Moron Athletes

After waiting two seasons to take over the helm at LSU, junior quarterback Ryan Perrilloux was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules yesterday. The suspension comes this year for, presumably among other things, skipping classes, missing workouts, and failing to attend team meetings. He did not make the trip for the Alabama game last year after being investigated for his involvement in a fight at a night club. In May of 2007, he was suspended from the team for using his older brother's ID to attempt to get on a riverboat casino.

The question I have here is why, just why, are some athletes so goddamn stupid? The weight of particular athletes' stupidity crushes me, not to mention the public opinion of the leagues they represent. Maurice Clarett, Pacman Jones, Marcus Vick, Tank Johnson, and so many others not only damage their careers and reputations, but the organizations of which they are a part. Chief among the offenders has to be Michael Vick. The consummate superstar, with athleticism paralleled by few, if any, players of this generation, Vick is currently serving a nearly 2 year sentence for his (very large) part in an illegal dogfighting ring.

Now, these men hurt many individuals along the way to trashing their careers. Themselves, their families, their colleges and professional franchises, their fans, and the children that look up to them are among the casualties of athlete's weapon charges, bar fights, drunk driving arrests, love-boat scandals, and dogfighting charges. But what about us? Who do I mean by us, you ask? Out-of-shape former athletes, wannabes, and anyone who ever played a pickup game and imagined themselves at the highest echelon of sport.

These men are living the dreams we manage only to live in our minds, or through a television set or on a video game console. On how many occasions have I (even at 22 years of age) wondered what it would be like to homer at Fenway, or to grab a touchdown at Lambeau Field? Too many to count certainly.

So who are the real losers here? When a star athlete is arrested, or suspended, who takes the real brunt of that action? The answer is simple-- I am, and so are you. They had everything many of us could ever hope for and have forsaken it. Fuck... I'm going to go play some Madden.