Apparently Loyalty is a One Way Street for Louisville

Gene Clemons, FBGP Analyst

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So let’s get this straight, everything that the NCAA and its member affiliates do is for the kids? That’s what they are selling, that’s what they hope you believe. The problem is every time you look up it’s the kids that are being penalized the most. I guess mom and dad can’t punish themselves can they?

The University of Louisville just recently brought back possibly the most immoral and untrustworthy coach in America, Bobby Petrino. They can give you all of the song and dance routines they want but they brought him back for one reason, he is one hell of a coach. That has never been disputed. One could understand the move and even applaud the school for giving Petrino another chance (well… this is actually like his fourth chance but, semantics).

Everyone is entitled to a second chance right? Apparently not!

Fort Pierce Central outside linebacker, Sharieff Rhaheed, was a highly touted and sought after prospect this past season. On national signing day, he decided to continue his academic and athletic career at Louisville despite the fact that the coaching staff that recruited him had since moved on to join former Louisville head coach Charlie Strong at Texas. He committed. He signed his name on the line and he legally bound himself to this university that told him that he was going to be a part of their family.

Then Rhaheed got into trouble. This high school boy had sex with a high school girl and she ended up pregnant. Things further deescalated when the girl told her mother she had an abortion in November. In February Rhaheed was arrested and charged with felony lewd and lascivious behavior with a victim aged 12 to 16. The girl was 14, so in essence he was arrested for having sex with a girl three years younger than he was. She told the police that she was not forced, but Florida law mandates that any child under 16 cannot consent to sexual activity.

So Rhaheed pled no contest and was charged as a juvenile. We won’t focus on how the details of this minor’s case were made public; apparently he doesn’t have any rights as well. His name was drug through the mud by headline-grabbing news media and he was vilified as a hoodlum by social media. What was his “real” crime? Bad judgment! How many of us displayed good judgment all the time at 17 years old?

This is where your family sits you down, talks to you, tells you they are disappointed in you for making a bad choice but they still love you and have confidence that you will grow from this situation. This is where a family puts their arms around you. This is where a family makes you feel safe and secure because family is all you’ve got. Unfortunately, this is not what Louisville did.

A kid, who had to be scared to death that he could go to jail for up to 15 years just for having consensual sex with another high school kid, should have heard encouragement coming from the ‘family’ he decided to join but he heard a “no comment” and “we are aware of the situation.” Then right around his 18^th birthday Rhaheed was informed that Louisville was rescinding his letter of intent, or breaking their contract, with the kid. This was a shock to everyone involved because according to Central’s head coach Josh Shaffer, a conversation with Petrino had led him to believe that everything was still a go for Rhaheed at Louisville.

“Sharieff Rhaheed-Muhammad will not attend the University of Louisville. At this time, we believe this is the right decision in the best interest of the University and the athletic department.”

And with those words Louisville had washed their hands of the problem, of the minimal media attention generated out of a small city on the Treasure Coast of Florida. In the process they screwed over a kid whom they told they would treat like family.

Now Rhaheed found himself a few weeks away from graduation with no place to call home and little options. His dream of playing football at Louisville dashed. The numerous offers that he possessed from other programs including Arkansas, Michigan State, and Missouri were gone. He was left with, finding a prep school and starting the process all over again next year or going to junior college.

Rhaheed chose to start his college career now. He is playing at Nassau Community College in New York. Since he is already D1 eligible, he is most likely banking that he can have an immediate impact and parlay that into another D1 offer. It’s surely not the road that he wanted to take but it’s what he’s left with after not being afforded a second chance by a school that practically begged him to come and that he entered into a contractual agreement with.

So Louisville chose to give an adulterer who is a lying, disloyal, crooked, man who could give a damn less about anyone but himself another chance; but giving a kid who used poor judgment another shot was, “Not in the best interest of the university and the athletic department.”