The Bodda Getta

By all means, let's blame the "system." We shouldn't hold poor Tyrann accountable for his actions. We shouldn't blame a guy sitting on a gold mine for deciding that drugs were more important than his future. Give me a break! There are plenty of examples of players that couldn't cope with even moderate standards of conduct long before star ratings, recruiting shows, press conferences, and Army All Star games. Lawrence Phillips of Nebraska fame (or infamy) would have been one of the great NFL running backs of all time. But he couldn't stay out of trouble...wasn't capable of staying out of trouble. And that was long before the situations Barnhart describes ever came into being.

Some just don't ever get it. Mike Dyer didn't get it. Maurice Clarett didn't get it. Antonio Goodwin didn't get it. And many, many others didn't get it. I will be the first to have pity on them, but I won't blame it on the "system." Nothing in the "system" motivated Dyer or Mathieu to do drugs. The "system" and all the things it promised for the future should have been motivation enough for these folks to stay out of trouble.