Am I My Player's Keeper?

A report just came out saying that Florida has had twenty-seven players arrested under the watch of Urban Meyer. How is this allowed to happen? How does he keep his job as a mentor and leader of young men if they don't seem to be listening? Only the head of a certain major church could keep his job if that many people had been arrested under his watch. Yet, he's able to keep cashing million dollar checks as often as his players are posting bail.

Coaches, of course, will pull out the old, "They're grown men, I can't control what they do all the time." But, it's funny how the players can change from grown men to "just kids" in the blink of an eye. When they make a major mistake they're grown men. When they make a minor mistake they're kids again. Remember, "Come after me! I'm a man! I'm 40!"? Had a typical coach been talking about the arrest of a player he'd be saying "Go after him! Not me! He's a man! He's 20!"

Actually, the coach would probably never even talk about it. In fact, it seems like they never even get asked about it. Somehow, in this world of instant reporting and instant knowledge, it was a revelation that so many players had been arrested. We hear about it in the news when it happens and I'm sure that many people probably knew what was going on, but it seems like the scope of the problem was kept quiet. Did the president of the university just find out last week that so many players had been arrested? Did he not know all along? Or, was he blinded by the stacks of booster money that two national championships bring in?

Even the media seems to gloss over it. You can't tell me that there's not one reporter who covers the program everyday that didn't think it was newsworthy that so many players were being arrested. Were they thinking, "Well, once about twenty-five or so players get arrested, then we'll report it?"

I don't think that's the case. I think that the overall reputation of the program is more valuable than a couple of good stories. Especially to the people who cover the program everyday. Why would they devalue and hurt the popularity of the product that they get paid to cover? If people lose interest, they lose a job.

The media, as well as the schools, are both selling a product that relies heavily on its reputation. People may buy a paper or two, or read a blog or two, because there's a story about a player getting arrested. But, over time, they'll buy many more papers and read many more blogs about the school that they root for. In this way, the fans are also responsible. Often, they're just as willing to turn a blind eye. But who wants to root for a program that they can't be proud of?

Of course, the players get suspended or kicked off the team, but the coach just says how disappointed he is and moves on. A single player is never bigger than the program. But, when it comes to a coach the caliber of Meyer, he is the program.

So, how does a guy keep his job as mentor and leader of young men if they don't seem to be listening? He wins.