NCAA, coaches should hold trouble-makers more accountable

http://www.independentcollegian.com/ncaa-head-coaches-should-hold-trouble-makers-more-accountable-1.2751168

College football has a major problem on its hands, and it’s no longer free tattoos or even the lack of a playoff system.

It’s the alarming rate at which football players have found themselves sporting handcuffs and lounging in the back of police cars these days.

Between DUI’s, assaults and other crimes ranging in severity, many players from programs all over country have spent more time filling up their rap sheet than their stat sheet.

It’s disturbing that so many student-athletes put themselves in positions to make mistakes. What’s even more disturbing is the severe lack of accountability on kids and their programs when they do.

New Ohio State coach Urban Meyer had 31 arrests by 25 different players occur under his watch at Florida from 2005-10, 10 of which were felony, nine were eventually reduced to misdemeanors.

Unfortunately for him, his new players picked up right where his old ones left off.

Senior wide receiver Jake Stoneburner and junior offensive tackle Jack Mewhort were caught urinating on a building by police in June just outside of Muirfield Village Golf Course. The Memorial, a PGA Tour event, was being held in nearby Dublin.

The two starters ran and hid when they were spotted and were taken to jail.

They were suspended indefinitely and had their scholarships taken away for the summer. Meyer allowed them to return to practice Aug. 8 and will reinstate their full-rides in the fall, meaning the only thing they missed out on was a few team activities.

A month later, linebacker Storm Klein was arrested on charges of assault and domestic violence. Unlike the slap on the wrist Stoneburner and Mewhort received, Klein was dismissed from the team the next day.
The string of summer off-field incidents didn’t stop there.

Freshman running back and five-star recruit Bri’onte Dunn was cited for possessing a small amount of marijuana and a pipe during a routine traffic stop. Reports since the late-July incident suggest that no disciplinary action will be taken by the team.

The Buckeyes certainly weren’t the only ones who had a lot to deal with this summer.
Michigan had four players arrested and coach Brady Hoke, like Meyer, hasn’t exactly taken a “zero-tolerance approach” either.

Since April, defensive tackle William Campbell was arrested on a felony charge of malicious destruction of property, receiver Darryl Stonum picked up his second DUI — and was eventually dismissed — starting running back Fitzgerald Toussaint picked up his first and defensive end Frank Clark was charged with home invasion, a second-degree felony.

Police said Campbell was intoxicated when he decided to slide across the hood of a car, severely damaging it in the process. Clark is accused of breaking into a dorm room and stealing a MacBook.

No punishment was handed down to Campbell, while Hoke played the “suspended indefinitely” card with Clark and Toussaint July 23. The Wolverines, picked to win the Big Ten’s Legends Division, opened up fall practice Aug. 6 and the two players were not present.

However, both of them were allowed to practice with the team a week later, despite being suspended.
Hoke and his staff are preparing them to play the first game of the season, which just so happens to be against the defending National Champion and second-ranked Alabama at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Pardon me for asking, but isn’t spending time away from the team a requirement during a suspension? The only thing Toussaint and Clark missed was the first week of practice.

You know, that grueling first week of practice when players run around in t-shirts and shorts that nobody wants to attend anyway?

Hoke recently stated, “Believe me, they have paid a heavy price and will continue to pay a price for actions unbecoming of a Michigan football player.”

Missing the first week of fall camp is hardly “paying a heavy price.” Nobody has ever signed on with a program because of their storied and prestigious blocking-sled or pass skeleton history. The only appropriate price for them, or any other NCAA football player that gets arrested, is to miss games.

The National Football League hands out suspensions left and right for violations to its Personal Conduct Policy. Players who engage in “conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the NFL” are subject to punishment.

It’s time the NCAA adopts something similar. Coaches, as well as the NCAA, are sending the message that winning football games is more important than being a responsible and civilized member of society, which is wrong.

The NCAA seems more concerned about the number of text messages exchanged between a coach and a recruit than disciplining players who are already part of their association.

Dez Bryant got suspended for his entire senior season at Oklahoma State for jogging on a treadmill with Deion Sanders, yet players can drive drunk, smoke weed or commit a felony, maintain their eligibility and not face any sort of mandatory punishment. That’s a joke.

Ohio State and Michigan provide many examples, but they’re not the only ones with issues. Notre Dame, Clemson, South Carolina, Mississippi and Purdue had players make an appearance at the local jail this summer, and that’s not even half of them.

Since the beginning of the month, four more D-I schools have had an arrest.

In fact, during the time it took to write this column, a player from Tulane was arrested for armed robbery.
These stories are seen with far too much regularity. Until the NCAA and its head coaches decide to act, don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

Jay Skebba is a senior majoring in Communication and has contributed to ESPNWisconsin.com