Mike Bianchi goes jamon
Suspended band of thieves threaten to ruin Florida Gators season
Forget what I wrote earlier today about the Florida Gators discipline issues simply being indicative of what’s going on across the college football landscape. That was written before two more UF players — including starting running back Jordan Scarlett — were suspended for Saturday’s opener against Michigan.
When you reach double-digit player suspensions, it is no longer a college football issue; it is a Florida Gators issue.
If you’re scoring at home, that’s a whopping and woeful 10 players now who have been ruled out of the opener. And it’s only Wednesday. Will Florida Gators coach Jim McElwain even be able to field a team by the time Saturday’s game rolls around near Dallas?
This is no longer a symptom of the discipline issues throughout college football. This is now a culture issue of what’s going on at the University of Florida. This is a bona fide scandal now that could ruin the season and result in criminal charges against several UF players.
The suspensions Wednesday of Scarlett and redshirt freshman receiver Rick Wells now means nine players who, according to reports, are being investigated by university police for credit card fraud. Another player, freshman receiver James Robinson, has been suspended following a marijuana citation.
I guess we should give McElwain at least some “credit” for suspending his nine allegedly fraudulent players for this monumental game against Michigan before they have actually been charged with a crime. He could have easily pulled the old college football coaching trick of saying, “We’re going to wait for the judicial process to play itself out.”
Obviously, McElwain believes his players are guilty before they’ve even been charged. The Gators actually released the player suspensions themselves on Wednesday. They didn’t wait for the Orlando Sentinel, ESPN or some other media outlet to break the story about credit-card fraud.
“The one thing I’ll never do is look the other way and try to hide something,” McElwain said during a new conference Wednesday. “… We’re going to handle what it is and not run and hide. … At the end of the day, that’s a positive because people know that no matter what it is, we’re going to handle it. We’re not going to put it aside, we’re not going to enable and we’re going to teach lessons.”
The suspensions obviously are devastating to McElwain’s chances of upsetting Michigan in one of college football’s marquee season-opening games. McElwain will not only be breaking in new starting quarterback Feleipe Franks on Saturday, but now he will be doing it without his best receiver (Antonio Callaway, also suspended) and his best running back (Scarlett).
Ironically, nationally renowned college football commentator Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network was on our Open Mike radio show Wednesday when the suspension count was only at eight.
“I’m not here to defend Jim McElwain, but I will,” Finebaum said. “I respect him very much. Among the SEC coaches I deal with, he is a disciplinarian.
“… I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt even though (the eight player suspensions) is a bad look nationally.”
Now, it’s 10 players … and counting. Nine of those players — more than 10 percent of the number of athletes Florida has on scholarship — are being investigated for fraudulently using someone else’s credit card. That’s right, one-10th of Florida’s team has been suspended for being a a band of thieves.
McElwain has a major issue on his hands when double-digit players have so little regard for their teammates, their fans and their university.
The arrogance, egotism and malfeasance of these players has potentially sabotaged an entire season.
Think about the vast majority of other UF players who have worked tirelessly and done everything right in preparing to have a great season.
Think about the thousands of UF fans who have invested thousands of their hard-earned dollars to make the trip to Dallas for this highly anticipated season opener.
Think about a reputable institution of higher learning that is now a national laughingstock because of the massive stain these selfish players have placed on the university.
Way to go, guys.
Way to ruin one the greatest season openers in the history of the University of Florida