when they achieve fame and fortune, black athletes are lulled into a false sense of security and forget that if they make a mistake, they are still black and are not above reproach. He referred to it as, “having the rug pulled out from under him.”

This startled me so much that I had to stop what I was doing (I was ironing) and sit down and think about it.

Can it be that there are people who think Irvin’s arrest was not due to the drugs in the room he was in or the pipe found in his bag, but his race? Are there actually people who think Irvin is a victim here?

Fair or not, athletes, no matter what their color, are singled out for special attention in our society. We look up to them and expect more of them than we do ourselves. And although many black men don’t get a fair shake in our judicial system, our society is more than forgiving for athletes.

You need look no further for proof than the now infamous trial of O.J. Simpson.

Simpson is a wealthy black man,and a former athlete. Regardless of whether you think Simpson was guilty or innocent, you would have to concede that if an average black man, who did not enjoy the advantages of Simpson’s fame or ability to hire expensive lawyers, were tried using the same evidence, he would be much more likely to be convicted and would probably be on death row right now.

Athletes with drug problems have been given leniency, as well.

Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry are both still playing major league baseball despite suspensions for substance abuse. Steve Howe, a white pitcher, is still playing as well, despite his repeated drug problems.

Of course all three of these players are with the New York Yankees, which may be another column topic all together.

The NBA has been generous, as well. This season, the league handed Roy Tarpley his second lifetime suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

You would think that one lifetime suspension would be adequate. I don’t know which is worse, that the league caved in and allowed Tarpley back into the game or that Tarpley blew his second chance to have a job that most young men can only dream of.

We, as a society, build up athletes to superhuman status, and when you tell someone that they are different from everyone else, they start to believe it after awhile.

When former Nebraska football player Christian Peter faced charges after a drunken bar altercation, outraged Husker fans wrote to the Omaha World-Herald to complain about having to read about it on the front of the sports section.

The worst punishment Lawrence Phillips will receive for beating up his ex-girlfriend will be a slight drop in his draft-day status.

What will become of Irvin remains to be seen, but since some of his teammates have had substance abuse problems and are still playing, it seems unlikely that Irvin’s career will be jeopardized by this incident.

But if it were, it would be the best thing that could happen to Irvin and every other athlete, present and future.

As these incidents become more and more frequent professional sports leagues, and society in general, need to start sending a clear message to athletes that the law applies to everyone, even athletes.

As long as the young people of America look up to athletes, as they always have, drug abuse cannot be tolerated in sports.

Steven Martens is a senior in journalism mass communication from Cedar Rapids.