Is it fair to hold UGA athletes to a higher standard than other students?
Aron White has stood up for a former teammate. (Associated Press)
The blogosphere can be pretty brutal, but there’s nothing like the columns and letters to the editor in a college newspaper when it comes to finger-pointing, moral absolutes and general snarkiness. The readers and writers are mostly students who’ve yet to experience the real world but have no doubt at all about the way things should be.
Believe me, I know. During my time at UGA I put in a stint editing and writing for The Red and Black’s opinions page.
Wading into a debate in such an environment can be a bruising experience, as Georgia tight end Aron White has found out.
White wrote a letter to The Red and Black recently taking issue with a column the student paper had run about Zach Mettenberger being kicked off the football team as a result of his drunken excursion to South Georgia on spring break.
The columnist, Bailey Keiger, a senior from Atlanta majoring in magazines, blasted Mettenberger for his “childish activities,” but also took a general shot at the school’s athletes, saying “this just shows the level of disrespect some student athletes — especially football players — have for their position at the university.”
She conceded that practice takes up a lot of the student athletes’ time but noted “they are given extra perks like a state-of-the-art training facility separate from the ‘regular’ student gym, and an exclusive studying center where they are given access to tutors and other academic resources.”
She declared herself a “huge sports fan” who has “attended almost every football game” in her four years at UGA and said her closet “has a disproportionate amount of red and black clothing.” And, she said, she understands what the athletics program does for UGA and “why these athletes are given special treatment; they hold a vital position in our university, one that is not easy to fill. They represent years of tradition and are often the face of our school. The special treatment is often justified and necessary to allow these players to fulfill both their academic and athletic duties.”
But, Keiger said, “I simply cannot understand why — after being given privilege after privilege after privilege — these athletes still continue to break rules and get themselves in trouble. Behavior like Mettenberger’s is unforgiveable … [and] shows a terrible ungratefulness of the benefits that have been bestowed upon athletes, and makes me almost want to burn the red and black in my closet.” She asked the athletes to “stop bringing shame to the Bulldog Nation.”
White responded with a letter to the editor in which he said that while he does not condone athletes breaking the rules, “I do not believe that a student athlete should be held to any higher standard than a normal student when being reprimanded for their actions.”
Athletes, he said, “are definitely in the spotlight and must hold ourselves to a higher standard. We have more stipulations put on our actions than non-athlete students and often have heavier loads as well. I agree that being a student athlete is a privilege. … I am more than grateful for the resources provided to me and my teammates. But the fact remains Zach Mettenberger is only a freshman. He should have used better judgment, but he would not be the first university student to get in trouble. He had a clean slate throughout high school and the rest of his freshman year of college.”
White’s main point: “If the staff of the Red & Black or any other student organization were watched as closely as our student athletes are then perhaps they would have more arrests and incidents too. So my advice to all UGA fans is to put this into perspective — UGA student athletes do not show a ‘terrible ungratefulness of the benefits that have been bestowed upon’ them. One mistake should not destroy Mettenberger or the rest of the student athletes’ characters.”
Keiger, White said, was “out of line” in her comments. He added a zinger that “A true fan would never think to ‘burn the red and black in her closet’ as she suggested in her column.”
White’s contention that athletes should be viewed like any other students drew a rebuke from R&B sportswriter Zach Dillard, who asked, “Come on, No. 81, are you really going to play that card?”
Said Dillard: “While Georgia fans should be proud to have such players as yourself who are making the most out of their college experience, other students are not going to feel sorry for a program who can not stay out of trouble — regardless of whether players are in a highly-scrutinized situation or not.”
On White’s point about athletes being viewed in the same light as other students, Dillard brought out the big hammer: “Feel free to keep petitioning on how the football program should be looked upon no differently than ‘any other student organization’ — then try to explain why football players’ average SAT scores were allowed to be 334 points lower than the average male student when your class was admitted back in 2007. So by all means, Mr. White, keep making insubstantial excuses as to why four Georgia players have been arrested in the past two months, and how the subsequent media attention is unjustified.”
