There is something very wrong with sports today. To be a professional athlete once meant that while you were capable of playing a child's game a level higher than the vast majority, you were still forced to hold down an off-season job in order to pay your bills. Today's sports, sadly, readily mirror politics and the dredges of society, where the almighty dollar rules supreme and its gifted players walk freely, able to do what they want when they want, with little or no fear of repercussion.
Throughout the course of history there have always been individuals above the law, above consequence, and above responsibility. It used to that the only way this was achieved was to buy your way in or be fortunate enough to be the offspring of one one already in power. It seems, in today's age, we have passed this free ticket off to our athletes.
The punishment laid down upon USC was just deserved, however, I find it unfathomable that Reggie Bush bears no brunt of it. Let's look at this hypothetically (and I use a hypothetical only because if it was not Reggie, some other athletic Adonis would have taken his place). If Reggie Bush was never born, would USC be looking at any sanctions going forward? The answer is no. So, how is it that USC is made to bear the full extent of the punishment, but Reggie is let off with a tarnish to his reputation, a tarnish that, given the world's love affair with athletes, will be close to forgiven once he scores his first touchdown this season. Is Reggie not a man, was he not he not old enough to know right from wrong?
If I had been arrested for having a role in stealing two laptops and a guitar from a fraternity, I would not be walking the street right now, much less driving a car and being pulled over by the cops only to be re-arrested not more than a couple of months later for possession and various other non-criminal violations. Somehow Jeremiah Masoli is better than all of us and is not only facing no jail time, but is allowed to transfer to Ole Miss to pursue what were, days ago, justifiably dead Heisman dreams.
I am smart enough to know that very little will ever change, money is the greatest corrupter the world will ever know, and athletes generate unfathomable amounts of it. Perhaps it is due to some inherent, latent desire to live our unfulfilled dreams out through our kids, our players, or our idols, or perhaps we are just in awe of athleticism, but I hope that one day society rears its collective voice and shouts "enough". That the masses ensure that all individuals are treated equally, that money and status no longer grant a reprieve, or worse, a license to do it all over again in a different region.
Every individual should be accountable for their own actions and, while the institution bears fault, focus more on the reason than the environment. Perhaps if this were the norm we would see our future athletes growing into respectful men and women rather than self indulgent children.
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