O.J. Simpson has attracted less attention by being declared "guilty" in Nevada than he did by being declared "not guilty" in California. Yet his story is more than the tragedy of one man.

O.J. is not the first star athlete-- or movie star, political leader or pacesetter in some other fields-- to fall from the heights to the depths. Often they are people who have taken enormous risks that were completely unnecessary and with little pay-off.

Think about it: What did Richard Nixon have to gain by setting up the kinds of illegal operations that finally cost him the presidency-- and could have landed him in prison, without President Ford's pardon?

Why would star quarterback Michael Vick have risked a multimillion dollar career for the sake of staging dog fights?

Why would Leona Helmsley have risked going to jail for tax evasion, when she could easily have paid the taxes out of her vast fortune?

O.J. Simpson was one of the greatest players in the history of football. He had lucrative commercial contracts. He was a hero to many. What could have led him to take reckless chances that risked it all, whether in California or in Nevada?

We may never really know. But what seems to run through many stories of people who take huge risks for small pay-offs is a sense that the rules simply do not apply to them.

Leona Helmsley said that paying taxes was for "the little people." Nixon apparently thought that he was above the law.

While individuals can have such attitudes in any walk of life, star athletes in certain sports seem to be especially prone to regard rules as not applying to them.

It is not hard to see why. Those who star in sports that are big in educational institutions-- football and basketball being classic examples-- can start having the rules bent in their favor as early as high school.

Everyone wants a winning team and bending a few rules for those who can make that happen may seem like a small price to pay. At colleges and universities where football or basketball are big time, ensuring passing grades for players on those teams is a major priority. Continued...