Valid points on both sides. As Mark Richt noted when I chatted with him recently about his program’s spring troubles, athletes do receive public scrutiny that other students don’t and some are more comfortable with that than others. But it’s hard to argue with the point that since athletes are admitted to UGA under a different standard from regular students and are the public face of the university, they should be held more accountable.
What do you think? Should the members of the football team be viewed in the same light as any other group of students at UGA when it comes to getting drunk and arrested? Or is that higher standard a legitimate part of the deal when they get that scholarship? Was White unwise making a public defense of Mettenberger?
And, finally, would any true Dogs fan really consider burning their red and black clothing?
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193 comments Add your comment
patrick
April 28th, 2010
9:42 pm
Not many people buy Vandy gear cause they don’t have the quality of UGA players. THAT SWAG is a direct result of the S/As
ATH
April 28th, 2010
9:43 pm
1) The previous comment regarding Stafford and his actions at Bourbon Street (aka The Street) are no different than many other kids in Athens. Stafford knew the owners as do many others. Everyone knows that The Street is where the “kids” hang out — the underage kids. If people were really concerned, they’d crack down.
2) CMR rarely kicks someone off the team for one violation of a team rule or UGA policy. If a kid lied to him, he has every right to kick someone off the team………He’s a pretty fair guy.
3) The average student has no idea what the student athletes go through. While the average student is asleep, the student athlete has probably already hit the gym, went to study hall, stopped by for rehab if they are injured and been to class. Then after classes, they’ll go to practice, get some more rehab, go for tutoring and then to bed. Granted the kids sign on for this life but they work their butts off.
4) Why won’t the media outlets focus on all of the positive things that these kids do off the field?
patrick
April 28th, 2010
9:52 pm
Well said ATH
JELLO JOCKITCH
April 28th, 2010
9:55 pm
I WILL NEVER EVEN THINK OF BURNING MY RED AND BLACK STUFF. I WILL EVEN BE BURRIED WITH THEM SORT OF THOSE THINGS YOU ARE FINDING IN THOSE CHAMBERS IN EGYPT.
JELLO JOCKITCH
April 28th, 2010
10:04 pm
I WILL LIKE TO REMAIN A DAWG FAN EVEN AFTER LIFE.
JELLO JOCKITCH
April 28th, 2010
10:08 pm
I LIKE PEOPLE TO SAY WHEN THEY OPEN MY TOMB YEARS AFTER MY DEATH, WOW, HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GA BULLDAWG FAN.
common sense
April 28th, 2010
10:23 pm
I don’t give a eff how smart the football players are. I don’t care whether they go to the NFL or work at McDonald’s for the rest of their lives. Don’t get arrested, and WIN WIN WIN. Crush Florida, stomp Tennessee and make Tech think twice about even playing another game. WIN, period. Win the SEC and for Gods sake bring us a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! That is all that matters. Beating tech isn’t good enough, a Sugar bowl berth isn’t good enough. Just win. And someone please smack that piece of crap Bailey Keiger.
Player Rules
April 28th, 2010
11:18 pm
Football players should get special rules since they work a lot harder than most students at practice and in the weight room. They should be able to take easier classes and be given special treatment by professors. Those classes are hard to prepare for when you’ve been at practice and in the weight room early in the morning.
Randon
April 28th, 2010
11:43 pm
I have moved from a Penn State driven area in Pennsylvania to a UGA driven area… Let’s give these guys a break! Sheesh, yes we yanks don’t know how to play football like the SEC but I have never seen such harshness or hatred against the players when s**t hits the fan, as I have witnessed here in Athens… Go ahead and burn what you consider your school colors… you are only trying to be a columnist, not a true fan…. only good think that comes from the red and black is the d**n crossword…
BuLLdawg
April 29th, 2010
4:54 am
Latest Graduation Success Rates in Football according to NCAA :
GSR released 2010 by NCAA for Football SEC :
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91 % Vanderbilt
69 % Florida
69 % Ole Miss
67 % Alabama
63 % Mississippi State
60 % LSU
60 % South Carolina
59 % Auburn
57 % Georgia
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10-10 vs SEC East the last 4 years.
