Let me start out by saying that I am not in anyway endorsing cheating in sports. Nor am I endorsing cheating in the classroom or even in life. Be honest. Be fair. But for the love of the Lord above, do not be dramatic. This is not a program-changing moment. Matter-of-fact, the only people thinking anything about these violations are the actual fans of Mississippi State. Cohen came out and told the truth. He didn’t beat around the bush, he didn’t lie. He basically said, look, we screwed up. No one around college football is saying anything about how this looks on the university.
Why? Because it happens everywhere.
There are so many Universities in the midst of scandals like this and have it way worse than we do (See UNC and Missouri). It’s not on the coaches because the coaches and athletic staff self-reported these violations. It’s on the players. The young, mistake-making teenagers who are our players. How many dumb decisions did you make in college? Does this make you any less of a person? Have you ever cheated in school?
I mean seriously, we are sitting around bashing young guys for being young guys? We do not know who they are, and we won’t until game days, and that’s great because who they are is irrelevant. What happened was wrong, but they didn’t cheat on their wives (see Freeze, Hugh). The players are going to miss a few games, but this is a team. This is a team with depth for when situations like this happen. No postseason ban, no major scholarship ban, so it’s going to be okay. Everyone deserves a chance to correct their mistakes and all these young guys deserve this same opportunity.
So let these guys live their life and let’s stop spreading rumors. Let’s enjoy what is going to be a great 2019 football season.
Want to discuss it? Follow me on twitter @_thealexgomez and let’s discuss. Thank you for reading and Hail State!