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Volunteer Football Lacking Accountability
Published by MoonDog on February 19, 2008
On a day when the University of Tennessee Men’s basketball team rose to No. 2 in both polls, achieving its highest ranking in school history, we hear the news of yet another Vol football player being arrested. Punter Britton Colquitt was charged with DUI and leaving the scene of a crime early Sunday morning.
It would be harsh news if this was a rare occurrence, but at Tennessee this has become all too familiar. Since the Vols Outback Bowl victory against Wisconsin on New Year’s Day, nine Tennessee football players have been disciplined as a result of off-the-field incidents.
What’s even more disturbing is the fact these incidents aren’t isolated to this offseason. Since 2004, over 20 UT football players have had run-ins with law enforcement.
Sadly, as much as I love this university, I must admit my disappointment and the embarrassment this news has caused all Vol fans.
Whether they realize or not, and apparently they don’t, the players representing the University of Tennessee are ambassadors of the alumni, the fans and this great state. They are, as they should be, held to a higher standard.
Regardless if they want to accept those facts or not, UT football players have expectations placed upon them that are no different than anyone else representing an organization.
This is no longer about young men acting like young men. We’ve all been young and did foolish things. Some of us did more foolish things than others – just ask my parents. But I never got arrested.
I knew were the line was drawn and I didn’t step over it. It came about due to a healthy fear of my father, knowing what he would do to me if I ever ran afoul. It’s clear the youth of today don’t have that healthy fear of the consequences, and as a result, many young men won’t be playing football for the Vols this fall.
That in itself is bad enough, but it’s the long-term effects long after their playing days are over. Football is the greatest game in this country, but it’s just a game. We can learn many valuable lessons from sports, but in the end, it’s just sports.
Some will suggest, as did Knoxville News Sentinel columnist John Adams, that Phil Fulmer should be fired. That’s not the answer.
The answer, very simply, starts with one word – accountability. It’s a word that appears to have been lost in the vocabulary. Not limited to football players at the University of Tennessee, but to our entire nation.
We’ve become a society of finger-pointers, of placing blame elsewhere. More often than not, if we want to know who is really to blame for our problems, all we need to do is look in the mirror.
Yesterday UT Athletic Director Mike Hamilton was quoted in an article written by Drew Edwards of the Knoxville New Sentinel addressing the latest incidents.
“It’s about winning games and all that kind of stuff, but it’s ultimately about education,” Hamilton said. “And a great part of that is falling down and getting back up. That’s one of the greatest athletic lessons there is. Personal responsibility is a key component in that, and also responsibility to those around you. … We’ve got to help them learn that responsibility, but it’s frustrating because you’re trying to teach those lessons and at this point that lesson has not been quite learned, apparently.”
While I applaud Hamilton’s comments, I question why should the University be tasked for teaching young men responsibility and accountability? Shouldn’t they already know that?
What’s obvious here is these young men haven’t been taught the values parents, teachers and coaches at the grammar school and high school levels should be teaching.
Before we start screaming for the termination or resignation of a coach or AD, let’s ask who the truly responsible party is.
We are.
Society in general is to blame because we’ve failed to educate our youth on the principles that helped build a nation. The harsh lessons being learned in the wake of these incidents can be directly attributed to our failure as a society.
Instead of firing Phil Fulmer, perhaps we should fire ourselves.
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