Throwing It All Away

"You're Fired!"

Playing sports at a major university is an opportunity of a lifetime. Not because you're playing on national television every week and playing in front of 80,000 fans that are crazy about the program. It's not because you get to travel all over the country, stay in five star hotels, fly on chartered planes and play in bowl games. All because of your ability to play a sport that many times has just come natural to you. Sure, you've got to put in work to get to that level, but a lot of it is natural ability. The old timers would always say, "Son, you don't choose the sport, the sport chooses you".
The most important reason why playing at that level is the greatest opportunity is because it's a free education that many kids from the ghetto would not be able to afford if they weren't an athlete. An opportunity to escape the confines of the hood to see and experience things that they never would've known if it weren't for sports. Having the opportunity to build relationships with coaches, administrators and alumni that they never would have met had it not been for athletics.

I remember hearing the legendary Georgetown coach, John Thompson, say that getting a basketball scholarship changed his life. By being on campus he was able to meet administrators that steered him toward coaching. That's why I'm deeply saddened to hear when kids throw the opportunity away.

Four Auburn football players have been kicked off the team after being arrested and charged with robbery, burglary and theft. Mike McNeil, Antonio Goodwin, Shaun Kitchens and Dakota Mosley all were arrested early Friday morning in Auburn, Ala. Auburn police said that three black men entered a house about three miles from campus, and one displayed a handgun. Police said they stole property. After a motor vehicle stop, the four were arrested and a pistol and stolen property were recovered, according to Auburn police. Mosley is white. The four players were charged with five counts of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree burglary -- both of which are felonies -- and one count of third-degree theft. All four were being held in the Lee County Detention Center on $511,000 bail.

Later Friday, Auburn coach Gene Chizik issued a statement saying all four players were thrown off the team.
"The players arrested in connection with this deeply troubling incident have been permanently dismissed from our football team," Chizik said in a statement. "While we realize the legal process will run its course and these young men have a right for their case to be heard, playing for Auburn University is an honor and a privilege. It is not a right."

I wrote an article a couple of months ago that has become the second most read of all-time entitled "High Explosive: Nobody is Parenting Anymore" . I simply explained that how when kids aren't afraid of anyone at home they tend to act a fool when they leave home.

These guys had just won the BCS National Title two months ago. Whatever they wanted in the state of Alabama would've been given to them if they had just asked. That title along with a degree from Auburn University would've taken care of these young men for the rest of their lives. Especially, if they never move out of the state of Alabama. Let me explain.

When a kid plays for a major university and has any type of success there are people that are called fans, boosters and alumni that will hire them just because he played ball for their favorite school. It's that simple. I didn't make the rules, that's just how it is. Doesn't matter what the degree was in or if the kid is qualified for the position. The former athlete will always get a pass as long as his nose is clean.

I  know a guy, for example, that was on a Final Four team that wasn't going to the NBA but was graduating that spring. Every manager in the Indy area in the pharmaceutical business ran down to his campus to interview him right after the tournament was over. Well... they really weren't interviews they were "when would you like to start meetings".
 Remember, the hiring managers for all of these companies graduated from somewhere and many times it's the major school in the local area. When a kid walks into an interview with a championship ring, a degree and the ability to articulate he's pretty much hired. It's that simple. Well..it's not easy but it's that's simple. Here's something that I tell my son all of the time. There are six words that will save your life, "Do What You're Supposed To Do".  If you can do that life will be easy for you.

Instead, these now former Auburn football players are sitting in a cell facing felony charges that could send them to prison for a long time. If and when they do get released they won't have any affiliation with the university. What a shame to just throw it all away!


Jay Graves
jaygraves@thejaygravesreport.com
Follow me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport
Information from ESPN.com news services was used in this article