The players and coaches of various college football teams are making quite a mess of themselves as scandal after scandal up rises in the media. Football is supposed to be a healthy competition that gets everyone riled up; it’s simply part of the game. What is not part of the game, however, are the scandalous lives that multiple college players live.
With 26 conferences, numerous teams, and too many players to count, there are a lot of people to keep track of behavior- wise. This responsibility is left to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), who also takes care of all other college sports and makes sure they are not running teams’ names through the dirt.
One of the big spotlights in the NCAA’s investigation is on Nevin Shapiro, a former Miami Hurricane player and booster. He plead guilty to spending over $900 million on a Ponzi scheme. Not only that, but Shapiro was said to have given immensely expensive gifts to other players. His sentence is 20 years in prison meaning he will be in prison until the age of 62.
His illegal operations have been going on for eight years. During this time span, he gave money, gifts, and harlots for the players. Shapiro cooperated with the investigation by Yahoo! News, wanting his story to be told.
More Miami news includes 12 Miami players suspended because of Shapiro’s “benefits” that they received illegally. The punishments are harsh, some more than others, as eight players are suspended from playing. The investigation is ongoing, but the Hurricanes are not the only teams to feel the heat. Southern California, Ohio State, LSU, and five other teams are all going to be under NCAA’s investigation.
Another college scandal includes Louisiana State University players: Quarterback Jordan Jefferson, offensive lineman Chris Davenport, defensive lineman Josh Johns, and receiver Jarvis Landry, who were involved in a bar fight. While the details are still unclear, the fight started because of a simple case of road rage. A crowd of people were in the way of a random civilian’s pathway, so he honked his horn and started a bit of frenzy.
Four people, none of them LSU players, were taken to the hospital and the four players involved were taken into custody to give statements on their involvement in the matter. An anonymous student claims, “I want to go to LSU for football, but with so many scandals, it kind of ruins their image.”
Other minor news stories includes the University of North Carolina’s coach Butch Davis who was fired for bringing UNC’s name through turmoil, with many alleged scandals that arose last season.
Football is supposed to be a game with a little competition and a lot of fun but some players have taken it too far. Football player David Washington, who says, “certain people are ruining football player’s images.” Another anonymous Seminole student said that she, “doesn’t really like football because it’s just a violent sport.”
Like everybody else on the planet, they are not above the law. So whether it is an eight year false investment deal, a bar fight, or just a rumor that got started, many say these players need to leave the dirt on the playing field.