BALTIMORE – Once considered the prototypical role model, athletes have recently fallen on hard times.

It’s not unusual today for athletes to show a lack of respect for the law – to see an athlete beat his wife or girlfriend, use an ethnic or sexist slur, or in the example of Syracuse lacrosse players Pat Perritt and John Carrozza, get in some trouble after drinking too much.

These offenses are too common today. Yet the one rarity in these situations remains admitting you’ve made a mistake.

This is the area where the pros could learn a lesson from a couple of still-maturing college boys.

Perritt and Carrozza played in lacrosse game Saturday for the first time since the incident on March 11, when the pair was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Syracuse lost to Loyola, 11-10.

The two offered a public apology Wednesday and in doing so displayed a quality often missing when big-name stars discuss allegations against them. They showed sincerity.

There’s no excuse for what they did. Syracuse’s discipline policy appears too lenient in handling this season’s lacrosse arrests. However, there’s no doubt Perritt and Carrozza put together one of the more complete apologies I’ve heard of late in the sports realm.

Perritt, in particular, went into detail about the actions he will take to prove his repentance. He conceded he has stopped drinking and is seeing an alcohol counselor. He announced he had written a statement apologizing to the Syracuse police department and he plans to do community service during the summer.

Carrozza also offered his services to community service and asked about whether there were any other steps he could take to prove his sorrow.

The apologies offered by the two lacrosse stars were by no means perfect. The most conspicuous facet of the apology was the timing. There’s no doubt it was a brilliant public relations move in this aspect. Almost three weeks had passed since the arrest before Perritt and Carrozza spoke up. Moreover, the apologies came at an all too convenient time as the Orange enters the toughest part of its schedule.

The rhetoric Perritt and Carrozza applied could have been better. Perritt stated his regret for drinking too much, while Carrozza lamented his public intoxication.

Well, here’s a newsflash: The two athletes should not have been drinking at all, as both are under the legal drinking age.

It’s hard to judge anybody’s sincerity nowadays. And there’s no doubt that the ulterior motive behind these apologies was to get back out on the lacrosse field as fast as possible – which they did.

Still, to hear statements like these from two hotshot Syracuse lacrosse players must demonstrate the players felt at least somewhat sorry for their actions. That’s more than you can say for most professional athletes who find themselves in hot water.

While both Perritt and Carrozza flat-out stated their actions were wrong, many of the most recent offenders skirt around the truth, use their publicist to make a statement or simply say nothing at all. Here are some of the more recent examples of the growing art of the non-apology:

(bullet) I’ve heard of the Fifth Amendment and I know those in trouble want to avoid speaking about a case due to a fear of incriminating themselves. But you’d think NFL star Adam ‘Pac Man’ Jones, whose constant run-ins with the law have him facing possible suspension from the NFL, would like to make a statement expressing some type of remorse. Instead, he’s been silent. Dontrelle Willis, the face of the Florida Marlins franchise, referred to a DUI arrest in December as simply ‘an unfortunate situation.’

(bullet) It took banishment from NBA-sanctioned events and gay and lesbian groups calling for his head before ex-NBAer Tim Hardaway offered up a flaky apology for his infamous ‘I hate gay people’ rant that he went on February. ‘I don’t hate gay people,’ Hardaway said. ‘I’m a goodhearted person. I interact with people all the time. … I respect people. For me to say ‘hate’ was a bad word, and I didn’t mean to use it.’

(bullet) At least Hardaway tried, albeit in possibly the most obvious PR move of all time. The typical response for foul language remains the most disingenuous apologetic phrase, ‘I’m sorry if I offended anyone.’ The saying admits to no wrongdoing and almost blames the victim for being offended. The response was heard last week right down the road in Albany, where ex-NBA player and current CBA head coach Micheal Ray Richadson made anti-Semitic comments during an interview. When offered the chance to apologize, he gave the trite expression.

Nevertheless let’s be realistic. This is college. Alcohol flows everywhere at Syracuse and when events like these occur; it should not be too stunning.

The real shocker here was the aftermath. For athletes, the two easiest words to say are ‘I’m sorry,’ as long as you don’t actually have to mean it.

In the case of Perritt and Carrozza, it seemed they at least tried to show a lesson had been learned.

Matt Levin is a design editor for The Daily Orange, where his columns will appear occasionally. E-mail him at mrlevin@syr.edu.

Published on March 31, 2007 at 12:00 pm