Surfers to learn a lesson from the case of Santa Cruz legend Anthony Ruffo
There is absolutely no room for drugs in surfing, contrary to the traditional belief where the two were considered to be part of a culture.
The news about Santa Cruz surfer Anthony Ruffo getting sentenced to two years in jail on charges of possessing meth with the intent to sell and being under its influence would surely serve to warn the younger generation of surfers about the consequences
that they may have to face if they give in to the evil.
The 48-year-old Ruffo had been convicted of meth possession twice in the past and had been allowed to walk away with nothing as severe as the latest ruling against him on Tuesday, February 21. He had voluntarily gotten into rehab in the past to fight off
the addiction, but the effort had been futile and he himself admitted that the pressures of life, which included a tough relationship and death of his friend and fellow surfer Andy Irons pushed him back into the quicksand.
Even though the Santa Cruz surfer was not expecting to receive such a severe sentence, something that was proven by the fact that he had driven to the court on his own car, he did feel that he had been dealt a hard hand. He apologised to his family, friends
and fans for disappointing them.
During the court hearing on Tuesday, a number of other renowned surfers were present to support Ruffo. While they admitted that they had been shocked to find Ruffo sentenced to two years in County Jail and taken into custody immediately to begin serving
his sentence, they could not help but feel that something good was bound to come out of this.
“In a sense it's closure, and he's going to get chance to go in and pay his debt to society. He'll come through this a better man, but this was something that kind of had to happen for everybody's sake. He knew it,” explained Santa Cruz surfer Ken Collins.
One of the surfers in attendance at the court during Ruffo’s hearing was Darryl “Flea” Virostko. The two surfers had ridden the waves in Santa Cruz together during their youth and taken up drugs while adapting to the surfing culture.
While Virostko, along with the majority of Santa Cruz surfers had managed to distance themselves from drugs, Ruffo had failed to do that and thus eventually had to pay a heavy price for it.
Ruffo had been working hard to stay clean of drugs in the recent months and giving lectures to teenagers in schools and juvenile detention centres on dangers and destruction caused by drugs.
"Whatever happens, I hope this is the end of a dark chapter in Santa Cruz surfing. We want to be known for our talent, not our drug issues. There's a lot of really good surfers coming up and the future looks pretty bright," said Ruffo a few weeks prior to
the court hearing on Tuesday.
Whatever happened to Ruffo will indeed serve as a lesson for the new generation of surfers who may still be confused about the relation of drugs with the sport. The very fact that Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) announced its anti-doping policy
for the ASP World Tour earlier this year serves to highlight the strong opposition of drug usage in the sport and the efforts that are being made to completely remove it from the system once and for all.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
Tags: