The University of Florida, along with nine other schools, has received criticism for the systems in place that seemingly indicate that athletes receive preferential treatment when accused of criminal activity.
An Outside the Lines investigation led by ESPN Staff Writer Paula Lavigne with help from others, published Sunday and broadcasted in a video Monday on ESPN, revealed that 80 players on Florida’s football and men’s basketball rosters were named as suspects in 119 crimes from 2009 to 2014 — more than any of the other nine programs detailed in the investigation.
To get a full perspective of how widespread the alleged criminal activity extends, consider that 24 percent of players on rosters for the two UF programs were named suspects in a crime, and 56 percent of these cases were dropped or not prosecuted.
However you spin it, the statistics are alarming, and the full report details a football program that consisted of mostly Urban Meyer-recruited players that seemingly had the penchant for finding themselves under investigation by law enforcement.
If there’s one player who epitomizes the leniency demonstrated to Florida athletes, it’s Chris Rainey.
Rainey, a former UF running back and track athlete who was named a suspect in five crimes but was only charged once, spoke to Lavigne and Outside the Lines about his experiences with facing criminal accusations.
His attorney, Huntley Johnson, has represented Florida athletes for years, and Gainesville Police Department spokesperson Ben Tobias told Outside the Lines that "sometimes we joke that (Huntley Johnson’s) got a better communication system than 911."
Rainey seemingly confirmed as much when he told Outside the Lines that athletes around the program were confident in Johnson’s ability to keep them away from police, and therefore out of the news.
"You still got Huntley, so, if anything happens, we got Huntley," Rainey said "So, he will get you out of anything, everything."
Rainey was part of a speedy UF backfield that featured fellow track athlete Jeff Demps, but before he was a Gator, Rainey was living with the family of twins Maurkice and Mike Pouncey in Lakeland.
The trio was highly regarded at Lakeland South High, helping lead the Dreadnaughts to three consecutive Florida Class 5A state championships before Urban Meyer landed them.
The Pouncey twins, vocal advocates of former New England Patriots tight end and convicted first-degree murderer Aaron Hernandez, have had their share of criminal accusations since they’ve been in the NFL.
A lot of the blame has been placed at the hands of former Florida and current Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, who recruited Hernandez, Rainey and the Pouncey twins, among others detailed in the Outside the Lines report.
I don’t think Meyer could have anticipated that a then-17-year old Hernandez was capable of murder, because that’s not something in-home visits and text messaging could possibly indicate.
But Meyer soon realized that Hernandez had character issues, and I’m sure he’s not the only UF athlete that raised some red flags behind closed doors.
"First of all, I didn’t believe it. Then you start reading about it," Meyer told Dan Patrick on April 28 about hearing of Hernandez’s involvement. "I never spoke with him, obviously, but that’s when you start having beat writers and everybody start writing things about multiple failed drug tests (at Florida)."
Once Hernandez left Gainesville he wasn’t Meyer’s responsibility anymore.
He was a Patriot, back home playing in the city he grew up in — Bristol, Connecticut.
The home of ESPN and Outside the Lines, and the home of gangs that Hernandez was often linked with.
All Meyer could do was give Patriots coach Bill Belichick a few words of warning about Hernandez, words that now must be considered a severe understatement of what Hernandez is capable of.
"Very honest, I just said, ‘You just need to keep an eye on him,’" Meyer said. "Unfortunately you can’t lock them up and keep them away from their homeboys. I guess that’s what happened."
Follow Graham Hall on Twitter @Graham311.
In this Dec. 5, 2009, file photo, former UF running back Chris Rainey warms up prior to Florida's 32-12 loss to Alabama in the 2009 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.
