Rams News

Rookie school gives young Rams lessons in life
07/01 09:49 PM

By Elizabethe Holland
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

Wearing a finely pressed navy blue suit, a tidy, dignified handkerchief poking out of a breast pocket, Maria Lenoir impressed upon a group of 20 T-shirt-wearing rookie Rams the importance of making a first impression.
Be mindful of your hair, your nails, your clothing, your voice, she told them, her posture erect, eyes straightforward, speech unwavering.
Provide a firm handshake, never ``one of those tip-of-the-finger deals.'' When greeting a woman, look her in the eye instead of sizing up her chest, she preached.
``And gentlemen,'' she added, ``the word `No' to a lady means no.''
Lenoir, an expert on etiquette, offered rookies advice ranging from which fork to use first to how close to stand to people in certain situations.
Her talk was one of several given to Rams rookies during the team's so-dubbed rookie school in early June.
There were sessions on how to handle hordes of fans, how to choose a charity to give to, briefings on the NFL's hard line on gambling, suggestions on how not to go broke, and more.
``The more that we can educate these young players, the more that they will understand and appreciate the opportunity that they have here,'' said Kevin Warren, Rams vice president of player programs and football legal counsel.
``The National Football League is notorious for grinding ill-prepared young men up. It's proven, the examples are endless. So I just want to make sure that every young man that comes through these doors is given an opportunity. If they choose not to learn, I can't control that, but it's here.''
The NFL requires all drafted rookies to attend a symposium on topics ranging from drug abuse to managing finances.
But the Rams have 13 rookies who will not attend the NFL symposium this week in Englewood, Colo., because they were not drafted. So the team instituted its own such program this year.
Warren doesn't know whether the Rams are the only team with this kind of in-house program, but he is fairly certain no organization has a more extensive program.
Warren picked topics after considering which issues cropped up most frequently with the team last year. His goal was that each player would leave having learned at least five or six things.
Among the topics addressed:
> In a session entitled performance enhancement, psychologist Phil Towle had the players scribble their dreams onto slips of paper. The dreams were then shared with the group. Among them: to be a starter; to get to the Super Bowl, then the Pro Bowl; to be happily married once with two kids; to be a successful farmer; to help kids from tough neighborhoods understand that they, too, can succeed; to have no financial worries; and to become a Hall of Famer.
> A session on sexually transmitted diseases. The discussion was frank, with some players discussing people close to them afflicted with HIV or AIDS.
``You think you know a little bit about things like that, but then when someone comes in who actually knows what they're talking about . . .'' rookie defensive end Grant Wistrom said. ``It's amazing, the destruction that it's (AIDS) caused and how it's spreading. You've really got to protect yourself and be careful.''
Near the end of the talk Warren warned players of the prevalence of prostitutes who learn where teams stay on trips and then stake out hotels.
> Addressing the topic of domestic violence, Jim Read of the Alternatives to Violence and Abuse Program gave players a list of controlling tactics and behaviors linked to domestic violence. Items such as coercion, intimidation, emotional abuse, isolation, denial and economic abuse were on the list.
``It's not about anger, domestic violence . . . it's about choices,'' Read told the group. ``What has to happen for you to become completely unwilling to make those choices?''
> Attorney Scott Rosenblum advised players to steer clear of possible allegations of wrongdoing by staying out of potentially troublesome situations. Rosenblum has defended high-profile people accused of wrongdoing, including two Rams recently accused of sexual misconduct. No charges were filed in that case.
``You have to be aware of your surroundings; you have to be aware of who you're with,'' Rosenblum said. ``Generally, if it doesn't feel right, it's not right.''
There was some lagging attention in a couple of the sessions. But several players said the information was valuable.
``It introduces us to a lot of the things that most of us weren't aware of, as far as financial aspects, having the proper etiquette and things of that sort,'' said running back Robert Holcombe.
Said Wistrom: ``It gives you a little bit of a feel for the city and the things to do and not to do.''
Warren, who has plans to continue and build on the program, wondered how much Lawrence Phillips' problematic tenure with the Rams might have been alleviated if he'd gone through such sessions.
``I have often asked myself, `If Lawrence would have been in this rookie class, would an experience of something like this . . . would that have been able to have a positive impact on his life?' '' Warren said. ``I know one thing for sure: It would not have hurt.''

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