By Jim Halley, USA TODAY
Gabe Gurule was a three-sport athlete at Manzano (Albuquerque), getting recruiting letters for football from Big 12 schools. Matt James of St. Xavier (Cincinnati) was a first-team All-USA offensive lineman, two months shy of graduation and looking forward to playing for Notre Dame.
Gurule is in the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility in Los Lunas because of his alcohol use, serving an eight-year, four-month sentence for vehicular homicide. James' life ended this April when he fell from a fifth-floor balcony while on spring break in Panama City, Fla.
Beginning Wednesday, the New Mexico Activities Association is launching a website (
lifeofanathlete.com) that includes Gurule's story in an interactive program that plans to educate high school athletes about the dangers of alcohol abuse. It is open to students and officials from other states.
The 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed 86.1% of young adults consumed alcohol before they turned 21, and a 2007 University of Texas study found high school athletes are more likely to use alcohol than non-athletes.
Gurule (goo-do-LAY) began drinking as a sophomore. By the time he was a junior, his drinking was affecting him on the field and off it. He was suspended for one drinking incident, then thrown off the team after a second.
After high school, his drinking increased, and he totaled two cars while under the influence. At 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving in 2005, when he was 21, he was driving home after a night of drinking when his car struck a taxi, killing the driver and two passengers.
"We had talked about steroids testing in New Mexico at $135 a pop," said NMAA associate director Robert Zayas. "While steroids is a problem, the one affecting every high school in the United States is underage drinking. Every high school athlete knows they shouldn't do it, that it's illegal, but they still do. We thought if we could show what drinking does to their athletic performance, using an interactive program, the message might have more impact."
The NMAA is running it in conjunction with the American Athletic Institute after obtaining a $400,000 grant from the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Gurule's story gives it grit.
"Even though I was an athlete, I was still passive and quite shy," Gurule said. "I felt the pressure of having to lead. It was what high school was all about — who knew where the parties were, who knew where to get alcohol, who was most popular … It's hard to say if this program would have helped me because I was so hard-headed. I believe I will reach out to the kids who are open-minded."
The program's message is that even occasional alcohol use can have an impact. A single night of partying, according to the American Athletic Institute, can undo two weeks of training. It can also have more serious results.
When a postmortem toxicology report was done on 6-8, 291-pound James, it showed that he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19, more than twice the level Florida considers intoxicated.
"That wasn't Matthew. He was not a drinker," said St. Xavier football coach Steve Specht. "That's what makes this more tragic. He did something at spring break that he didn't do here."
St. Xavier plans to retire James' jersey this fall, and players will wear a patch on their sleeves honoring him. Specht said the "Life of an Athlete" program should connect more than traditional abstinence programs.
"We've always dealt with this," he said. "We're not going to turn the page one day, and it's not going to be there. But I think this approach is 100% correct. You can't just tell kids you shouldn't drink because it's illegal. … You have to paint the picture, of 'You know it's wrong, but if you choose to do it, these are the results that can happen to you physically, emotionally and socially' and that's what we try to educate the kids on. It's educating kids on choices."
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