Friday, October 17, 2014

College Football Has Forfeited Its Soul: A Letter to Coach Richt


October 17, 2014

Dear Coach Richt, 

I want Gurley to play and I know you do, too. I live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and FOR THE LOVE (!!!),  I want Georgia to win.

I heard you say once that you want to win as much as anyone does. In fact, your record of 126-45 (as fourth best winning percentage in the country for active coaches) proves it. I also heard you say that you want to help these boys grow to be great men, husbands, and fathers. This may be the tallest task in today’s world of coaching college football, and I want to personally thank you for being a man of your word. 

Your benching Gurley does not mean that you don’t stand behind your player. It means that you do stand behind your player by choosing what is best for him and for your team and for the University. Even when it hurts. ESPECIALLY when it hurts. It means you stand for a lot more than any one player.



Football matters. Georgia football in particular matters a whole heck of a lot at my house. I am a fourth generation UGA graduate, and my grandfather was quarterback of the Dawgs in the 1930’s. He was on the Athletic Board that hired Vince Dooley as Georgia’s head football coach.

He also won the Bill Hartman Award, given to former athletes who have distinguished themselves by demonstrating excellence both professionally and in service to others. He had a plaque that read “I’m Bulldog born and Bulldog bred, and when I die, I’ll be Bulldog dead.” That’s sort of our unspoken family motto. 

Wearing the red and black jersey and stepping onto that field meant more to him than winning and losing. It meant that he represented the University of Georgia and the whole Bulldog Nation in everything he said and did.

His Varsity “G” hanging on my wall stands for more than a bunch of “W”s. Every Bulldog knows it stands for the very first state chartered university in the country and for every graduate, faculty member, and administrator who has walked under the Arch, out into the world to make a difference. 



If UGA is first an educational institution, what are we really teaching? A lot of lip service is done in college football about what is learned on and off the field. But we all know that winning has become ultimate, at any cost, to the detriment of any man, even if that man happens to be the best player in college football. 

Whether charges are NCAA violations, code of conduct breaches, or criminal allegations, star players have swagged their way onto award stages, largely unscathed in the last few years. Sadly, we have thrown Heisman trophies at them and elevated them so high on pedestals that I’m not sure they believe they could ever fall off. 

In these past scenarios, the quiet cover-ups and lack of disciplinary action tell us that in collegiate sports, winning is supreme. College football is damaged. Forget what we are teaching these boys and all the little ones watching about what it means to wear a jersey, to be part of a team, part of a University, part of something bigger than yourself.

 You, Coach Richt, know exactly what that means. 



We teach these ideals on our children’s sports teams, but when it comes down to it, parents want to win at all cost, too. I heard yesterday a local flag football team altered their flags to be shorter than regulation so they would be harder to pull. Really? And we expect these eighteen, nineteen-year-old kids who are thrust onto a national stage to respond differently? 

But when allegations were made with the highest stakes in college football, you and the administration at UGA took the high road down an unpopular, largely unprecedented, and tumultuous path. Guilt or innocence aside, actions have consequences.

 I wasn’t in the closed door meetings about Gurley’s situation, but I can imagine you, wrestling with this decision, knowing you are subject to something greater than yourself, greater than any player, greater than any championship hope.



I have heard for years that Georgia football has a discipline problem. I know that every team has discipline problems, but Georgia actually chooses to discipline our players for them. Thank you for living that out when the nation scrutinized your every move, when the decision was unpopular, when the precedent said otherwise.  

You are standing the test. You did not shrink under criticism or pressure. I have never been more proud of the diploma on my wall or of the red, red blood running through my veins.  As Herschel said, “Being an athlete is about more than just playing the game.” And being a coach is about more than just winning. You are proving it. 

After all, as the ancient proverb says, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul? While college football has forfeited its soul and failed these young men, you have not.

And if this letter ever makes it to you, I want you to know that I for one am grateful.

Go Dawgs, 

Mary Grace Alston Lyon

P.S. Chubb is the new “phat"

21 comments:

  1. Mary Grace,
    What an amazing letter! You have so eloquently put in to words what I feel as a true CMR supporter. I am posting this on my FB page (if ok) and would like to forward to others with your permission. I am glad I "found" your blog as I look forward to reading more from you! I hope you are well and that life is treating you well! You were one of my favorite rushees and I was so thrilled that you ended up pledging the First and Finest!!! Love, Elizabeth (Brinson) Garbin

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Thanks for taking the time to read. And to comment. :)

      Delete
  3. A perfectly expressed opinion from one of my favorite writers. Write more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, that is high praise I do not deserve. You will likely hear more about Georgia football from me-- I am halfway through a book about my grandfather that has a lot of great stories in it from his playing days. Thanks for reading.

      Delete
  4. Yes, Coach Richt has acted with INTEGRITY and WISDOM -- and this would be true even if the DAWGS had LOST the last two games.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel the same way. I believe I would still be just as proud of his decision had we been losing...but winning is definitely more fun :) Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment.

      Delete
  5. One must only google Zach Mettenberger and UGA to see the true depth of Mark Richts character. Zach was kicked off of UGA football team due to team violations (and further went to be a star quarterback at LSU). What most people don't realize is that Zach's mother is Mark Richts secretary. Not even that would sway his moral compass.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a great (and yet sad) story-- and I agree, very telling of Richt's character. Thank you for reminding us of that. And for taking the time to read and post a comment.

      Delete
  6. Wonderful article. Well said.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for reading. And for the encouragement. Hunker Down.

      Delete
  7. Great letter. I'm also a UGA fan living in Tuscaloosa. It's great knowing I'm not the only one here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! Yes, there are several of us here that I know of, but I definitely feel like a minority!!! Go Dawgs!!

      Delete
  8. I'm a DAWG fan living in Hoover but originally from Montgomery. The rush and thrill still wants to play for the "G" and Coach Richt! Why? For all the reasons that you have touched in this letter. This has touched my heart in only a true DAWG could understand. Thank you! Go DAWGS! Sic'em

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for posting, William. And Hunker Down!

      Delete
  9. This isn't some comment that supports what you are saying.

    Todd Gurley committed NO CRIME, he did not break a team rule nor did he break any rules as a student. As a matter of fact he participated in this experiment called the free market enterprise (btw a Federal Judge ruled against the NCAA, see Judge Wilkins ruling).
    As far as I can tell he has "paid" for his ALLEGED breaking of an antiquated NCAA rule.
    I am not for schools playing athletes, BUT I am for those athletes profiting off of what they do own, their likeness and signatures.
    Since this blog comes across as sanctimonious, “here here” for ol Georgia, please explain to me how it is ok for the same school and the NCAA to profit from athletes. Georgia will profit from home games 2014 to the tune of $29M.
    Do you think Georgia plays in the Gator Bowl last year without Todd Gurley? Do you really think that people would tune in to see a math debate?
    On said math debate; why is ok for any other student who is on an academic scholarship with ALL the same privileges (books, room and board etc...) as athletes to take jobs, start a cottage business and profit but its not ok for athletes. Oh I see, athletes must make money for the school or NCAA.
    How about the student who is making money from Todd Gurley's image (free Todd Gurley t-shirts http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/10/21/7027385/todd-gurley-shirts-free-gurl3y)

    College football NEVER had a soul. It has been tainted since the day someone figured out you can make a buck off watching games. The NCAA and UGA hide behind the moniker “student” athlete when the conversation of allowing players to make money comes up but hypocritically is more than happy to make millions of essentially indentured servants.
    If you want it clean, take ALL the money out. That also means the UGA President can’t dip his hand into the money athletics has made so now more pumping up academic areas with athletic money or building brand new buildings.

    So go ahead and pat yourself on the back.

    Btw -I earned a Georgia Varsity letter in athletics.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for leaving a comment and for joining the conversation. The beauty of the Dawg Nation is that we do not all have to agree but can all be respectful of each other's opinions. I certainly respect yours and appreciate you taking the time to write it out.

      It is not my intention to judge Gurley's guilt or innocence...that is not for me to decide. Nor is it my intent to judge the severity of the consequences of the allegations as they are playing out for Gurley. The very existence of the rule could be another letter altogether. I am aware of that case but believed Judge Wilkins' ruling would not be effective until 2016??

      I just wanted to approach it from the perspective of -- rules are in place (whether I agree with the rules or not), and there should be consequences if/when/allegated that a rule is broken across the board...The disappointing thing is that the precedent in college football has shown that there are often not consequences when star athletes break rules/codes of conduct/ or even criminal allegations. It actually seems that NCAA allegations can have greater consequences than criminal allegations. That is absurd in my opinion.

      As far as universities profiting from players' likenesses, as I said, I am not debating all of that here. I do believe that college football did have a soul-- but money and other things (like I do mention in my letter) have tainted it for sure.

      I was not trying to pat myself on the back for anything, but patting Mark Richt and UGA on the back for making a stand that very well could cost them a portion of the money you talk about, in the interest of doing what is best and right, in the face of criticism. That is never easy.

      Again, thanks for taking the time to write and share your thoughts.They are always welcome here.

      Delete
  10. Couldn't agree more. I admire MGL's passion, but righteousness and Mark Richt's admirable penchant for real discipline isn't the issue. The issue is that the NCAA and its member institutions (including UGA) operate as a de facto cartel trading on Gurley's NIL. The irony, and real issues is that they have SANCTIONED AND PENALIZED Gurley for doing the same. That's against fairness and the American way. Cliche, I know, but these very issues are being debated in our Federal courts and the NCAA is losing because their position is untenable. FREE 3.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for entering the conversation and for reading. Hopefully, the courts will prevail on the side of justice in these cases. Looking forward to seeing 3 back in action against Auburn. Go Dawgs!

      Delete
  11. What is standing out, in my opinion, is that UGA sets a positive standard in comparison to ther schools (A&M, FSU). I hope that Gurley's honesty and UGA's zeal with discipline will lead the NCAA into making the right decision. That being to allow his two games he sat out to serve as his punishment. We should not overly punish those who tell the truth, especially in cases such as this one. Great read by the way!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for reading and for commenting. I agree with your comment about not overly punishing those who tell the truth. I wish the NCAA would have accepted the two games as just punishment, but I guess we can only move forward. It is sad that those who try to do what is right are often not rewarded in a tangible way. Especially given the comparisons you mention! Excited about seeing Gurley back on the field for Auburn! Go Dawgs!

    ReplyDelete