With so much going on in the world, it's refreshing to see college sports have retained their unique mixture of discipline and fair-mindedness.
First up is Adrian Peterson, star tailback for the Oklahoma Sooners. A devastating runner with breakaway ability, Peterson should have won the Heisman last year over the weak-armed Matt Leinart-except we all know million-dollar talent that translates to the pro level automatically excludes one from Hesiman consideration.
Anyway, Peterson up and got himself suspended from practice Monday and Tuesday for skipping class. According to university policy, Peterson would have had to have racked up four unexcused absences to get that kind of suspension.
Now I know the guy's a football player and academics are clearly in the backseat of his automobile of priorities (yes, thank you, thank you), but being an athlete means he also knows the policy. It seems a little early in the semester to be ditching that often, but what do I know?
What I absolutely love is the punishment. Like the article says, Peterson is still allowed to attend team meetings. In other words, this punishment is completely in the school's best interest-sure, practice is important, but considering the heavy workload he'll have this year, it's probably better at this point to limit his wear-and-tear by sitting him out. And by attending meetings and learning the game plan, he'll still be part of the team.
At least the punishment fits the crime almost perfectly. Picture Peterson sauntering in to coach Bob Stoops' office. I can see Stoops trying to keep a straight face as he reads him the riot act. "So, you like taking days off, do you? How about you take some days off from practice, too!"
"Coach, no!"
Now his start Saturday is in jeopardy. I wonder if he'll show a great attitude all week and attend his classes the next three days? Even if he doesn't, we've all seen enough college football to know a star back can be benched at kickoff and still wind up with 35 carries.
(It hasn't been a good week for players I once supported for the Heisman. Or did you not hear about Larry Johnson?)
Honestly, though, who cares about Peterson? Puzzling enforcement of academic standards is nothing new. Then again, neither is the NCAA acting in the absolute worst interest of student-athletes.
As you may have heard, NCAA president Myles Brand recently announced that the organization will enforce its rule about Division I transfer-athletes in some major sports sitting out a year if their former university does not grant them a release. Not that notable, maybe, except that he was talking about Hurricane Katrina victims who might try to attend other schools now.
That's fair. The last thing we want for young people whose lives have been enormously disrupted is a chance to move on.
Of course, there's another side to this, that of the schools. Obviously, no university wants its athletic department decimated by wholesale departures, especially if big groups of players from the same sport switch to the same new school. Or as Brand so eloquently put it, "Let me call that athletic looting, to be provocative, and we won't stand for that."
I am glad he is comparing the hurricane tragedy to the hurricane tragedy while remaining so blissfully unaware of the whole human tragedy part. First of all, just about every sensible person I've heard is okay with the looting to the extent that people are grabbing food, water, and other needed supplies. Second though, the problem with looting in general is that it's stealing someone else's possesions. Last I checked, the athletes made a commitment, but they are not anyone's property. I'm as white as the iMac I'm typing this on, but it's plain even to me how this could be seen as racist, conisdering it'll mostly affect African-American athletes. (That's definitely not to say I believe Brand actually hates minorities in his heart or anything like that.)
Of course, players can still get around sitting out a year if their coaches will release them. Considering it was coaches who urged the NCAA to be stringent here, it's tough to see that happening on a large scale. No, I expect to see the universities function the way they always have.
In an uncertain world, it's nice to know we'll always have college sports as our beacon of stability.
First up is Adrian Peterson, star tailback for the Oklahoma Sooners. A devastating runner with breakaway ability, Peterson should have won the Heisman last year over the weak-armed Matt Leinart-except we all know million-dollar talent that translates to the pro level automatically excludes one from Hesiman consideration.
Anyway, Peterson up and got himself suspended from practice Monday and Tuesday for skipping class. According to university policy, Peterson would have had to have racked up four unexcused absences to get that kind of suspension.
Now I know the guy's a football player and academics are clearly in the backseat of his automobile of priorities (yes, thank you, thank you), but being an athlete means he also knows the policy. It seems a little early in the semester to be ditching that often, but what do I know?
What I absolutely love is the punishment. Like the article says, Peterson is still allowed to attend team meetings. In other words, this punishment is completely in the school's best interest-sure, practice is important, but considering the heavy workload he'll have this year, it's probably better at this point to limit his wear-and-tear by sitting him out. And by attending meetings and learning the game plan, he'll still be part of the team.
