Strictness Falling By the Wayside

As college football bowl season is upon us, I've been thinking about the illegal, irresponsible, and dangerous actions taken by college athletes and administrations every year but are not fully punished. A number of events this season and during the offseason have led me to contemplate the need for stricter guidelines and harsher punishments for offenders. The rules need to be strengthened to teach these young men and women lessons that society doesn't tolerate these actions and our society straightens itself out with future generations.

Academic dishonesty, plagiarism, use/possession of and intent to sell controlled substances, reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, operating while intoxicated, theft, assault, and God forbid rape or murder. Not to mention taking impermissible benefits in the form of housing, vehicles, money, and services from boosters and agents. Fights during events between competing athletes happen as well. The greedy, disloyal, conference realignment fiasco that is happening across the collegiate landscape. And finally the administrative cover ups of sexual abuse of children by coaching staffs. Quite the laundry list.

First, the rules need to cover the gamut of these events and punishments need to be evenly and swiftly distributed. A few specific events that I can remember off the top of my head. The Cincinnati/Xavier basketball brawl, the UCLA/Arizona brawl, LSU's QB Jordan Jefferson's assault charges, Nebraska center Mike Caputo's DUI, Ohio State's overall program, and Iowa State's own WR Albert Gary's first-degree robbery charges are perfectly good examples of misconduct or alleged misconduct not being taken seriously enough by the NCAA, school, and team officials.

Second, better screening during admissions of students altogether can help. Criminal backgrounds can be forgiven, but the people attending your university and representing your alumni ought to have close to flawless character backgrounds. If you can't get a good job with these kinds of backgrounds, why should they get the privilege to play college sports and have the opportunity to move on to make millions playing a sports professionally.

The ideals and ethics of American society are beacons throughout the world not to mention to her own people. We pride ourselves in working hard within the rules and law, taking care of our neighbors as much as ourselves through charity, striving for excellence in everything we do. Our society should reward the hardworking, law abiding citizens and not the corrupt and criminal. The corruption that we allow in college athletics is a poor way to show that we won't stand for it in our businesses or government.

Maybe it is my strict upbringing in a Lutheran German-American family on a farm and willingness to accept the harsh realities of military life that makes me shake my head at so much that I see today. I hope I'm not the only one that's tired of seeing governmental organizations, educational institutions, and private businesses that the American people unfortunately rely so much on keep failing us by putting forward criminals/celebrities to be false leaders. All humans are fallible and have original sin as I've been taught and learned in my mere 25 years of life, but I believe we can be so much more.