VOLjlt
08-04-2006, 12:13 AM
Not just SEC but interesting article.
Pete Fiutak / CollegeFootballNews.com
Over the past few days, Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn were kicked off the team for taking thousands of dollars for a few hours of work at a car dealership.
Also...Auburn linebackers Tray Blackmon and Kevin Sears were suspended for the first three games after alcohol-related issues.
Tennessee tight end Lee Smith was arrested for getting drunk and driving on the sidewalk.
Miami's Tyrone Moss and Ryan Moore were suspended for the Florida State game for violating team rules.
USC defensive back Brandon Ting was nailed for taking steroids.
Of course, there will be more issues as we get closer to the season. There always are.
What's wrong with these kids today?
With their text messaging and their Kelly Clarkson and their MySpace and their iThings and their college football players always getting into trouble, things have spiraled completely out of control.
Back in the day, the starting quarterback at (insert school here) had a haircut you could use as a cheese grater, not a mop. Everyone went to class, studied hard, listened to Pat Boone albums, and occasionally, when things got really wacky, the star player would put on his best lettermen's sweater and go hold hands with Mary Jane Sweetie pie down at the malt shop.
(With a tongue sticking out making a raspberry sound) ... THHHHWWWWPPPPTTP.
There are two sure things in this world. Will Ferrell will resort to running around in his underwear in a not-really-that-funny attempt to get a laugh, and every season there will be a few 18-to-22-year-old college football players who screw up.
Every year we get the same screams and cries from all sides about how today's college football players are somehow bad and need to be reigned in. Every year.
Penn State's Curtis Enis was just one in a long line of college football players who got into off-field trouble. (Todd Warshaw / Getty Images)
Whether it was Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams trying to buck the system and get into the NFL early or a bunch of Wisconsin players getting some free shoes or former Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick getting a five-fingered discount at Dillard's or former Penn State running back Curtis Enis getting a suit from an agent or former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick pulling an R. Kelly impersonation or ... you get the idea. As long as there is college football, there will always be a knucklehead factor. As long as there are college kids, there will always be a knucklehead factor.
Many college kids are involved in underage drinking, taking payments from anyone they can get payments from, and some even take illegal drugs of some sort. They're just not under the microscope that college football players are. That's the fun part about going to college; you're able to be a care-free idiot (within reason) and not face too many consequences.
Ask your average college kid how he's fixed for life insurance. Ask him how his last prostate exam went. 96% of their T-shirts have something written on them. They think 50 Cent is great but they've never heard of Erik B. & Rakim. Most can't get into a bar without a fake ID, and when they do get in, they order some form of Budweiser product. Simply put, 15 years from now they'll all look back on their lives and realize, as those of us who had mullets or hi-top fades back in the day are now able to comprehend, that they were flat-out nuts.
Now, take that flaky 18-to-22-year-old college kid, give him a god complex after 18-to-22 years of having their butt kissed for being a terrific athlete, and you have the potential for a problem. Of course, 99% of all college football players really are good guys. They play video games, chase girls, eat loads of garbage, play more video games, chase more girls, and yes, occasionally go to class. However, the ones who do screw up end up making front page news and that's all we end up talking about. As representatives of their respective universities, they do have to be held to a higher standard and it is fair to ask them to be better.
Not to make excuses for the ones who make mistakes, but here are three reasons why it seems like there are so many problems with college football players.
1. They're taking their cue from the adults.
Current UTEP head coach Mike Price, famous for an alleged madcap night of whoopee when he was the Alabama head coach, made millions off his suit of Sports Illustrated for getting part of the story wrong. Former Ohio State head basketball coach Jim O'Brien was awarded $2.2 million in a contract dispute despite paying off everyone but you and me to play for Buckeyes. Ohio head coach Frank Solich got nabbed for drunk driving last year. Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry said he couldn't win last year because he didn't have enough black players. Gary Barnett didn't get fired from Colorado despite a variety of issues with recruiting, sexual harassment allegations against some players, and a general lack of institutional control, but when his team got obliterated by Texas in the Big 12 title game, that warranted getting the axe. Heck, even some of the gods of coaching and supposed paragons of virtue ran some of the most crooked programs in the history of college sports. Legendary Alabama head coach Bear Bryant twisted the recruiting rules like a pretzel, and John Wooden likely would've won precisely squat at UCLA without super-booster Sam Gilbert making the Bruins the best pro team in Los Angeles.
If the adult leaders aren't always above board and are occasionally careless and irresponsible (insert line here about invading countries without doing the proper homework), then we have to expect some 18-to-22-year-old college kids to also screw up from time to time.
