For years, a graduate student has raised awareness through his research about the use of pain pills among college athletes and offered suggestions for how to address and prevent the addiction.
Marcus Amos will present his work this week during an international conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A second-year doctoral student in sport management, he is one of ten graduate scholars from around the world who have been chosen to teach and share their research at the Fifth International Conference on Sport and Society from July 16 to 17.
Amos is founder of Prevention Education for Athletes, which addresses both painkiller addiction as a result of sports injuries and overdose deaths among athletes. He has consulted as an expert in this area with numerous national media including 60 Minutes, HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Sports Illustrated and ESPN News. He was recently interviewed for a documentary being produced by DirectTV, entitled Young Athletes and Painkiller Use. The film is expected to air later this year. Amos also is beginning to work with parents of high school athletes.
At the conference, Amos will discuss monitoring pain pill usage among college athletes, education classes for sports management professionals who work with them, and promotion of a drug monitoring program for college athletes similar to the one used by all doctors who prescribe pain medication.
To learn more about Amos, his work and the conference, visit the Sport and Society website.
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CONTACT:
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)