Murder, sex, drugs and beat downs.

These are all words mostly found in the police blotter or crime beat. Unfortunately, these terms are now being found in the sports pages all too often.It is no different here in Sacramento.

Former Valley High School standout Jeremiah Pharms, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, was arrested recently in Sacramento on suspicion of armed robbery. The robbery, which happened a year ago in Seattle, is just one example of athletes that test the long arm of the law.

Besides Pharms, who could forget Sacramento?s own Rae Carruth, who recently was found guilty on charges of killing his pregnant girlfriend.

The names: Daryl Strawberry (cokehead), Jason Kidd (slapping his wife around), Ray Lewis (accessory to murder errr?obstruction of justice), and even Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar (weed head) are names that are associated more with crime, than sports.

Why is this a growing trend? Some say athletes are just a microcosm of society as a whole. I disagree.

When athletes show special ability, it is often seen early on in the athlete?s life as early as junior high in most cases. As soon as that ability is spotted, the label “special” is branded on them. Athletes with that “special” ability are given a different set of rules.

If the grades aren?t quite good enough, a special tutor will be hired to help out or, in worst cases, the grades are ignored so the athlete can continue dominating his or her field.

The idea of two sets of rules ? rules for a regular athlete and rules for a “special” athlete ? is in place very early. Instead of getting away with bad grades, these athletes are getting away with murder. The attitude that they can?t be touched skews their mindset.

Early on it might be they can get an “F” and still play. Then it might grow into beating up a coed and getting away with it (sounds a little like the Stingers incidents, doesn?t it?). And, from then it just snowballs.

For example, NBA point guard Rod Strickland, who has three DUIs in less than a year and has not spent a minute in jail.

Such cases are apparent in the collegiate ranks.

Three years ago, members of the University of California, Los Angeles football team ran a handicap-parking scheme so they could park in the front parking spaces while legitimate disabled students had to park some distances from class.

After it was revealed that football players were behind it, they were given a slap on the wrist and told to go back to practice and win a ballgame.

It is no different here on the Sac State campus.

When Hornet football players were accused of trashing Stingers and beating up a fellow coed a year ago, there was no real investigation.

A brief look by athletic director Debby Colberg and a reminder of the student-athlete?s code of conduct is all that took place by the school. Sac State football head coach John Volek may have had an in-house meeting and settled it internally. But how does that help the owner of Stingers or the poor guy who was on the tail end of a beat down?

Athletes, regardless of their ability, must be held responsible for their actions. Too much coddling only hurts them later in their lives.

The “let them slide” rule hurts everybody. Let?s appreciate these athletes because of their special God-given abilities on the field but let?s leave it at that.

They can do things that the ordinary person can?t do on the field of play. The same should not be said off the field.