2. The college football rules system is confusing and bizarre.
Drink and drive ... can't help you. Don't go to class or cheat on your exams ... can't help you. Do steroids, beat up your girlfriend, get arrested for some crime ... can't help you. Take $18,000 for working five hours at an Oklahoma car dealership ... uh, what's really wrong with that?
Please understand that the NCAA's version of morality isn't the same as a sane and rational person's version. It's in the NCAA's best interest to keep all the money for itself and not let the players have a voice of any sort. You'll have to forgive the players if they thumb their noses at the hypocrisy from time to time.
In the bizarro world of NCAA ethics, Rhett Bomar gets booted for washing cars, but Notre Dame's Jeff Samardzija can accept six figures from the Cubs and keep playing. (Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty Images)
Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija got a $250,000 signing bonus from the Chicago Cubs, but he gets to play football for the Irish this season. Rhett Bomar took 18K for basically being Rhett Bomar. USC wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett is currently ineligible because he shared a really cool apartment with Matt Leinart (which he paid rent on), but Leinart's dad ended up making up the difference in rent payment so his son could stay there. On any given college football Saturday, you'll see stadiums full of fans wearing jerseys of their favorite players, but those players don't get a dime for the selling of the shirt. As the famous quote goes, an unjust law is no law at all.
Players should be allowed to have agents, do their own marketing deals, and if they want to take a few bucks or a car from some goofy booster, then so be it. The notion of college football players as pure amateurs is not only childish, it's also false. If college football was truly an amateur sport, the coaches wouldn't be getting paid, and all the money made by the NCAA would be dispersed among the general student populations at each participating school.
3. Welcome to the age of communication.
With message boards, camera phones, IM, e-mail, 24-hour news and sports channels, bazillions of sports web sites, and all the other technology that's out there right now, not only do we all know about a player screwing up, we sometimes find out about it 14 seconds after it happens. Players made mistakes all the time in the old days, but we just didn't hear about it. Every college football program has something going on that could be constituted as illegal by NCAA standards. Every single one. Teams like Miami, USC, Auburn, Oklahoma, and others who perennially top the rankings, just have the bigger spotlight on them and are under more media scrutiny.
Kids, like adults, are always going to make mistakes, and the media will always make a big deal out of them. That's the way it is, the way it's been, and the way it always will be. Don't dog the entire sport of college football just because a few guys mess up.
Please file this story away to use next year at this time. And the year after, and the year after ...
Pete Fiutak / CollegeFootballNews.com
Over the past few days, Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn were kicked off the team for taking thousands of dollars for a few hours of work at a car dealership.
Also...Auburn linebackers Tray Blackmon and Kevin Sears were suspended for the first three games after alcohol-related issues.
Tennessee tight end Lee Smith was arrested for getting drunk and driving on the sidewalk.
Miami's Tyrone Moss and Ryan Moore were suspended for the Florida State game for violating team rules.
USC defensive back Brandon Ting was nailed for taking steroids.
Of course, there will be more issues as we get closer to the season. There always are.
What's wrong with these kids today?
With their text messaging and their Kelly Clarkson and their MySpace and their iThings and their college football players always getting into trouble, things have spiraled completely out of control.
Back in the day, the starting quarterback at (insert school here) had a haircut you could use as a cheese grater, not a mop. Everyone went to class, studied hard, listened to Pat Boone albums, and occasionally, when things got really wacky, the star player would put on his best lettermen's sweater and go hold hands with Mary Jane Sweetie pie down at the malt shop.
(With a tongue sticking out making a raspberry sound) ... THHHHWWWWPPPPTTP.
There are two sure things in this world. Will Ferrell will resort to running around in his underwear in a not-really-that-funny attempt to get a laugh, and every season there will be a few 18-to-22-year-old college football players who screw up.
Every year we get the same screams and cries from all sides about how today's college football players are somehow bad and need to be reigned in. Every year.
Penn State's Curtis Enis was just one in a long line of college football players who got into off-field trouble. (Todd Warshaw / Getty Images)
Whether it was Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams trying to buck the system and get into the NFL early or a bunch of Wisconsin players getting some free shoes or former Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick getting a five-fingered discount at Dillard's or former Penn State running back Curtis Enis getting a suit from an agent or former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick pulling an R. Kelly impersonation or ... you get the idea. As long as there is college football, there will always be a knucklehead factor. As long as there are college kids, there will always be a knucklehead factor.
Many college kids are involved in underage drinking, taking payments from anyone they can get payments from, and some even take illegal drugs of some sort. They're just not under the microscope that college football players are. That's the fun part about going to college; you're able to be a care-free idiot (within reason) and not face too many consequences.
