Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE At the same time Notre Dame and Kelly were dealing head-on with their player problems, Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher was busy defending and deflecting the avalanche of sketchy actions and criminal allegations swirl- ing around his embattled quarterback, Jameis Winston. From charges of rape, to the theft of crab legs from a grocery store, to lewd and disrespectful behavior toward women in the middle of campus, to the recent suspicion of breaking NCAA rules by getting paid for signing au- tographs, Winston never learns life's lessons because he's continually given the benefit of doubt by his coach and his school. But this story isn't about Florida State or Fisher going against the court of public opinion and allowing their trou- bled 20-year-old quarterback to play until proven guilty; that's a decision left to a coach and a university. This story is meant to celebrate Notre Dame's careful and thorough reaction to its own scholastic suspicions and a willingness to transparently share any findings with the NCAA, keep- ing integrity intact during an investiga- tive process that could have remained tightly wrapped or easily delayed until after the season. A scholarship to Notre Dame is an honor and an opportunity, and much more than a fly-by for room, board and professional pursuits. Holtz, Kelly and all the Irish coaches share and deliver the message that Notre Dame is a four- year investment that will last 40 years. "Student" will always come before "athlete" in "student-athlete." In the span of less than two months last year, Notre Dame dismissed its starting quarterback, Everett Golson, and its best men's basketball player, Je- rian Grant, for academic indiscretions, a bold move not often demonstrated at other schools. "Everybody knows what the stan- dard here is at Notre Dame," Kelly said. "But our guys want to play football too, and they know there are standards at Notre Dame that are higher and that they're held to." It's easy to point out that perhaps the recent Notre Dame academic investiga- tion could have moved quicker. It's also easy to note that perhaps Kelly should have been kept more in the loop dur- ing the process. And it's impossible to argue anything other than that Notre Dame put academic integrity ahead of football success, and its student-ath- letes will grow and be better for it. Again, Florida State can take care of its own affairs and set the guidelines on handling a troubling pattern of behav- ior for its star quarterback. "This country is based on being in- nocent until proven guilty," Coach Fisher said, "not guilty until proven innocent." But at a certain university 1,000 miles from Tallahassee, Fla., in northwest In- diana, personal accountability comes before athletic achievement, and that's what makes Notre Dame so special, credible and proud. ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com