5 SEC East Losses last 4 years vs not Top 25 Final AP Poll team
14 Losses in Football just these last 4 years
21 fumbles, 14 interceptions, # 96 NCAA in Penalties all last 4 yrs
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94 Arrests / Suspensions in the 9-Year Coach Richt Era.
38 Arrests / Suspensions last 3 years according to David Hale.
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334 points lower SAT for the 2007 UGA Football Recruits than any other UGA male accepted here.
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Zach Mettenberger put his hand up a lady’s skirt in Remerton and Aron White wants to Defend that ?
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Aron, sir, that is a perfect example of what I mean that our football players should shut up to the media about how you are so unfairly viewed.
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UGA Football Players the last 4 years have not done well on the field or off the field.
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And, you want to know if UGA Football Athletes should be held to a Higher Standard ?
Duh
Tech "fans"
April 29th, 2010
5:43 am
I’m beginning to wonder if the Techies who post comments on UGA articles aren’t actually Tech coeds desperate to talk to real men.
BuLLdawg
April 29th, 2010
6:26 am
No, what we have here mostly, are 3 groups of posters. A clique of feel good UGA posters who only defend everything and make excuses for our players beating up girls and grabbing college girls on scholarship here as the most highly recruited players on the team while the team has lost 14 games the last 4 years while they LIE about how great we are doing on the field and say every school has all these issues off the field neither of which is true, a another group of UGA posters whom the 1st group would like to have not be able to post their views who are not satisified with what has transpired on the field or off the last 4 years, and then a small group of nerds who somehow think it is good to have lost to us again for the 8 years of the 9 Year Coach Richt Era while they have not won a major bowl game in 56 years.
chazzo
April 29th, 2010
6:34 am
BuLLdawg,
What I see is one troll who posts a bunch of negative stuff no matter what the topic is and another troll who posts a bunch of negative stuff no matter what the topic is. that would be you and Patrick. Then there are fans of other teams who show up to talk smack. Finally there are some folks who are just trying to have a conversation about their favorite team.
chazzo
April 29th, 2010
6:35 am
Correction: Patrick would be the positive troll.
chazzo
April 29th, 2010
6:57 am
Patrick,
I do not disagree with you about the amount of work that student athletes put in. There are some valid points here, though, about compensation, via a bought and paid for education. Maybe we should distinguish football from other student athletes. I don’t hear about many equestrians getting drunk and beating people up.
Anyway, my point is that they aren’t higher standards. They are different standards. You are drawing a comparison to a job, and that is a good comparison. If I don’t meet the requirements of my job or do something that is detrimental to my job, I will get fired. That does include drug and alcohol related activity. If a person is convicted of a felony, that person loses his or her right to vote. Whether these guys are just cutting up and blowing off steam (boys will be boys) or what ever, they understand the rules. The drinking age is 21. Hitting people is bad. Touching people inappropriately is bad. If you get that and do it anyway, why are you surprised at paying consequences.
My thousand guys statement refers to the fact that while these guys are incredible athletes that bring a lot to the university, it is every high school athletes dream to play college ball. I think our team is great, and I have the utmost respect for what they do, but if a player doesn’t want to follow the rules of the team, the school, and society, there are plenty of players who will.
