By Merrie Spaeth, KERA 90.1 commentator
Dallas, TX –
An investigation about steroid use in the Grapevine-Colleyville school district is producing shocking headlines. If we really want to prevent steroid use - we can learn something from the demise of the accounting firm, Arthur Andersen.
Here's a quick review of the situation. One athlete confessed to his mom, she went to the school district. They blew her off. She went to the press. Reporters located other athletes who admitted using steroids. Coaches professed to be shocked, shocked, and said no, no, not here. Since steroids are illegal, local law enforcement got involved. Finally, administrators have grudgingly admitted there might be a problem, and they might do random testing.
Back to Arthur Andersen. Our audience recalls the spectacular flame-out of one of the world's most respected professional services firms in connection with Enron. The real reason Andersen blew up is because its culture changed - and it no longer saw a connection between the need to uphold general, high standards - and its own profitability. That is, it rejected the idea that fair practices that everyone has to adhere to benefit each individual company.
For decades, Arthur Andersen had what was called the quality and standards board. Because every one bought into the idea that transparent and open balance sheets benefited the overall market, everyone agreed that the standards board could overrule the partner in charge of a relationship with a client company. So no matter what the engagement partner on the Enron account wanted to do, or what Enron pressured him to do, the standards board could veto it - in the name of overall audit standards.
In the middle of the go-go '90s, Andersen's culture went through a tectonic shift. They convinced themselves that they didn't need to worry about upholding overall high standards, they only needed to make each individual client happy. The standards board was, in effect, defanged. They could still scream about the damage false numbers could cause to investor confidence, but no one paid attention to them. That drastically changed the dynamic of the relationship. Now the client, Enron, could lean on the Andersen partner, and say, "don't see it my way, we'll move our business elsewhere." The results were predictable.
The lesson for anyone who wants to prevent steroid use, is that, first, overall high standards so benefit everyone - each team, each school, each athlete.
Second, the people who benefit from the results, who have a reason to look the other way, can't be the policing or enforcement body charged with keeping kids clean.
The coaches have a reason to ignore the 50 pounds of gained bulk. The administrators like winning seasons. No one wants to rat on someone else. If we are serious about stopping steroid use, the equivalent of a standards board needs to exist and empowered to do what it needs to. Of course, this same debate is going on in professional sports, especially baseball.
No one likes to be the tough cop, but that's the only system which will really work. Otherwise, they'll be a lot of hand wringing and pretend solutions, like the telephone hot line. But the pressures to use and the availability of substance will still exist. It's time for a quality and standards board for sports.
Merrie Spaeth is a communications consultant in Dallas. If you have opinions or rebuttals about this commentary, call (214) 740-9338 or email us.