08/31/2024
Alcohol Kills and Professional Sports is Complicit!
“Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, two brothers, two family members, two teammates, two friends but truly two amazing humans,” wrote Jim Gaudreau, mourning the deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau after a drunk driver, Sean Higgins, crashed into their car last Thursday. This tragedy is a painful reminder of the devastating impact of alcohol-related accidents, which claimed over 13,500 lives in 2022 alone.
While gun-related deaths in the U.S. often dominate the news, with 20,958 murders in 2021, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities remain a similarly grim statistic, making up 32% of all driving fatalities. Alcohol is responsible for over 178,000 deaths annually, yet its availability and societal acceptance persist, largely due to the belief that Prohibition failed.
The contrast between the battles over gun control and the lack of action on alcohol is stark. Both substances are deadly, yet society has been more willing to accept the risks associated with alcohol. This is despite evidence that alcohol use disorder, long-term health problems, and impaired driving are leading causes of preventable deaths. It’s time to confront the reality that alcohol, like guns, poses a significant threat to public safety.
Beyond traffic fatalities, alcohol contributes significantly to domestic violence, with studies showing that excessive drinking is a major factor in nearly half of all violent incidents at home. Alcohol lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment, often leading to situations where conflicts escalate into violence. The impact of alcohol on families is profound, leading to broken homes, trauma for children, and long-term psychological scars for all involved. These domestic issues are part of the broader social harms caused by alcohol, which also include sexual assaults, child abuse, and financial instability.
The relationship between sports and the alcohol industry is particularly troubling, given that Johnny and Matthew were athletes. In 2020 alone, the alcohol industry spent more than $600 million on sports sponsorships worldwide, according to Statista. Bud Light, for instance, had an annual sponsorship budget of $249.7 million, making it the industry's biggest spender on sports advertising. A 2020 Rugby Six Nations Championship study revealed an alcohol reference every 12 seconds on average during each game. Just this summer, Labatt Breweries of Canada and the National Hockey League (NHL®) announced a multiyear Canadian partnership, which includes Budweiser becoming an Official Beer of the NHL in Canada.
Ironically, athletes aiming to perform at the professional or elite level often avoid alcohol during the season or intense training to optimize performance and recovery.
The Gaudreaus' tragic deaths should serve as a call to action. We need to reconsider the leniency with which alcohol is regulated and explore more effective ways to reduce its harm, whether through stricter sales controls, higher penalties for impaired driving, or even revisiting the idea of prohibition in a modern context. The lives lost to alcohol-related accidents, domestic violence, and other alcohol-fueled crimes are not just statistics; they are human beings, often innocent people who did not even see it coming. It is time to take a hard look at alcohol's role in our society and make meaningful changes to protect our communities.
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