Florida's Entirely Predictable Offseason Continues With Arrest

Florida football returnman Brandon James and Gator basketball player Brandon Powell were arrested recently after reportedly buying marijuana from an undercover police officer. The players bought 0.8 grams for $20 and were then nabbed after the transaction was recorded on audio and video.

Florida has suspended both indefinitely. This isn't the first off-season incident for the Gators after the Gators won the BCS national championship in January.

No fewer than seven Florida football players have dealt with significant legal issues since Feb. 1 and erased some of the good vibes from last season's national championship team.

This offseason of tumult and arrest is entirely predictable. There's simply a pattern here that's impossible to ignore: championship football teams get in trouble. Lots of it. I don't know if it's because of the high profile or arrogance or what, but it's there. Almost every recent college football champion this decade has had a slew of off-field issues following it from Oklahoma to Ohio State to USC to Texas to now Florida.

This is the new reality. Of course people will forever try to pin these situations on the schools because they're delinquent or evil or whatever other term satisfies their angst. Perhaps this is all simply the cost of being at the top. It's nice if some schools do their best to prevent these things, but as we can see those efforts don't always work out so well.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-13-2007 @ 2:45PM

Unsilent Majority said...

It's pretty god damn sad that these cops don't have better shit to do than to trap a couple of college kids buying a gram of weed.

6-13-2007 @ 3:26PM

James said...

Damn right, Unsilent Majority. I was already in the process of writing a letter to the UF student paper saying the exact same thing.

It's too bad that these players were dumb enough to break a law, but the Gainesville Police Department should be using our money to combat actual problems.

6-13-2007 @ 3:29PM

That homeless man is panhandling...CALL SWAT!!!

6-13-2007 @ 4:10PM

the butler said...

0.8 grams for $20!?!?!?

First of all...who in hell shorts a gram sack?

Second of all...it better have been some Super Chron to warrent $20/gram...($140 quarter?!?!?)

6-13-2007 @ 4:40PM

"First of all...who in hell shorts a gram sack?"

Cops

6-13-2007 @ 8:22PM

Roger Johnson said...

This is outrageous. They're threatening to send these kids to jail for 5 years. Cops in Gainesville don't have any real crime to stop. The cops have commited a crime.

6-14-2007 @ 1:10AM

Michael said...

I am with you guys on the social/ political apect of the story, but lets get back to the impact of the story on football. If coach Meyer can't show more control over his players it will just give him and Florida bad press, making them a less marketable team. Shula did an aweful job of leadership in this capacity, while Tubbervile handled it perfectly like and old school coach would. And I am a Bama fan! I'm sure Saban will handle these matters in much the same way. The right way.

6-14-2007 @ 2:10AM

sean_fuchs said...

wait, you're saying that cops in a small town are fing with minority celebreties ? Whaaaaaaaaaaaa?

6-14-2007 @ 2:40AM

wait, you're saying that cops in a small town are fing with minority celebs? whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

6-14-2007 @ 10:26AM

TooTallCowboy72 said...

sean...who the hell said anything about minorities? Here we go again...

6-15-2007 @ 2:04PM

rakim said...

this is so ridiculous, first of all those guys shouldn,t put themselves in that situation, 2nd it's ashame that all the raping, robbing and killing that's going on that my tax dollars are being wasted on $20 of pot, i don't do drugs but, i have never heard of pot killing anybody, the cops are selling dope to mess up persons careers is that right shouldn't they after drug dealers, not users