DRUG WATCH : Off the Ropes

Gone was the usual bravado when contrite and emotional professional boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard publicly admitted that he had used cocaine for three years, between 1983 and 1986.

His admission was even more startling because the charismatic Leonard appeared frequently in a nationally televised, anti-drug public service campaign in 1989. Leonard is yet another sad example of the pervasiveness of the nation’s drug problem.

The popular boxer held a press conference on Saturday to acknowledge that he had turned to cocaine and alcohol to escape “periods of great depression.” Faced with the prospect of a boxing career cut short by an eye injury, he also abused alcohol--and even his wife. Leonard made the disclosures after The Times reported such allegations based on his wife’s sworn statements during their divorce proceedings.

Other boxers and athletes, have had drug problems, of course. But to youngsters, the 34-year-old Leonard was a special role model, a man who by his own admission “had everything in the world.” Even though he knew better, he succumbed, however temporarily. He was lucky. Leonard made a successful comeback and claims to have given up cocaine. Most drug abusers aren’t so fortunate.

Leonard took a risk in publicly acknowledging his secret. But it was the right thing to do. Even though it called into question the sincerity of his 1989 drug message, it served as a reminder that a user never escapes drugs entirely. The ex-addict or user is always susceptible to alcohol’s or dope’s knockout punch.