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Seminoles Should Be 'America's Team'

By GWEN KNAPP,

AOL

Posted: 2007-12-21 19:32:58

Sports Commentary

I don't get it. Florida State does the right thing, busts itself on academic cheating, agrees to suspend as many as 25 football players from a bowl game, and cynics jump all over the 'Noles. There already have been calls for the Music City Bowl to pull its invitation and give the slot to another school.

Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel/MCT

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden could be very short-handed when his squad squares off against Kentucky on New Year's Eve.

Where's the love, people? The Seminoles should be America's Team. We should all be rooting for them against Kentucky, ecstatic that one of the most prominent football programs in the land actually expects its players to take their own tests.

I should state here that I am not, nor have I ever been, affiliated with Florida State. I am simply a true believer. I have absolute faith that, if the Seminoles really wanted to get away with this kind of cheating, they could do it without breaking a sweat.

The young whistle-blower -- the one who reported that an academic adviser had given him answers to an online test and then told him to take the exam for a fellow athlete -- would have just disappeared, probably in a new Lexus. Or more likely, the kid never would have turned up on campus. They have tests for that kind of honesty, and the Florida State of another era might have screened him out.

Somewhere in Tallahassee, a culture of integrity is being nurtured. No doubt, plenty of boosters see it as a fungus.

Granted, the culture may be microscopic. It hasn't prevented encounters with the police; two football players were arrested outside a bar in September. It certainly doesn't suggest that Florida State has become a pillar of academia. Not only did the academic adviser believe the athletes would fail a music history exam without help; she assumed they couldn't even figure out how to cheat on an online test by themselves.

Nevertheless, this is progress. The suspensions might even have an upside for the Music City Bowl, which has gained a certain train-wreck allure. That's always a boon for ratings. A savvy producer could find out what was on the test and pose the questions to the audience during timeouts. Music history during the Music City Bowl -- what sublime synergy.

And sacrilege. Thou shalt not mock college football's mockery of classroom endeavors. No TV producer will touch this issue with any of the appropriate whimsy.

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Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive sits at his desk in his office in Birmingham, Ala., on May 23, 2008. Slive's proposal for a four-team scramble--Slive avoids the "dreaded P-word," playoff--was rejected by Football Bowl Subdivision conference commissioners in May. That means the BCS format won't get a makeover until at least the 2014 season. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive sits in his office in Birmingham, Ala., on May 23, 2008. Slive is a strong-willed former lawyer and judge who is not so old-fashioned when it comes to ideas for changing college football's method of settling its national championship. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

President Bush, right, walks from the Oval Office to make a statement to reporters after meeting with five NCAA football coaches who visited military bases in the Middle East to boost morale with military personnel, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 26, 2008. Pictured from left to right: Mark Richt of the University of Georgia; Randy Shannon of the University of Miami; Jack Siedlecki of Yale University; Tommy Tuberville of Auburn University; and Charlie Weiss of the University of Notre Dame. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Bush makes a statement to reporters after meeting with five NCAA football coaches who visited military bases in the Middle East to boost morale with military personnel, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, May 26, 2008. Pictured from left to right: Jack Siedlecki of Yale University; Mark Richt of the University of Georgia; Randy Shannon of the University of Miami; Bush; Tommy Tuberville of Auburn University; and Charlie Weiss of the University of Notre Dame. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

US President George W. Bush (4th L) speaks to reporters with NCAA head football coaches Jack Siedlecki of Yale University (L-R), Mark Richt of the University of Georgia, Randy Shannon of the University of Miami, Tommy Tuberville of Auburn University and Charlie Weis of the University of Notre Dame after they met at the White House in Washington, May 26, 2008. The coaches have recently returned from visiting troops in the Middle East. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

US President George W. Bush (L-R) walks with NCAA head football coaches Charlie Weis of the University of Notre Dame, Randy Shannon of the University of Miami, Tommy Tuberville of Auburn University, Mark Richt of the University of Georgia and Jack Siedlecki of Yale University after they met at the White House in Washington, May 26, 2008. The coaches have recently returned from visiting troops in the Middle East. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES)

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WASHINGTON - MAY 26: (AFP OUT) U.S. President George W. Bush, speaks to the media as NCAA football coaches (L-R) Tommy Tuberville, from Auburn University, Mark Richt, from the University of Georgia, Randy Shannon, from the University of Miami, Jack Siedlecki, from Yale University and Charlie Weis, from the University of Notre Dame, listen during a media facility at the White House May 26, 2008 in Washington, DC. Bush welcomed the five university coaches to the Oval Office to thank them for going overseas to boost the morale of U.S. troops. (Photo by Ken Cedeno-Pool/Getty Images)

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NEW YORK - APRIL 24: (L-R) Former college football players Glenn Dorsey, Chris Long, Jake Long, Matt Ryan, Darren McFadden, and Vernon Gholston pose for a photo during the NFL Draft Media Luncheon at the Chelsea Piers April 24, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Jonathan Fickies/Getty Images)

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So back to the usual piety. All hail Florida State for rooting out its mockery. Let he who is without academic fraud cast the first stone.

