The Chase had some questions about the Greyhounds and Zias, so its reporters canvassed the athletic fields for answers. What follows is the inaugural “College Athletes Poll,” the results of a representative sample conducted with student-athletes from the baseball, football, men’s basketball, men’s soccer, rodeo, softball, spirit squad, track and field, volleyball, women’s basketball, and women’s soccer teams.
The results are a little surprising and a lot depressing.
Just more than a quarter of Eastern New Mexico student-athletes have lied about concussion symptoms in order to keep playing. This comes weeks after the NFL settled a class-action lawsuit with 4,500 players who claimed that concussions from their playing days caused Alzheimer’s disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and dementia.
Nearly one in five student-athletes suspect that a teammate is taking performance-enhancing drugs. The NCAA, the International Olympic Committee, and most professional sports leagues have banned drugs such as anabolic steroids, stimulants, human growth hormone, and certain supplements. Performance-enhancing drugs have been linked to cancer, stroke, and eating disorders, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Almost half of ENMU student-athletes would rather earn a national championship than a bachelor’s degree. The Chase previously has editorialized against the misbalance between academics and sports at ENMU, and this lack of balance seems to extend to the university’s student athletes.
Full “College Athletes Poll” results follow.
Gender:
Male: 62%
Female: 38%
Academic Year:
Senior: 24%
Junior: 32%
Sophomore: 33%
Freshman: 11%
Is your current head school the same as when the school first offered you a scholarship?
Yes: 64%
No: 36%
Do you support raising student fees to fund a new multipurpose stadium on campus?
Yes: 90%
No: 10%
Which would you rather do at ENMU?
Graduate: 51%
Win a national championship: 49%
Since you have been at ENMU, have you ever lied about a concussion?
Yes: 26%
No: 74%
Do you have at least one teammate you think is taking performance-enhancing drugs?
Yes: 18%
No: 82%
In the past year, how many times have you seen something that you thought could be an NCAA violation?
0: 74%
More than 1: 26%
Answers varied from those student-athletes who said they have seen at least one thing that they thought could be an NCAA violation: Too many; Five, maybe more; 15-20; 20-50; More than 20, less than 50.
Should college athletes be paid?
Yes: 62%
No: 38%
One “yes” respondent said, “It’s a job.”
Do you think you have a gay teammate?
Yes: 56%
No: 44%
Most players would be fine with a gay teammate, but I think some players would not be OK with it.
Agree: 74%
Disagree: 26%
One “agree” respondent said, “It’s about ability.” One “disagree” respondent said that he or she “would rather not know.”