The recent arrest of former New England Patriots’ tight end Aaron Hernandez for murder has generated a lot of debate among sports pundits in the last few weeks. As details emerge about Hernandez’s supposed involvement in the murder of Odin Lloyd, even more is being revealed about the former Florida Gator’s troubles with the law dating back to when he played for Urban Meyer. Meyer, who now coaches at Ohio State, recently took to the news to shoot down some of what he called “inaccuracies” with regards to reports of Hernandez’s time at UF. Meyer said the staff and others “worked very hard to mentor and guide him” during his time in Gainesville. But it leads one to question; do college coaches bear any responsibility of former players’ actions once they’ve left for the NFL?
One of the incidents being brought to light by investigators into the Aaron Hernandez case is that Hernandez was involved in a violent crime (beating up a bouncer at a restaurant) while in his tenure at the University of Florida but received no obvious punishment for his actions. Hernandez was suspended a game in 2008 for testing positive for marijuana, but beyond that it appears Hernandez kept his nose clean or UF chose not to report any other trouble he might have been in.
Did UF and Urban Meyer specifically have a responsibility to discipline Hernandez over the incident at the restaurant? One would think so. When young men or women attend a college or university and represent that institution especially in the athletic arena, coaches in a sense must become a parental figure for these young people. Especially, when so many of these players come from backgrounds that are less than stellar. Coaches on a collegiate level can have the greatest impact on a young player in these formative years as they transition to adulthood.
But does this responsibility extend to beyond their collegiate career? How can it? Once these players leave campus and go out into the world, the only person that can truly answer for them are the players themselves. While at a university, coaches can only try and provide mentors or role models to inspire them to improve their life and their situations outside of the sport. The rest is up to the individual player.
Aaron Hernandez is not the only player who’s seen his professional career crumble due to personal problems. Rolando McClain, who was once called “the smartest guy I ever coached” by Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban is currently retired from the NFL after being a first round draft pick in 2010. McClain’s short NFL career was plagued by arrests and other off-field incidents. Ausar Walcott, former rookie linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, was recently arrested on the charge of attempted murder.
How far can we go in placing the blame on their college coaches? Why not extend the blame to their high school coaches as well? There is no doubt that if these players caused problems in their college career and the coaches did nothing, then we might be able to call them enablers to the behavior. But there comes a time when these players must take ownership of their own issues and realize they need to grow up, mature and learn the difference between right and wrong. College coaches can only do so much to guide these young people into a better life. After that, the blame needs to be placed squarely on the one who commits the crime and no one else.
- Amy Norris
@amyjane72
amy.projectcfb@gmail.com
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