Urban Meyer, Jeremy Foley Need to Take a Hard Look at Florida Gators Shenanigans

I have really never been critical of Urban Meyer or Jeremy Foley. The Gators have enjoyed way too much success to go there.

With arguably the best facilities, athletes, academics support, coaching, and administration, the Gator football program has done its part to represent the University very well.

Much of this praise should and does go to its head master, athletic director Jeremy Foley.

Foley has been a Florida fixture since 1976, when he started in the ticket office. He has demonstrated the type of business acumen that CEOs are made of as he worked to develop one of the top athletic universities in America.

As for Meyer, a Foley hire—well, his résumé speaks for itself. Winning tends to do that. 

Highly coveted, his intense focus and dedication make him a winner. 

So in light of the ongoing string of arrests, DUIs, thefts, domestic assaults, drug use admissions, and various other shenanigans, one has to ask these Gator players:

Like Mr. Hand said to Spicoli when he tried to bring a pizza in the classroom in Fast Times at Ridgemont High,

"Am I hallucinating?"

"Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?"

Now, I don't have the inside access to the conversations that go on between Meyer, Foley, and their ballers, but really guys, "Just what in the hell IS going on here?"

In the past weeks, we have seen a USC program come under fire for serious missteps, bad judgment calls, and lack of institutional control. Could these missteps by Gator football players cause blame to be put on Meyer or Foley? Perhaps.

With all that Meyer has had to deal with regarding his health issues, the last six months have been a whirlwind for him. It will be interesting to see what, if any, fallout from this latest arrest of Frankie Hammond for DUI will be.

Meyer or Foley didn't put the Crown Royal in the car, they didn't condone the herb smoking of Aaron Hernandez, nor did they tell Wondy Pierre-Louis it was OK to physically assault a female. Nor did they tell Carlos Dunlap that it was cool to fall asleep at the wheel at a traffic light. Get the picture

The question now becomes the following:

What is the plan for getting a handle on the black eyes that have permeated Meyer's tenure with Florida?

With the count now standing at 28 arrests since Meyer took over, let the focus group begin to work out a plan. Put on a pot of coffee and lock the doors—it's gonna be a long night.

Some will say, kids will be kids. I agree to an extent. But there is a pattern developing here, and it does not paint a positive picture of a program that us Gator fans love to pull for.

Is it simply a case that you can only know so much about a player's character by the time he comes to Gainesville, and the rest is up to chance? 

At Florida, winning is extremely important. A lot of money depends on it. But installing and cultivating a culture of responsibility, accountability, and respect is also very important. Ask Pete Carroll if he thinks his character took a hit these past two weeks.

Kudos to Meyer for suspending Hammond. I can't imagine if my son or daughter was out that night and got into an accident involving an inebriated 20-year-old with an open bottle of sauce in the sled. People die in drunk-driving accidents, including athletes.

I am behind Coach Meyer and AD Foley with the hope that this program can erase the blemishes resulting from players' bad judgment. Like they say, only time will tell.

Just as long as we're not talking about doing time!