At least the punishment fits the crime almost perfectly. Picture Peterson sauntering in to coach Bob Stoops' office. I can see Stoops trying to keep a straight face as he reads him the riot act. "So, you like taking days off, do you? How about you take some days off from practice, too!"
"Coach, no!"
Now his start Saturday is in jeopardy. I wonder if he'll show a great attitude all week and attend his classes the next three days? Even if he doesn't, we've all seen enough college football to know a star back can be benched at kickoff and still wind up with 35 carries.
(It hasn't been a good week for players I once supported for the Heisman. Or did you not hear about Larry Johnson?)
Honestly, though, who cares about Peterson? Puzzling enforcement of academic standards is nothing new. Then again, neither is the NCAA acting in the absolute worst interest of student-athletes.
As you may have heard, NCAA president Myles Brand recently announced that the organization will enforce its rule about Division I transfer-athletes in some major sports sitting out a year if their former university does not grant them a release. Not that notable, maybe, except that he was talking about Hurricane Katrina victims who might try to attend other schools now.
That's fair. The last thing we want for young people whose lives have been enormously disrupted is a chance to move on.
Of course, there's another side to this, that of the schools. Obviously, no university wants its athletic department decimated by wholesale departures, especially if big groups of players from the same sport switch to the same new school. Or as Brand so eloquently put it, "Let me call that athletic looting, to be provocative, and we won't stand for that."
I am glad he is comparing the hurricane tragedy to the hurricane tragedy while remaining so blissfully unaware of the whole human tragedy part. First of all, just about every sensible person I've heard is okay with the looting to the extent that people are grabbing food, water, and other needed supplies. Second though, the problem with looting in general is that it's stealing someone else's possesions. Last I checked, the athletes made a commitment, but they are not anyone's property. I'm as white as the iMac I'm typing this on, but it's plain even to me how this could be seen as racist, conisdering it'll mostly affect African-American athletes. (That's definitely not to say I believe Brand actually hates minorities in his heart or anything like that.)
Of course, players can still get around sitting out a year if their coaches will release them. Considering it was coaches who urged the NCAA to be stringent here, it's tough to see that happening on a large scale. No, I expect to see the universities function the way they always have.
In an uncertain world, it's nice to know we'll always have college sports as our beacon of stability.
Comments
he looked like an absolute animal last week... granted, it was the nemisis/defensive juggernaut TULSA, but he's done it to pretty much everyone since he came to the scene.
i have legitimate qualms about him making it past his junior year... with the enticements of the world beckoning already.
hell, he can't even go to class now, why would he stick around for all four.
it's not even a real question, but i'd like to see him stick around and absolutely demolish every rushing record known to man.
he could probably even eclipse barry sander's 2,628 performance at okie state, just to rub it in on the intra state rivalry.
this slap on the wrist is about as effective as those arm tackles tulsa was trying to use as defense strategem.
i liked how he put his head down and straight ran right over someone. he plays with tenacity, i love it.
Petersen reminds me of someone else. Maybe if he becomes loud and obnoxious and sells out he can get drafted in the later rounds only to be cut by a great team on the decline. There is not doubt that Adrian Petersen was the best the NCAA had to offer in 2004-2005 but the Heisman is an award given to the most overrated player on the best team (generally the QB of late). This is why D II and D III players ALWAYS get left out. They are in the Heisman run too. Kingery in Tech had the most yard and Jackie Chan at Hawaii beat Ty Detmer's 500 year old record but their teams really blew. Reality is the Reggie, Vince, Jamarcus, and Stoner Vick are the only players that have any potential to win the heisman.
By the way, how can a team fall so far when their only real big loss is Jason White?
I happen to think Peterson's transgressions are a very far cry from Clarett's at this point.
Not only should lower-division players get Heisman consideration, I say how about a player who doesn't line up in the offensive backfield? It's kind of a neat coincidence that the absolute best player at any position the last few years has happened to be a quarterback every time.
Like Marvelous nee Pugs said, Peterson's a beast. My question is, when he finally does enter the draft, how much will he be hurt by the perception that he's carried too heavy a load for too long already?