Irreconcilable Differences
The recent departures of Harrison Beck and Leon Jackson from the Nebraska program came as a surprise to many, but when one thinks of the nature of these unions between players and schools it shouldn’t be all that shocking. When a highly sought after athlete chooses a college, it is not unlike choosing a spouse. You’re linking your fortunes to theirs and vice versa. Names like Tommie Frazier and Lawrence Phillips will always be linked to Nebraska, for better or worse (or in LP’s case, much worse). As Lou Holtz famously said to one recruit who snubbed Notre Dame, “You’re not making a four-year mistake, you’re making a forty-year mistake”. There is some truth in those words. Think of a guy like Frazier, whose pro career never happened due to blood clots, but he will always be able to make a living in football, in large part because he came to Nebraska at the right time.
Of course, for many athletes things don’t work out exactly as they hope. Then they are forced to consider whether to honor their commitment or to look elsewhere. It’s not unlike the choice facing many married people who are unhappy in their marriage. Do they honor their commitment and work to make a better marriage or do they cut their losses and move on? Whether or not a couple chooses the former course or the latter isn’t purely a matter of chance. It so happens that there are some well-known predictors of marital discord. Many of which can be evident in the player-program relationship.
Age
Not surprisingly, people who marry very young are more likely to divorce. It may be that they may lack the maturity that marriage requires or that they themselves are still going through so many changes as they develop that they find that what they once were sure about no longer makes sense to them. Most every recruit is young in college football and Beck was younger than most, only turning 18 after a year with the program.
Money
A major source of disagreement in marriages is over money and it is one frequently cited as a catalyst for divorce. In the case of a player like Oklahoma’s Rhett Bomar, money was involved very directly in his departure. For most players, it factors in somewhat differently. One former basketball coach at American University, remarked at how difficult it was to bring youngsters to reality. Even at that lower-tier program in a conference that seldom produced NBA players, every kid thought he had a future in the NBA. You’d expect the same is true for football players at Nebraska.
It would follow then that if you aren’t giving an athlete playing time, they may well see it as a threat to their financial future. