Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been accused of murder, prompting many people to question the culpability of Urban Meyer (his former head coach at Florida who provided Hernandez an athletic scholarship). Meyer has been accused of offering an athletic scholarship to a supposed “bad guy,” one who maybe shouldn’t have even had an opportunity to play college sports, and then supposedly found trouble (and even was arrested) while competing at Florida. Critics are holding Meyer accountable for looking the other way, and using questionable judgement in balancing Hernandez’s athletic talents against the alleged arrests and transgressions Hernandez has been accused of while a Gator.
The bigger question…
To me, this question is a fascinating one, and one that prompts a long overdue dialogue around the type of student athlete being recruited to play college sports today. More specifically, when weighing a player’s arrest record against potential talent, when are coaches (and athletic administrators) held accountable for bringing on board talent – regardless of character or previous arrest records? Is there any threshold today? Or are college coaches permitted to recruit whoever they want, even if that includes felons, law breakers, troublemakers, or those with absolutely no interest in the academic expectations that come with an athletic scholarship? And what about universities, including students, professors, and administrators that make up the overall culture of a university — what are their “rights” pertaining to their expectations and the negative image that comes with recruiting alleged bad guys to campus? Sure, schools like Florida “win” on the field, but does the student body feel like “winners” when it’s revealed 1/3 of their championship football teams were arrested??
To the degree in which a coach is responsible for his players while under his watch is debatable, but what we do know is that as long as a player is successful on the field violations seem to get overlooked, quickly forgiven, or never even addressed. How much longer will schools continue to sacrifice integrity and image for wins on the football field? As increasingly more would-be student athletes with great athletic talent await their future athletic scholarships, will they be held to a high standard — or any standard at all??
Personally, I don’t think for a second that you should hold a college football coach accountable for a former player who later commits murder (as is alleged with Hernandez), but I do think college coaches have gotten away with looking the other way with talented athletes for far too long. This isn’t surprising, of course, especially when you follow this simple equation:
- College coaches make a lot of money — the best make upwards of $5 million dollars a year, exponentially more than anyone else on campus – including college presidents!
- College coaches make this money by doing one thing – winning. Graduating students (or keeping them out of jail) doesn’t provide bonuses or contract extensions, but winning does.
- Therefore, it behooves college coaches to recruit the best athletes possible (regardless of police record), and keep those players on the field (again, regardless of criminal behavior or arrests). On a moral level this is shameful, and on a college level it’s embarrassing to the proud students and faculty who value academics over selling out with questionable recruits merely to win football games.
The Aaron Hernandez murder case is tragic, but the hope here is that it serves as a “tipping point” for real dialogue to take place around the caliber of student athlete being recruited today, and the consequences and accountability pertaining to student athletes who break the law and the coaches who oversee their actions while playing on their team.
www.drstankovich.com
