Arkansas Football: Players Fall To the Unwritten NCAA Statement

The Arkansas Razorbacks suffered a crushing loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the AllState Sugar Bowl after DE Solomon Thomas intercepted a pass in the last moments of the game. In the offseason, the team has to deal with their quarterback, who spent his freshman year as a Wolverine, increasing his stock for the draft. Now, the down time for the SEC team has proved to bring more drama than just recruits.

WR Lance Ray was arrested for marijuana possession and charged with minor in possession of alcohol. The story seems a little too familiar for the Razorbacks because last year almost halfway through the season after seven consecutive starts DT DeQuinta Jones was pulled over for “no vehicle license lights” and after a pat down was charged with misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.

Ray may not have been a ball-catching guru for Mallett’s offensive plays down the field, but on special teams he managed to get the team in pretty decent field position. I am not one to judge another’s mistakes and misjudgments but the fact that he was caught in on campus in his dorm room nonetheless is a bit disappointing.

Not excusing the charges or taking any of the wrong out of his actions, but the fact that players have the amazing ignorance to the fact that there is a target on their backs is utterly astonishing.

When you become an athlete, there is an unwritten mission statement you have agree to that reads:

“Think long and hard before you do anything stupid because we are watching your every move. Any allegations or charges brought against will media driven and publicly prosecuted. If you are found guilty of being anything but a model citizen and a perfect athlete, your tarnished reputation will be brought up in every story written about and for you.

"Your apologies, no matter how sincere or heartfelt, will be subject to ridicule and objection. You are officially the bad guy and everything you do from there on out will be questioned and every success will be brushed off.”

It may not be fair, but it is signature for the life of a student athlete.