Buckhead Bulldog
April 29th, 2010
7:11 am
Yes.
chazzo
April 29th, 2010
7:16 am
BullDawg,
Losing 14 games in the last 4 years is 3.5 losses a year. You are simply wrong in your negative outlook. 100s of teams would love to have that record. Other schools do have these problems. Look at the Oregon player who sucker punched another player after a game. Look at the two UT players busted for drugs this week. You are simply wrong most of the time. It is not that I am Rose and Black bulldog. I just don’t know what it is you hope to accomplish. I essentially believe that you are like Tokyo Rose, and you are a Tennessee fan that wants to fill the blogs with negative crap and doubt. What do you hope to accomplish? Do you really imagine that you have the power to hire and fire and make changes to the team?
AltamahaDawg
April 29th, 2010
7:22 am
What about the group who say one thing, then a year later completely make up how they “all along” said the opposite. Then conveniently overlook how they are calld out about it several times. Where do they fit into the grand scheme?
BTW that first “clique” who only defend everything and say everything is great consist of about 2 people. As Chazzo points out , the vast majority of folks in here are just trying to have a rational sport conversation, obviously slanted towards thier favorite sports teams. And they are FAR outweighed by the folks who NEVER defend anything and always find the negative, never once commenting on anything good coming out of Georgia Football , and never once having had a positive personal experience at a single Georgia football game? Oh and can’t stand anybody else that is a Georgia football fan. Only they care through thier hyper bloated negatism. Nobody else can. However they DO about it the exact same thing. Which is actually far more hypocritical.
I’d go ahead and lump that group with the last group, the nerds, because the net result is all the same.
The amount of people who defend beating up a girl, yea that happens all the time. Talk about people who Lie.
Tech "fans"
April 29th, 2010
7:27 am
I still think there are a few Tech coeds around here…
AltamahaDawg
April 29th, 2010
7:30 am
“Anyway, my point is that they aren’t higher standards. They are different standards.”
Chazzo, that is the answer to the question in a nutshell.
Tech "fans"
April 29th, 2010
7:33 am
BTW, does anyone have an idea when we’ll get the full story on Mett?
MinnieM
April 29th, 2010
7:44 am
When I wear a shirt with my school’s logo, I am very aware of that, and remember to conduct myself in a way that won’t bring discredit…..even when I’m out drinking beers with friends. Wish the jocks would consider the same thing. They’re the face of the school. Yes, the press is just lurking out there for a naughty story, but….don’t give them one. Behave yourselves, jocks.
TommyP
April 29th, 2010
7:48 am
I think the AJC would be doing themselves a favor by hiring the young sportswriter. I’m not burning my colors but she’s right on most everything else.
Morrus
April 29th, 2010
8:08 am
Vote out the incumbents and start over
Unforgiving
April 29th, 2010
8:33 am
If the football team can not display golf etiquette at all times then they should be kicked off the team. I mean you must be a gentleman and a fair player at all times. Your appearance is before performance. Remember! It is not whether you win or lose but how you display the golf etiquette during the game and off the field.
BG
April 29th, 2010
8:54 am
College students drink beer and party?? Who Knew??
Gt4ever
April 29th, 2010
8:54 am
This might be the funniest article yet from our friend the Junk Yard Dawg……… Bill you make my day… To even suggest that your football players are held to a higher standard is ABSURD! There are exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, admitting a person based solely on his football prowess is WRONG! I would venture to say that 75 percent of your football players would NEVER gain admittance if not for their talent. Good Grief man, they are given, given, and given more opportunities than any of the regular student population… The problem is your COACH! He has set the standard with his actions or non action regarding discipline! Your COACH is the one who should be held accountable for these players…. The article was a nice read, thanks for the bit of humor!!!
mars
April 29th, 2010
9:02 am
Football players are celebrities, and a certain responsibility should accompany fame. But, as stated earlier, it seems that the whole story has not been presented to warrant Mr. Mettenbergers dismissal. If it has, then I must question whether Zack was actually held to a higher standard than other, more embarrassing Bulldog gridders. If so, then shame on you Mr. Richt.
