Hard Hits & Rap Sheets: The State of College Football in FL

Amid the recent goings on up in Tallahassee, it's apparent all is not well with Florida State football.  In fact, sports writers, bloggers, and message board sitters are taking their shots at the program, and rightfully so. 

Athletes caught cheating, at least 12 on the football team, are just the current addition of names added to the "Felony State University" bio.  Now, FSU's golden boy, Preston Parker of Delray Beach, FL, has been arrested in connection with felony gun charges.

Not too long ago, I read an article about how Urban Meyer was dealing with off-the-field issues surrounding some of his players who managed to get into trouble during the offseason. 

Tony Joiner, arrested in October 2007 on felony charges, was the eighth Gator football player to have a run-in with law enforcement in a nine-month span of time.  Despite being outside the realm of football, let's not forget UF hoops star Teddy Dupay. 

I also recall a few football players down in Coral Gables who had brushes with the law.

UM's Brandon Merriweather, although never charged, acted in self defense and discharged a firearm outside his house. Some young men who had earlier been in an argument with Merriweather and his friends drove by his house and opened fire. 

A few seasons earlier, Andre Johnson was caught cheating on semester exams twice.  Robert Marve was recently arrested.

Then there's the troubled Willie Williams, who had been arrested more times (19) than years he had been on Earth (18) when he committed to Miami.

And of course, there was the UM-FIU brawl.

Up at FSU, we had the A.J. Nicholson battery issue, which somehow got dropped, and then there's Darnell Dockett and his troubles.  Adrian McPherson and Wyatt Sexton are easy names to drop when discussing why FSU can't seem to get the job done under center.

Rather than detail and outline each issue and try to figure out which of the FL "Big Three" schools has the most arrests, or has players who have committed more infractions, there's another view point on the whole mess.

There's the idea that something is amiss in sunny F-L-A. 

At an alarming rate, college athletes in or from Florida continually find themselves in trouble with their universities, the law, or both.

The shocking thing, or rather the icing on this foul-tasting cake, is the fact that a number of Florida-born football players at colleges outside Florida get into trouble as well.

Native Floridians wince when they hear broadcasters call out the high school or home town of the offender, like it has become a rite of passage to commit a crime if you are a football player from the Sunshine State.

What is going on down here in Florida that it has come to this?  Florida's homegrown talent is getting arrested and charged with felonious behavior quicker than they can say "No lo contendre."

This isn't the 15 minutes of fame that I wish on Florida's football youth.  This isn't the ESPN sports highlight that any of them envisioned when they played Pop Warner ball as kids.

Skeptics can look at one case in particular that occurred in 2006 for their moment of clarity.

Antwain Easterling, a star running back and student at Miami's Northwestern High School, was was arrested and charged with second degree lewd and lascivious battery on a minor.  This felony stemmed from a sexual encounter which took place at school with a 14-year-old girl. 

The event came to light days before the state championship game, but the sex act took place three months prior.  The school's principal, Dwight Bernard, attempted to cover up the issue, failing to report the incident.

This is how important football is in parts of FL.  It's so big, not even a statutory rape case can stop it's progress.

Florida used to be THE place to recruit high school football talent.  They play year round, they are fast, they know the game, and they play hard.

No disrespect to PA or TX: Florida was No. 1.  If your university didn't recruit players from Florida, your team probably wasn't any good, and that's a fact.

In 2008, we hear more about Florida's athletes in Police Blotter reports than we do about their excellence on the field or in the classroom.  It's obvious these kids can play football.

But how about preparing them for life?  How about teaching them how to conduct themselves when they're not playing football?

Something needs to change.  This is embarrassing for everyone who played sports at a school in Florida and anyone who grew up or lives there. 

Is this going on everywhere in Florida?  Of course not.  There are hundreds of reputable high school programs out there.  The less-than-reputable ones, however, are leaving an indelible mark that won't soon be erased. 

This is one sports fan who is ready to weather the storm when telling people what school he attended and what state he grew up in.

But that flimsy umbrella won't hold up forever.