Fmr. NFL star warns of alcohol

With the final month of classes traditionally a time of heavy alcohol consumption at Penn, motivational speaker and former National Football League player Brian Holloway urged students last Wednesday to think twice before deciding to drink. A former offensive tackle with the Los Angeles Raiders and New England Patriots, Holloway gave a lecture on alcohol awareness sponsored by the Sigma Chi fraternity. Nearly 70 students piled into the David Rittenhouse Laboratories to hear Holloway speak about his experiences with football, business and alcohol. Holloway was an All-American at Stanford University and a five-time NFL All-Pro player, but it wasn't until after his retirement from football that he faced some of the harsher realities of life. He spoke about his encounters with alcohol as the vice president of the NFL Players Association. When several players died in alcohol-related incidents, it was Holloway's job to call up their wives. "That call was something that compelled me to make a trip down and talk to you," Holloway said. "I don't know why it takes so long for us to get the message." Holloway attributed his success -- both in the NFL and today in the business world as a corporate turn-around specialist who helps companies solve various problems -- to his abstinence from alcohol use. "I don't understand what's cool about puking your brains out," he said. Holloway tried to reach the audience by comparing football to alcohol incidents. He explained that both are dangerous games and he even showed a short video on violent football incidents. "It was a kind of slap in the face with reality," College freshman and Theta Xi brother Whit Matthews said. "This is what life is really like." But Holloway did tell the students that they should think of the "nature of sisterhood and brotherhood" if they were going to drink. He said that every person should be able to count on someone in a bad situation. In turn, he urged everyone to be someone that others can rely on if they are drunk. As for the future, Holloway warned students that while they may think it is fun to drink now, they will regret that choice later on. "You are responsible for who you are and what you do," Holloway said. "Your actions are costing you." Several students in the audience found Holloway's ideas to be eye-opening and somewhat different from previous talks on the topic. "He made me aware that there has to be a limit to some things," College freshman Gert Ford said. "It wasn't that that idea was new to me but it was that he emphasized it by saying, 'Look at me, I made it big because I was responsible in college.'"