Today is Tuesday, June 3rd. On ESPN.COM's college football page, there are 9 headlines on the rightside column. 4 of those are about athletes getting arrested, in court, or pending charges. And I certainly know that not all college athletes are hooligans. But what is it that these athletes always seem to find trouble?
I've never been one to seek out trouble, nor has it really found me. I grew up in a very stable environment. I think the worst thing I did was pull a fire alarm at school one day. It got in-school suspension for a few days.
But why is it when these guys break the law or get in trouble, the worst thing that ever happens is some un-supervised probation and community service. HELLO? These guys do community service all the time. It is sometimes required. And don't talk to me about fines.
I know these are just college kids. But what happens when these 20-year old "kids" become "adults." There is no switch. We grow into adulthood. Obviously, that transformation occurs much later for some people than others.
If the NCAA is really serious (I know, dream on right?) about putting the college athlete first, then it should be able to punish and weed out those that aren't as interested in being a college athlete as they should be. Yes, there are great stories of college athletics. But as a fan, I'm tired of sifting through stories about this athlete in jail, or that athlete getting arrested before I get to stories about .... sports.
1 comment:
I think that to some extent, the college athletes participating in men's basketball and football are not really college students. With the advent of crap majors, the availability of tutors and rules governing early admissions to the pros, these kids can basically do the bare minimum for two years in college, declare for the draft and reap the millions. Is it fair? Maybe not. The process encourages these kids to NOT finish college and to hardly pay attention to it while they are there.
But then again, and I'll play devil's advocate, is it fair to ask these kids to go to college at all? We know all they want to do is play professional football or basketball, why force them to go through the charade of attending college for 1 or 2 years (for basketball and football, respectively)?
My point being (and more specific to your blog here) is that we've created this "university environment" that they inhabit temporarily, knowing they don't really have to pay attention to their studies, don't have to go to class much, just play ball and hang out with their friends on very little money from their scholarship. I'm surprised more students don't get in trouble given these circumstances.
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