NCAA Football Player Dismissed After Video Alleging Racist Remarks Surfaces
There is a tale, which is credited to Aesop but in fact did not appear in Western literature until 1954, of the scorpion and the frog.
In it, a scorpion convinces a frog to carry it across a lake, and when the frog reasonably surmises that the scorpion will simply kill it, the scorpion replies that to do so would be to ensure its own demise as the frog sinks to the bottom of the lake and the scorpion drowns.
The frog agrees, but halfway across the lake, the scorpion stings the frog, and as the frog is dying, it asks the scorpion why it invoked their mutual doom.
The scorpion simply answers, “Because I am a scorpion.”
Evidently the powers that be at the Arizona football program either never heard or don’t believe the moral of that story.
When Santino Marchiol transferred after alleging recruiting violations at Texas A&M, the Wildcats apparently didn’t think about whether having a player so willing to throw his team under the bus while still playing for there perhaps revealed some character issues that would come back to haunt them.
Now, after footage came out Friday in which Marchiol was caught on tape referring to other players, at least one of whom was black, as “monkeys,” the linebacker has been kicked off the team.
Which, in turn, leaves a roster hole on the squad mere days before the season begins for the Wildcats when they take on BYU Saturday night.
Coach Kevin Sumlin refused to provide further details but did confirm that the video was the reason for Marchiol’s dismissal.
Kevin Sumlin announces that linebacker Santino Marchiol is no longer with Arizona. pic.twitter.com/GEbCPpaBx6
— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) August 27, 2018
Marchiol’s attorney, Thomas Mars, said in a statement via ESPN he is “heartbroken” by the school’s handling of the case.
“As someone who helped lead the effort to advance diversity in the legal profession, served on the National Urban League board, and worked closely with people like Dennis Archer, Rev. Al Sharpton, and other prominent African-American leaders, I understand and respect the University’s decision,” Mars said. “On the other hand, as someone who’s grown close to Santino and who knows the quality of his character, the depth of his faith, and the sincerity of his convictions, I’m heartbroken. What can be heard on the highlights video doesn’t reflect the values or beliefs of the young man that I’ve come to know.”
Which, in turn, invites the question of what those values or beliefs are, given what Marchiol said in the video.
Marchiol played for Sumlin at Texas A&M last season. Indeed, his recruiting allegations may have been nothing more than a smoke screen to invoke an NCAA rule whereupon players recruited improperly can transfer without the usual requirement of sitting out a season of eligibility.
New Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher, however, did feel compelled to say something about the allegations, namely that he takes them “very seriously” and that there will be an investigation.
But as for the Wildcats, they, like the frog in that morality tale, took a scorpion onto their back only to find a stinger in it before they could safely come out the other side.
When someone reveals to you what kind of person he is, the wise thing is to take him at his word.
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