Tuesday, December 28, 2010

He Found Something He Likes Better than Football

Iowa Hawkeye running back Adam Robinson was arrested for marijuana possession. He was already suspended from playing in tonight's Insight Bowl. The discussion in the Hawkeye Nation is whether he will return to play for the team. Some people say no. Adam Coker is playing tonight in AZ and doing a fine job. There are at least 2 other recruits that will fill in as Iowa has lost several running backs this year. It's possible they may even recruit yet another running back. Some will say that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and should be forgiven.

My take?

If I were having my college education paid for and if I was suspended from the team, after working my arse off in spring training, pre-season, and during the season - sweating, bleeding, fighting through my own self-imposed limitations that would prevent me from obtaining my peak performance level - only to be told, "No, your choices are not the right ones and you need to think about the consequences of your actions" I sure as hell would not be in anyone's car that has marijuana in it. I sure as hell would walk away and not associate with any friend that smoked pot.

That said...

In 1992, I was in a band. Originally, there were 4 of us. The other 3 smoked pot during rehearsal and at other times when I was around them. At some point, we had another member join the band and this newest member? He smoked pot too. That means 4/5ths of the band smoked pot in the room I was in. If the police had come, perhaps responding to a noise complaint, and discovered that there was pot smoking going on and that I was in the room with them, who knows what would have happened? I don't know the law enough to adequately state I would have been in trouble or if the 4 others would have vouched for me and said, "No, he wasn't involved in this."

I understand where it must be hard, in some sense, for Adam Robinson. I do not know if he was actually smoking pot, if it is popular among Iowa Hawkeye football players or what the heck is going on.

I do know this. Life is about choices. There are definitely consequences for choices that are made. I hope that Adam Robinson is aware of his consequences and that his career as a college football player may be over.

Chances are that he will transfer to another school that needs a running back. He will sit out a year and then return and, with the way things usually go for athletes that leave Iowa for another school, win the Heisman Trophy or something like that. And if that would happen, I would be happy for Adam Robinson but sad for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

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