Another UF football player was arrested and charged with a DUI and liquor possession early Sunday morning. Go Gators.
Frankie Hammond Jr., a 20-year-old wide receiver for the Gators, was pulled over on campus for going 45 miles per hour in a 20-mph zone. A field sobriety test put him at more than double the legal limit of 0.08. He had two empty 750-ml bottles of Crown Royal in his car.
When will our football players realize that when they drink and drive, we all lose? When Carlos Dunlap was arrested on DUI charges last year, it was a major factor in our loss against Alabama in the SEC championship game. Without our key players on the field we cannot be expected to be champions, so instead of suspending players for getting DUIs, the coaches at Ben Hill Griffin should consider alternative punishments.
We propose that from now on any football player who is arrested on alcohol charges should have to be a starter at a 12:30 p.m. game with no less than a fifth of whiskey coursing through his veins.
Any player who thinks he can drive a car after a few drinks should not have a problem catching a football or two in 90 degree weather on a Saturday afternoon.
To be fair, not letting a player play in a game is a pretty big punishment, but it only prevents repeat problems because it is a simple form of negative reinforcement. Players, and non-campus celebrities too, need to realize that driving drunk is wrong not just because it is illegal, but because when you drive under the influence you are not physically capable of driving safely.
