Less Than One Percent

"Less than One Percent..."

The Program is a behind the scenes look at collegiate football and the many controversies that arise within the team. Some being conflicts between two athletes and others are self conflicts. One of the main conflicts is the use of steroids by Steve Lattimer. This is a concern for many athletes in both college and professional sports because everyone is working to be the best athlete in their sport. Steve is a great example of one of those people. He is one of the only seniors on the team and has played at ESU for the last three years. But with his smaller size he wasn't able to start over the other larger defensive ends. Lattimer turns to steroids during his junior summer so he could gain a starting spot on the team. When he came to camp his senior year everyone noticed an outrageous change in size and questioned Steve. Even his coaches knew he was using steroids but didn't want to affect the team so they kept it quiet.

There are three different views on his steroid use. The movie shows these three positions to show how bad steroid use can affect everyone around you. The team's defensive coordinators think it's completely fine as long as he keeps passing the NCAA's steroid testing. Then there's the NCAA who is completely against any illegal substances for any of the athletes. Finally Steve sees it being a great thing for him and the team because it will let him become one of the best athletes in the nation which will help them become national champions.

Only the top athletes in the nation are able to play a Division I sport. Once the athlete is on the team they need to stand out from others to getting a starting spot. This is why many average athletes consider using steroids. Steve Lattimer didn't start on ESU's football team the first three years of his career because of his size. So he decided to get on steroids so he would have the edge. With the steroids Steve becomes a starter and also is a key defensive player for the team. After finding out he gained the starting spot he goes into one of his "roid rages" and starts smashing car windows with his forehead in excitement. His defensive coaches see this and get worried that he might do something to hurt himself which would then hurt the entire team. They question to tell the head coach but decide to keep it secret because of the way he's playing on the field. When Lattimer enters the stall he pulls out the toilet paper roll holder. This cylinder holds "clean" urine and he empties this into the plastic cup. The coaches know that this is happening but ignore it. With the coaches on his side Steve can do whatever he wants at this point. The coaches are helping Lattimer become a better player the cheap and illegal way. Using the steroids also makes Lattimer and the coaches happy so they aren't going to stop Steve now.

Another view is that of the NCAA, the most creditable organizations pertaining to College sports. They have strict rules against the use of steroids and other illegal drugs. During the movie they do periodic testing on the athletes which are supposed to be random. But later find out that the team knows about it before the testing actually occurs. If a player gets caught with illegal substances in their system they are ejected from participation in that sport. They also leak the steroid use to the press which makes the program and coaches look bad. Coaches don't need that because of all the work and time they put into building their programs. Then once the NCAA finds there is steroid use within a team they will keep their focus on them and possibly find other things to break down the program. The NCAA isn't a big deal within Lattimer's case because the coaches know about the steroid use and work around the NCAA's rules. Steve uses different methods to keep his urine samples clean so he can pass the drug testing which keeps the coaches happy. The NCAA never finds out he is using the drugs but they show many ways of working around their system.

Finally there is Lattimer's view of his steroid use. He doesn't care if his body is going to be hurt later in life, he just wants to be a starter during his senior year of college. If Steve performs as good as he's hoping then that will gain him a NFL contract, which is what all college football