“With great power, comes great responsibility.”
Sure, you’ve heard that old saying many times before, but how many times has it actually been acted upon? Time and time again we see star athletes who have went to the well one too many times. I’m not talking about a pitcher throwing one too many fastballs or a point guard throwing one too many behind the back passes. No, I’m talking about star athletes who get some time in the spotlight for their on-field statistics, and then do something completely stupid off the field. In this case, I’m talking about the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny “Football” Manziel.
Last season Maziel shocked the college football world by being the first freshman to win the prestigious award. As a freshman, Maziel threw for 3,706 yards with 26 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions. He also ran for 1,410 yards and scored 21 touchdowns on the ground. Along the way he set an SEC record for total offensive yards. He also led Texas A&M to an 11-2 record and making the Aggies a force in the SEC after going 7-6 the year before in the Big 12 and gave the Aggies their highest end-of-season ranking since 1965.
It’s no doubt that on the field Maziel is talented. But off the field, what is he doing? He’s making the news, but not for reasons the Aggies or the NCAA would like him to.
Before even stepping on the field at Texas A&M, Manziel was arrested. The young stud was involved in a bar fight and allegedly showed the police a fake ID. Today, he entered a plea of guilty to the charge of showing false identification and saw all of his other charges dismissed. Maziel was ordered to pay just over $2,000 in fines for the charge.
Other than that, Maziel has been on social media sites talking about his vacations and which celebrities he’s been hanging out with, an obvious result of his new found fame after winning the Heisman Trophy. This past weekend Maziel attended the Manning Passing Academy as a camp counselor. He was sent home early after missing practices and coaching sessions for an undisclosed illness. Manziel’s father has said that his son was recovering from “dehydration”. Now of course no one can say that Maziel wasn’t sick or dehydrated but many can speculate the reason as to which he was dehydrated.
Since winning the most prestigious award in the history of the NCAA, Manziel hasn’t made much positive news for himself. Which leads me to this question: Should an underclassman be awarded the Heisman Trophy? My answer? No.
The college experience has always allowed for students to get away from home for the first time. Some of those students can get out of hand and engage in a little too much fun and it sometimes results into run ins with the police. When a student does that, sometimes it’ll end up the school newspaper or maybe even the local paper. Most of that rings true for student athletes except for one thing. If they’re a big name, like Manziel, their name will end up on ESPN or other big media platforms. What does this do? It hurts the integrity of the game and the image of the Heisman Trophy.
It’s simple. An underclassman student athlete is often immature. Yes, they make mistakes. That’s perfectly understandable. No one is perfect. But when you win the most prestigious award in college football, you should be held to a higher standard. When you’re the star player of your team, you need to set an example, and when your’e the “star player” in the NCAA, the same thing rings true.
If an athlete is that good as a freshman, there’s a chance he’ll have another opportunity to win the Heisman later on down the road. By giving an underclassman the award so early in their career, the NCAA will forever run a risk of hurting their image after endorsing an athlete who hasn’t had time to mature.
Photo Credit: NY Times
