In any profession or endeavor, there are people who do things they shouldn’t and ruin their careers. It happens to politicians and teachers. It happens to police officers and people in the military. I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised that it also happens to college athletes. But I don’t get it. Whenever an Ohio State football player gets himself into legal trouble, I’m so often dumbfounded at how he could possibly have let himself get into that situation in the first place.
I realize they’re young. I realize that many of these players didn’t grow up in the healthiest environments. But I also know how much they are loved in Columbus. And that if you’re a Buckeye, you are going to get a lot of opportunities later in life (that frankly aren’t really even fair to every other person who’s working hard to succeed). I’m not just talking about the players who go on to big NFL contracts. So many former Buckeyes are on the radio, on TV, working in real estate, insurance. They own restaurants and other businesses. They make very good livings, while always being assisted by their status as OSU football alumni.
All they have to do is being decent human beings! Don’t break the law, don’t cheat, don’t beat up women, don’t get into bar fights. Don’t do things that are going to get you kicked off the team, and regardless of what you ever do in the NFL, you’ll always be taken care of in Columbus. It’s a pretty great deal for these guys. I don’t get why every year, it seems like a couple of them blow it. It is true that young people make mistakes. I certainly did things when I was younger that I look back at and question. But isn’t there something to be said for people who have more to lose knowing that they need to be more vigilante in staying out of trouble? Is that so unreasonable? They’re the ones who suffer when they fail at this.
For those unfamiliar, a story broke on July 22 that Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde had assaulted a woman the previous weekend.
Maybe Carlos Hyde and (Bradley Roby) did nothing wrong. As this is written, Hyde hasn’t been formally charged with a crime (don’t get me wrong, he probably did it, but you never know). If Hyde is found to have done nothing wrong, he’ll deservedly be reinstated.
UPDATE: Reports on the following day say that surveillance club from the Columbus nightclub where the altercation allegedly occurred fail to show Hyde assaulting anyone. If that is ultimately shown to be true and charges are not filed, Hyde will undoubtedly be reinstated with the team.
jrb
Josh Benner 