The best thing about these suspensions is that they're for a real transgression. They're not about bogus amateurism, like the time Wisconsin suspended 26 players for accepting special discounts at a shoe store.

I don't expect that kind of purity from college athletes. I don't even expect them to graduate. I set the bar ridiculously low. While they're on campus, enrolled in just enough classes to stay eligible, I expect them to learn something. And I expect their coaches to expect them to learn something.

Let's skip the excuse, or accusation, that they're all just using college to get to the NFL. That would have made a good diversion when everyone hyperventilated over the fact that Deion Sanders skipped his final exams before Florida State played in the 1989 Sugar Bowl.

Deion was a rarity -- a can't-miss pro. It isn't idiotic to think that an athlete of his caliber can use college as a farm system. For almost anyone else, it is.

One report on this year's suspensions suggests that as many as seven of the banned players are walk-ons. Some of them, if they're lucky, might coach someday. But chances are, if you ever see these guys working in an NFL stadium, they'll be behind a cash register. Comprehensive knowledge of music history might not help them count your change properly, but it beats an intimate acquaintance with fraud.

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At this point, a lot of people are blaming Bobby Bowden for the scandal, saying he is out of touch and that the school shouldn't be clinging to a 78-year-old head coach. That misses the point entirely. The investigation snared athletes from other teams, and even in his prime, Bowden wasn't the sternest of disciplinarians. Did the same people call for Bowden's retirement when Sanders bagged class in his final season? Hint: His team wasn't 7-5 and stuck in a meaningless bowl game back then.

Five years ago, wiser from the Sanders experience, the Seminoles suspended quarterback Chris Rix from the Sugar Bowl after he missed a final exam. That didn't seem to deter the current group of academic slackers. This time might be different.

The athletic director has been shoved aside. The investigation started somewhat tamely and kept growing. The administration seemed deeply committed to sweeping every crevice clean.

If it was all a show, so be it. I'll settle for the appearance of integrity, even if I have to watch the Music City Bowl to see it.

Gwen Knapp is a sports columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle.

2007-12-21 10:52:35

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ehendersonsr 02:21:24 PM Jan 03 2008

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A first for AOL sports. A classy in-depth and provacative article by a articulate reporter who obviously gets the point. Cheaters need to pay for cheating.

genem39 06:59:37 AM Jan 01 2008

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thank you!! this could have been conviently put off for a week but they chose to do the right thing. fl state and penn state--2 classy programs.

spyversusspy 07:30:44 PM Dec 31 2007

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Yep. America's team - I wonder if Adrian Mcpherson was able to get some money on the game... maybe by 'stealing' some more checks from Boosters. It really is a shame he can't fix any more games for gamblers :(

Bowden even admitted to knowing about the gambling before that season... what happened? Same stuff they do now... they know before hand and wait and then put down some BS excuses and cover up attempts... they only did this in hopes of avoiding the NCAA's hammer - they only did it when the woman (who lost her WHOLE SEASON AND SCHOLARSHIP - why are these people not punished the same? ) came forward. Wonder what the NCAA will have to say about that - suspending the non-revenue players for the whole year but not touching the football players scholarships and only a fraction of their season... hmm, seems fair to me...

Get your stuff straight before you insult the entire nation by saying this fraud of an institution should be 'America's Team' - unless you are a supporter of nepotism

tinknocker052349 03:44:08 AM Dec 31 2007

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GWEN KNAPP IS AN IDIOT !

joinfaith 12:01:18 AM Dec 30 2007

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Bobby Bowden is a coach/man of integrity? What are you smoking? FSU took much of Bobby's right to sole control of discipline of the Seminole football team because 'Saint' Bobby didn't apply much discipline at all. Check out Geno Hayes, a FSU linebacker arrested at 3am, acutually tasered for resisting arrest WITH VIOLANCE! Geno's punishment? Had to sit out the first 8 minutes of a game against some tomatoe can school! Big Deal! Bill Clinton leraned how to spin the media from Bobby, and you're still a buyer.

sjv67 11:55:58 PM Dec 29 2007

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Look at Miami if they would of suspended any players they would have only 2 rings lamar thomas the wife beater,pell grant fraud.phone card scam,cheating on test. please Miami fans

gospeedracergo 11:50:50 PM Dec 27 2007

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mitchbsandlin...kiss the hoods d!ck...

mitchbsandlin 10:56:20 AM Dec 27 2007

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The fact is a lot of the kids in college athletics are from the hood where they think stealing and raping HOs is proper.

90% of all the arrests coming from college athletes are for the above mentioned crimes.

No college or coach is immune it.

lempfla 12:46:00 AM Dec 27 2007

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So would having 17 of your football players arrested also indicate lack of institutional control? Would you say that your coach doesn't have a clue? Fans should be holding their breathe rather than expending it on laughter as there is a good chance your school could be next. Online classes are problematic at best and are renowned for there "open book" tests. Now that 1 school has outed those that cheated you can fully expect that reporters and athletic departments around the country will be putting these classes under a microscope and others will be found.

aramos400 11:29:01 PM Dec 26 2007

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Great article. Finally, a journalist with integrity.

Hey gators, go toss a keg and shoot some weapons.

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