Saturday, August 4, 2012

TCU Should Just Circle the Wagons

Okay... if you were surprised to hear that Casey Pachall admitted to using drugs while living under the same roof with former Frog linebacker Tanner Brock, then I have some ocean front property for sale for you in Jack County.  This comment is not meant to slam Casey, but to acknowledge that birds of a feather typically fly together.  You want to know what your teenagers are like, just check-out their group of friends.  The same goes for college students.
Above football, even TCU football is the well being of Casey Pachall.  I sincerely hope he has seen the ills of his drug exploration days and has put his life in a place that does not include such substances.  The best way for Casey to do this is embrace his strength, which is playing football for TCU.  Sure... I know those outside the TCU fold will laugh and be critical about that last comment, but it is true.
In 1985 after SMU received much notice about their pay for play scandal, Jim Wacker put it out there that he would kick any players receiving illegal pay off the team.  Little did Jim realize that by the second game of the season TCU would be rocked with several of his best players admitting to getting pay for play money.  Wacker proceeded to kick All-American running back Kenneth Davis and other key players off the team.  I believe Wacker and TCU officials thought that action would help the consideration of their penalties from the NCAA, but it didn't.  The NCAA still brought the hammer down on TCU with what was then referred to as a "Walking Death Penalty" of severe scholarship limitations for the next three seasons.  Once the dust settled and Wacker experienced what happened, he let it be known he wished he had kept the players on the team.
Now that TCU is big time and Big 12, Horned Frog Athletics must act like the other teams that are big time programs.  That means TCU Administration, Athletics, followers, fans and Alumni circle the wagons and take care of our own.  I'm not saying to allow wrong doing, but I am saying that in 1985 TCU sought public approval of their attempts to right a wrong, but you can't do that.
TCU must do what it can to internally right all wrongs and just choose to endure all criticism and calls for transparency from the media, even is the media exists on it's own campus.
Just my opinion, but that is how big time programs move forward.