People do stupid things. People do bad things.
The University of South Carolina has found itself in a quagmire with a quarterback doing stupid things. They are on the verge of greatness and yet on the edge of selling their soul to the devil….or so it seems.
As many sports fans do, I try my best to watch PTI and catch up on the 24 hour news cycle before it restarts. Garcia made this cycle last week. If you are a Gamecock fan, it hurts. It’s painful. It’s frustrating. It’s disrespectful to your own values, your team, and The University of South Carolina. We all say to ourselves, “If I was the starting QB of an SEC team, there’s NO WAY I would do ANYTHING to jeopardize my place on the team.”
That may very well be the case, but I highly doubt it.
Garcia, by all accounts, is a good guy. Yes, the five suspensions are staggering and that’s four more to get many kicked off the team…or is it? He has had four minor incidences involving alcohol and one incident of damaging a teacher’s car. Under no circumstances am I saying these were ok to do, but these are all stupid mistakes.
They are not crimes against humanity.
I know many people are sick of his antics. Everyone knows the microscope is on you when you are the starting QB of the favorite to win the SEC East. “HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER!” you say.
I get that. The fans and the rest of his supporters get that. But, honestly, he hasn’t killed, raped, stolen, burglarized, assaulted, nor talked down to any of his coaches or media types that criticize him. His offenses are many, but so minor that the multiple offenses should be tolerated.
If he gets kicked out of the program, we are kicking out an individual who broke the rules 5 times in 5 years. You can discuss his need for maturity all you want, but he has done nothing that warrants getting his future taken away from him.
He has taken no one’s future away. Why should this university take away his?
_____________________
The above guest editorial was written by a good friend, David Reed. He is a huge USC Gamecocks Fan that bleeds “garnet and black” and is a hell of a musical artist. If you recall, this blog gave two thumbs up to his latest CD. You can learn more about David by going to his website – www.iamdavidreed.com . Also you can join his Facebook Fan Page or follow him on twitter.
