South Carolina backup quarterback Tanner McEvoy returned to the team last Friday after serving a week-long suspension for a recent arrest. McEvoy was arrested in North Carolina on July 29 and charged with speeding and driving after consuming alcohol while under the age of 21. Some feel as though a week of suspension from practice after a violation like that is too light a punishment, but Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier thinks those people are being ridiculous.
“You want him suspended for having a beer and he’s underage?” Spurrier ask reporters according to The Post and Courier. “How many football players would be playing if they had a beer and they were underage?”
As Graham Watson of Dr. Saturday pointed out, the fact that most college players probably drink when they are under the age of 21 doesn’t mean the head football coach needs to endorse it. Not to mention, McEvoy drank and then got behind the wheel of a car. Whether he was intoxicated or not, that doesn’t seem like a great choice for a Division-I athlete who is on scholarship.
As we have learned through his entertaining exchanges with reporters and strict criteria for hiring assistant coaches, Spurrier is never one to bite his tongue rather than speak his mind. In this particular instance, he probably should have. Not only will his underage players who drink continue to drink, but they now probably feel like their coach will get them out of trouble if they get caught.
Photo credit: Kelly Lambert-US PRESSWIRE
