So then there are our athletes. Whether it is OJ Simpson, Ben Roethlisberger, or Mike Vick, the crash is a hard crash. Many people get outraged, declaring if they had the fame and fortune that professional athletes have, they'd be responsible, upstanding citizens. Don't be so sure that every one of us, if steeped with millions of dollars, before we hit twenty five years old would be Mother Theresa...I wouldn't be, and I'm a lot older than that.

But perhaps, we are not looking at this phenomenon fairly. I recently was working with a high school athlete who is in trouble with the law, and he told me repeatedly how his coach assisted him with getting out of trouble, allowed him to skip classes, and encouraged other teachers to give him good grades. When asked if he thought his coach had helped him, he responded, "At the time, I did. Now, I'm not so sure." When athletes are treated differently, they learn to expect to be treated differently. When they are the strongest, or the fastest, or they win the most, confidence is a natural consequence of chronic winning; and left unchecked by good coaching, discipline and sportsmanship, the recipe for the narcissistic athlete is whipped together. So, before we get so high and mighty, chastising the athlete who thinks that they're above the law, ask yourself whether your/our behavior led them to see the world that way.

Incidentally, the days of "Coach'll fix it" still exist, but they are numbered. Increasingly, coaches and leagues are realizing the negative publicity that comes along with having athletes engaging in criminal behavior and moving away from it. Just yesterday, four Auburn football players were dismissed from the team by Coach Gene Chizik. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has had the courage to suspend very popular players even without due criminal process on the grounds that playing for the NFL is a privilege, not a right. The tides are turning and there is reason to believe that the turn could be a dramatic one. There have been Title IX lawsuits where women that were raped by scholarship athletes sue the school (not the individuals) on the grounds that the school did not provide them from an environment free of sexual attack (a violation of their rights). One such settlement in Arizona may set the stage for greater school liability when an athlete acts out. This, in turn, may lead to more aggressive actions by schools to prevent such behavior.

At the same time, as evidenced by the Special Report written in Sports Illustrated this past week entitled, "Rap Sheets, Recruits and Repercussions" by George Dohrmann and Jeff Benedict, there is still plenty of "looking the other way" (or more accurately, not looking) when it comes to college football players' criminal histories. They report 7% (204 out of the 2837) players on the rosters of the Top 25 ranked college football programs had been in trouble with the law either before or after entering college. These are powerful numbers, but there is also another side to be considered.

First, these background checks find arrest records, not conviction rates. The authors noted that, "In cases in which the outcome was known, players were guilty or paid some penalty in nearly 60% of the 277 total incidents". Let me first caution you that our prisons are not filled up with athletes.

That said, a couple of thoughts: first, not all crime is the same. Though not necessarily graceful and model behavior, paying a summons for a charge of public intoxication or drinking out of an open container, is not the same thing as accepting a plea for aggravated assault. Second, many athletes recruited to play collegiate sports come from crime-infested neighborhoods where criminal behavior (not to mention gang-involvement) is their norm. Sports have provided a refuge for many youngsters who, without the structure, discipline, and guidance of dedicated coaches, would likely be in jail or dead. So the idea that some collegiate athletes have criminal records is not shocking. And thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, sports is BIG business. Feverish fans and millionaire boosters are more interested in the best football players being on the field than the best citizens. It may not be popular, but it is real.

Jeffrey Benedict has been writing books for years illustrating the criminal behavior of athletes and on some level, I respect the amount of work and diligence he has put into researching his position. But the thing that really gets me is what gets lost in the message. Are there high-profile, idiot athletes out there challenging the local police, "Do you know who I am?" as if they are beyond scrutiny? Absolutely. And I believe, that they should be tried to the full extent of the law, and if found guilty, serve their time without any lenience for their athletic status. Do I think there are times that athletic organizations owe it to the reputation of the sport to suspend, penalize, or permanently ban athletes for their transgressions? Yes.

But, there are guys out there like Warrick Dunn who has assisted over a hundred single parent families purchase homes to raise their families in. Peyton Manning who has given many hours and tons of money to charity. There are stand-up guys like the tirelessly charitable Boomer Esiason who remind us that the idea of the most popular kid in school being the quarterback of the football team can be a good place to put our trust and respect.

Can we not lose perspective here? There are athletes who engage in deplorable behavior. Most of the behavior has nothing to do with them being athletes. But, in totality, there are so many athletes that are great representatives of what we, as a people, have to offer. Please don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.