Ask your average college kid how he's fixed for life insurance. Ask him how his last prostate exam went. 96% of their T-shirts have something written on them. They think 50 Cent is great but they've never heard of Erik B. & Rakim. Most can't get into a bar without a fake ID, and when they do get in, they order some form of Budweiser product. Simply put, 15 years from now they'll all look back on their lives and realize, as those of us who had mullets or hi-top fades back in the day are now able to comprehend, that they were flat-out nuts.
Now, take that flaky 18-to-22-year-old college kid, give him a god complex after 18-to-22 years of having their butt kissed for being a terrific athlete, and you have the potential for a problem. Of course, 99% of all college football players really are good guys. They play video games, chase girls, eat loads of garbage, play more video games, chase more girls, and yes, occasionally go to class. However, the ones who do screw up end up making front page news and that's all we end up talking about. As representatives of their respective universities, they do have to be held to a higher standard and it is fair to ask them to be better.
Not to make excuses for the ones who make mistakes, but here are three reasons why it seems like there are so many problems with college football players.
1. They're taking their cue from the adults.
Current UTEP head coach Mike Price, famous for an alleged madcap night of whoopee when he was the Alabama head coach, made millions off his suit of Sports Illustrated for getting part of the story wrong. Former Ohio State head basketball coach Jim O'Brien was awarded $2.2 million in a contract dispute despite paying off everyone but you and me to play for Buckeyes. Ohio head coach Frank Solich got nabbed for drunk driving last year. Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry said he couldn't win last year because he didn't have enough black players. Gary Barnett didn't get fired from Colorado despite a variety of issues with recruiting, sexual harassment allegations against some players, and a general lack of institutional control, but when his team got obliterated by Texas in the Big 12 title game, that warranted getting the axe. Heck, even some of the gods of coaching and supposed paragons of virtue ran some of the most crooked programs in the history of college sports. Legendary Alabama head coach Bear Bryant twisted the recruiting rules like a pretzel, and John Wooden likely would've won precisely squat at UCLA without super-booster Sam Gilbert making the Bruins the best pro team in Los Angeles.
If the adult leaders aren't always above board and are occasionally careless and irresponsible (insert line here about invading countries without doing the proper homework), then we have to expect some 18-to-22-year-old college kids to also screw up from time to time.
2. The college football rules system is confusing and bizarre.
Drink and drive ... can't help you. Don't go to class or cheat on your exams ... can't help you. Do steroids, beat up your girlfriend, get arrested for some crime ... can't help you. Take $18,000 for working five hours at an Oklahoma car dealership ... uh, what's really wrong with that?
Please understand that the NCAA's version of morality isn't the same as a sane and rational person's version. It's in the NCAA's best interest to keep all the money for itself and not let the players have a voice of any sort. You'll have to forgive the players if they thumb their noses at the hypocrisy from time to time.
In the bizarro world of NCAA ethics, Rhett Bomar gets booted for washing cars, but Notre Dame's Jeff Samardzija can accept six figures from the Cubs and keep playing. (Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty Images)
Notre Dame wide receiver Jeff Samardzija got a $250,000 signing bonus from the Chicago Cubs, but he gets to play football for the Irish this season. Rhett Bomar took 18K for basically being Rhett Bomar. USC wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett is currently ineligible because he shared a really cool apartment with Matt Leinart (which he paid rent on), but Leinart's dad ended up making up the difference in rent payment so his son could stay there. On any given college football Saturday, you'll see stadiums full of fans wearing jerseys of their favorite players, but those players don't get a dime for the selling of the shirt. As the famous quote goes, an unjust law is no law at all.
Players should be allowed to have agents, do their own marketing deals, and if they want to take a few bucks or a car from some goofy booster, then so be it. The notion of college football players as pure amateurs is not only childish, it's also false. If college football was truly an amateur sport, the coaches wouldn't be getting paid, and all the money made by the NCAA would be dispersed among the general student populations at each participating school.
3. Welcome to the age of communication.
With message boards, camera phones, IM, e-mail, 24-hour news and sports channels, bazillions of sports web sites, and all the other technology that's out there right now, not only do we all know about a player screwing up, we sometimes find out about it 14 seconds after it happens. Players made mistakes all the time in the old days, but we just didn't hear about it. Every college football program has something going on that could be constituted as illegal by NCAA standards. Every single one. Teams like Miami, USC, Auburn, Oklahoma, and others who perennially top the rankings, just have the bigger spotlight on them and are under more media scrutiny.
Kids, like adults, are always going to make mistakes, and the media will always make a big deal out of them. That's the way it is, the way it's been, and the way it always will be. Don't dog the entire sport of college football just because a few guys mess up.
Please file this story away to use next year at this time. And the year after, and the year after ...