I’d like to thank Jan Kemp….. uh, ahem, excuse me….. Baily Keiger for bringing this to our attention.
Monroe's first Redcoat
April 29th, 2010
9:02 am
@StingBuzz: The standards are so much higher at Tech, this would never happen on the Flats….riiiight…..
two words – Reggie Ball.
Ron Mexico
April 29th, 2010
9:04 am
Deliah, you’re a retard, and 30-24 b*tches! And I love that most of the comments I see on here are jealous tech fans. Obviously they don’t care about their teams or they would be reading articles about them. The conclusion I draw from this is that Tech is irrelevant. And they are.
PMC
April 29th, 2010
9:05 am
Yes, life isn’t fair. They have more to lose and they reflect more on the school. They represent the school. It’s part of that free 100 grand they get for being on scholarship.
Gt4ever
April 29th, 2010
9:06 am
Monroe,
It’s the same at GT, but I will tell you this…… Coach Johnson has a better handle on discipline. Yes, we have our few problems, but in general our coaches do a MUCH better job at making the players accountable.
barneyb
April 29th, 2010
9:08 am
Good for Ms. Keiger- she nailed it! Some of these atheletes have had their butts kissed since their young days in Pop Warner football. If it were not for football, they wouldn’t be in college at all, but rather baggng groceries of pumping gas. They are getting a free education while my honors student must work their tails off and still not get the opportunities some of these punks get. Some are spoiled, petulant little brats who need a tast of the real world. Grow up and don’t disrespect your employer! (UGA) You ARE held to a higher standard, and rightfully so. That’s your job- to play ball, get passing grades and conduct yourself in an adult manner. If you can’t live by those rules, just try to make it in the real world like the rest of us, you ungrateful, morons!
Columbus Dawg
April 29th, 2010
9:12 am
Hey Bill, have you seen this POS that’s been named head of the “Joke Formerly Known as the NCAA”? Is there nothing left in this country that is not corrupt? I heard someone say that he is an old friend of Little Nicky Saban, thus all of the posts by the toothless, moron, inbred Bama fan base about all of the enormous illegal recruiting practices that UA can now use. What a joke. With everyday that passes, it looks more as if college football is being rigged, almost to the point of professional wrestling. Between the crooked referees, and now this joke of a leader for the very organization that oversees college football, there are not many other conclusions to draw from the events that have shadowed fair play in our beloved sport.
ugaalumn81
April 29th, 2010
9:12 am
Mars- there WAS much more to the Mettenberger story, and he’s not out of the woods criminally yet. If at least one particular young lady presses charges, he’s a dead a**. Straight from a witness who was there to witness his reprehensible behavior that night, he dishonored himself, UGA, and his parents. Yes, he’s still a child- at 18 or so, your frontal lobe is not completely developed. But his actions were not one that any Mother would be proud of, and he must be held accountable. It was bad anough, and his subsequent denials to CMR were such that he was rightfully shown the door.
Unimpressed
April 29th, 2010
9:13 am
There are no standards now so any standards will be an improvement. UGA will never be an elite program because of the quality of people who suit up there.
Liza
April 29th, 2010
9:15 am
My daughter was a majorette for four years. She was held to a very high esteem and I agree that she and all of the football players should also. They are representing UGA on and off the field. Their sponsor and twirling coach never let them forget that they were representing UGA and to always do it with pride. Football players need to get a “Wake up Call” from Richt and live up to the standard. If they want to go crazy go home and do it! It’s just like when Bobo was a player. How many fights did he get into uptown while he was drinking.
Smokewagon
April 29th, 2010
9:27 am
GT4ever- As a Dawg fan I have to agree with you about Coach Johnson having a good handle on discipline and respect your team for that. You have to agree though that Atlanta police have a lot more on their hand than some football players having a few beers unlike the Athens police.
