It's pretty unfair, isn't it, that the Florida football program notching its 23rd arrest in four years isn't the one known as "Thug U?"
No, that delightful moniker belongs not to the issues-saddled Florida Gators but to the University of Miami -- which in the same period of time recorded just one arrest for a car mirror broken in anger. Apparently the glow emanating from Tim Tebow is blinding enough to keep football fans from noticing just how seedy things have gotten up in Urban Meyer's Gainesville, because it seems like the two programs have just switched roles and wins are the direct inverse of cleanliness.
To be fair, the Canes went out and earned their reputation in the 80s and 90s like there was a pot of gold at the end of a rap sheet. Pell Grant and phone card scandals, pay-for-play deals, and more than a few fights contributed to a rep that still lingers.
But isn't there a double standard? In recent years, the Canes have become near-choir boys under the all-seeing eye of Randy Shannon, while various Gators have stolen a dead friend's credit card, shot off a semi-automatic rifle, slapped people in the face, hit and/or attempted to asphyxiate a girlfriend or two, assaulted random apartment dwellers, stolen laptops, fought each other during practice, fired guns into dorm rooms, been caught with drugs, been caught with drugs some more, and been caught with drugs again.
To be even more fair, let's note that such issues are found throughout college football, statistics will claim a Miami player or two soon enough, and Urban Meyer's tenure probably doesn't make the top 5 all-time (we're looking at you, Neuheisel).
Even so, isn't it about time Miami got a break? You only need look as far as Ronnie Wilson to imagine the difference in reaction had a Miami player fired off an AK-47 and then been reinstated when a first-stringer was injured, only to be arrested again for assaulting people at a party. The Canes, meanwhile, suspended their own starting quarterback for a bowl game because he missed class one too many times. Maybe programs should be judged not on history but on the discipline efforts of their coaching staffs.
What's it gonna take to lose the outdated nickname? Jacory Harris doing a few circumcisions on the side in the Philippines?
Sports
Someone sign him up and ship him over. This is getting old.
