Freshman Linebacker Disciplined by Coach Richt

I applaud Coach Richt for responding to this most recent alcohol-related incident in a timely and appropriate manner, and have every confidence that he will continue to do so.  I am also relatively certain that the underage possession of alcohol by a college student is neither unprecedented nor a violation of the ten commandments, Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated notwithstanding.  However, I believe this incident raises a larger question:  How is it that Georgia football players manage to get caught doing these things so often?  While I don't have any hard data to back up this assumption, my admittedly subjective impression is that athletes in general, and football players in particular, are cited for criminal offenses more often than the rest of the student body.

Most of us who attended the University of Georgia will vividly recall the amount of underage consumption that took place, as well as the regular (and relatively harmless) violation of a number of other laws.  In fact, many non-students also have traveled to Athens over the years for the express purpose of consuming alcohol while under twenty one years of age, being drunk and disorderly, etc.  Further, many alumni continue to behave in a similar manner while on campus during gameday and other special events.  Few, however, are ever cited for this behavior.  

For better or worse, most of us have found Athens to be a very forgiving town when it comes to such sophomoric shenanigans.  In fact, I have often marveled at how tolerant the ACCPD is of practices that are generally punished with some degree of severity in other locales.  As a result, I would submit that only a miniscule fraction of the alcohol-related transgressions that occur in Athens are ever prosecuted.  Stated differently, you have to be trying pretty hard to get arrested in Athens.

Working under the above assumption, one must wonder why so many football players have made the headlines recently for falling asleep on toilets, underage possession, driving without a license, etc.  Obviously, the media will fixate on the arrest of any star athlete while ignoring similar transgressions by the student body at large.  Even accounting for this distinction, however, it seems that our athletes are cited for criminal offenses more often than their numbers would otherwise justify.  

Are the police singling out football players?  Personally, I doubt it.  If anything, I would expect star athletes to be shown more leniency than the general population when it comes to relatively minor legal infractions.  Thus, I believe we must consider the possibility that athletes do, in fact, commit more crimes per capita than the general student body.  Perhaps the praise and adulation heaped upon these young athletes throughout their lives have led them to believe they are, to some extent, above the law.  While I hope this is not the case, I must confess that a more probable explanation continues to elude me.

I would be eager to hear any theories others may have on this subject.