Phillip is correct, this is more than a poor decision....
In this business, you never know what’s coming. My plan today was to write a wrapup story on Auburn basketball, watch a little of the SEC Tournament and go to Plainsman Park to cover tonight’s baseball game against Arizona State.
Phillip Marshall, Senior Editor, AuburnUndercover.com
Things changed in a hurry.
Like most everyone else, the first inkling I had of four Auburn players being arrested came from message boards and anonymous blogs. At least one blogger reported a player was involved who wasn’t. Easy to do, I guess, when you don’t put your name on what you write. If that player was my son, that blogger wouldn’t be anonymous for long.
Anyway, it’s a sad day for Auburn football, but much sadder for the young men who were charged and their families. If Mike McNeil, Dakota Mosley, Shaun Kitchens and Antonio Goodwin are guilty of the charges, there are some hard, hard days ahead.
From talking with people over the last few hours, there is shock that Mike McNeil, in particular, was one of those arrested. Clifton McNeil, the grandfather who raised him and an extraordinarily nice man, expressed his shock to our own Bryan Matthews. Teammates privately expressed shock, too.
Auburn head coach Gene Chizik did the right thing and cut ties with all four players immediately. He did the same last week when he kicked Eric Smith off the team.
But there is more to do. Neither Chizik nor anyone else involved with Auburn football can view the dismissal of the players as the end of the problem. Five players in less than two weeks were charged with crimes. Smith’s was a misdemeanor, but it wasn’t his first run-in with the law.
Coaches can’t babysit players 24 hours a day, but the alleged crimes make it clear that the content of the character of the Auburn football players involved, if they are guilty, was lacking. Should that have been seen? Could it have been seen? I don’t know.
What does Chizik do now? What I believe he will do is take a hard look at his program and take whatever action is necessary to avoid another embarrassment like this one for Auburn football.
Obviously, the loss of five players who figured to be in the playing rotation takes a large bite out of Auburn’s depth for the 2011 season. Five young men who helped win a national championship won’t be there to get their rings, won't visit the White House, won’t be part of Auburn football ever again. But, really, that’s not even worth talking about today.
This is much bigger than winning or losing football games. If they are guilty, they brought it on themselves.
Drinking too much is a bad decision. Getting in a fight at a nightclub is a bad decision. Underage possession of alcohol is a bad decision. Smoking a joint is a bad decision.
Robbing somebody, at gunpoint or otherwise, is a character issue.
