The announcement of burglary charges being brought against Oregon Ducks’ quarterback Jeremiah Masoli further tarnishes a wonderful 2009 season that culminated in the Pac-10 championship and a Rose Bowl berth.  If you listen to the local news media this is a new instance in a growing situation where Oregon football players are running afoul with the law.  However, they’d be wrong.  This is the culmination of allegations a fraternity member made against Masoli and former wideout Garrett Embry.  I say former as he’s been dismissed from the team.

Masoli will be arraigned Friday March 12.  LaMichael James is expected to change the plea in his domestic violence case.  Word is that a much lesser charge of harrassment will be plead out and that he will receive a suspension from the team.  Not sure what’s going to happen with Masoli but coach Chip Kelly has scheduled a press conference to address these latest developments.

People in Oregon seem to be losing their minds over these transgressions by members of the football team.  What was once sympathy for kicker Rob Beard being beaten into ICU has now turned to outrage over an assault charge involving a woman which, as it turns out, was the cause for the brawl he was involved in.  Initial reports indicated police were looking for a male who drove off in a car with Washington plates.  Was he wearing Huskies purple by any chance?

I don’t condone the actions of these individuals in any way, shape or form.  Nor do I subscribe to the whole “let’s wait and see” aspect either.  Just hours after Coach Kelly held a team meeting addressing the need to adhere to a particular code of conduct, linebacker Kiko Alonso was arrested for DUI.  What a moron.  Anyway, before everybody starts to think Oregon is the only school with such problems, let me clue you in on a little history.

On Nebraska’s 1995 Orange Bowl team, 17 of their players had been arrested for misdemeanor and/or alcohol related offenses since enrolling. 

In Nick Saban’s first 14 months after taking over the Alabama program, 8 players had been arrested.  Team Captain Rashad Johnson was arrested on disorderly conduct charges for pushing down a security guard at a club.  No suspension and he went on to play a prominent role in Alabama’s National Championship.  Linebacker Courtney Upshaw was arrested in August of 2009 for 3rd degree domestic violence/harrasment charges for an altercation with his then girlfriend.  Oh yeah, still on the team.

With the February 2010 arrest of Florida defensive tackle Gary Brown, there have been 27 players arrested since Urban Meyer took over the program.  He was charged with two counts of battery for slapping one woman and scratching another.  He has been dismissed from the team for what was termed his history of “…not meeting a set of expectations.”  It took slapping a woman to finally get him kicked off?

In March of this year, LSU receiver Terrance Toliver broke his hand in a bar fight.  During this altercation the police had to taser him twice to get him to stop beating the hell out of some guy.  Still on the team, but Coach Les Miles stated that he would be punished.  Not a suspension or dismissal.  Probably going to run a lot where he won’t be able to keep his lunch down.

What do all these programs have in common?  Extremely prominent roles as national powerhouses in NCAA football.  LSU is continually near the top of the rankings and is mentioned often in championship talk.  Alabama won this year’s championship.  And Florida?  All they’ve done is win 2 National Championships and have a Heisman Trophy winner.

Here is my point for all those who think that I condone what’s been going on.  If you want your team to be in the national spotlight and mentioned in championship, talk these things are going to happen.  There just aren’t enough Boy Scouts around who run a 4.2 40 or throw the ball 70 yards on the fly.  In a perfect world, every top tier athlete would be known more for their kindness and generosity than for their athletic prowess.  Unfortunately most college athletes have grown up in an environment where the first thing they see each morning was some act of violence.

Chip Kelly will deal with these matters as he sees fit, and assuredly there will be those who do not like what he does.  If, as a fan of Oregon football, you want for the team to be in the hunt for winning championships and in the top 10 on a consistent basis curb your outrage for these incidents and allow Kelly to take care of it.  That’s why he has that job.

 In the meantime, start getting prepared for greatness as we now have something in common with the big boys.