Russell Dawg
April 29th, 2010
9:35 am
As a UGA student, I have consumed alcohol underage numerous times. But c’mon folks, do you really think he would have been kicked off the team for drinking underage when a good portion of the university population does it? Let’s just say that I may only be 19 years old, but I still know that I am responsible for my actions while intoxicated, especially when it comes to respecting women. (HINT HINT).
After hearing the inside story from a couple of my friends on the football team, I definitely have less respect for the man, and am now aware that sexual misconduct comes with penalties known as felonies (HINT HINT).
Although I do not condone underage drinking, I do believe that you are always responsible for your actions especially when it comes to treating women. So Mettenberger the next time you have had more than five and a half shots, I hope that you remember that it is necessary to keep your hands where they belong. To conclude, Go Dawgs! And for those of who who don’t know the inside story, lets just say that it is pretty obvious that there was a very good reason why Richt had to dismiss a potential starting QB.
Gt4ever
April 29th, 2010
9:42 am
Absolutely Smokewagon, but I would submit that underage drinking is not really the problem here… We are talking about a much more serious problem, as Russell Dawg leads us to believe, Mett would have never been thrown off the team for underage drinking…
Jan Kemp
April 29th, 2010
9:45 am
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnn.
Its 2010. Nothing has changed in Athens.
Same basic academic fraud & corruption…
year after
year after
year after
year after
year after
year after
year after
year after
year after
year after year……………………..
Gt4ever
April 29th, 2010
9:46 am
Oh, and the fact that Russell Dawg doesn’t condone underage drinking is well, very FUNNY!! Sorry Russell Dawg, I believe that you and I can both agree that arresting a person 18 and over for drinking a beer is ABSURD!
KW Dan
April 29th, 2010
9:49 am
I went to a UGA graduation some time ago where the graduating students were openly drinking and waving their bottles around and so were the parents! When one student accepted his diploma and whipped out a bottle and drank from it on stage the whole crowd applauded and went wild. FACT!
Gt4ever
April 29th, 2010
9:51 am
KW Dan
I’ll bet he/she was a Business major….
Russell Dawg
April 29th, 2010
9:54 am
Agreed Gt4ever
NORML
April 29th, 2010
9:59 am
Legalize Weed!
middlegadawg
April 29th, 2010
10:05 am
15 baseball wins can not come close to a big football victory over Tech.
2HLLWGA
April 29th, 2010
10:07 am
As unfair as it may be, the athletes are the public face of the university. They have asked for and accepted that responsibility by wanting to play football. When you are the public face of anything, you are automatically held to a higher standard. If they were not held to a higher standard, than why are we talking about it?
I think many people missed the point of her comment about burning her red and black – it was a point and I assume she would never really do it.
Blackberry Cobbler
April 29th, 2010
10:11 am
I’ve had 2 sons that were fortunate to attend college and play college sports on scholarship.
So, I speak from experience.
I would have no problem whatsoever if admissions standards were to same for athletes as for the general student population. But then, alumni and fans should have no complaints if and when the losses outnumber the wins. These student-athletes help generate a lot of revenue for the university and fir that reason, the university administration is willing to lower the standards for academic performance. Again I repeat, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can have the same standards across the board, but then keep your pie-hole shut if the wins and losses don’t suit you.
As to “off the field activities”, these are 19 and 20 year olds. I’d venture to say their propensity to get in trouble is no more than the general student population. Yes, they are representatives of the university but so is EVERY student and faculty member. The fact that they play sports does not and should not raise the bar just for them. In fact, these student-athletes are probably more closely watched and behave better than many students.
On the Zach Mettenberger thing, it appears as though the punishment was too severe given what we think we know and compared to how other players have been treated. But that investigation in Remerton is still on-going and I think it could eventually come out that there is much more to this that the general public doesn’t yet know. CMR may know and that’s why he did what he did.
Bailey
April 29th, 2010
10:13 am
“Majoring in Magazines”? Are you serious?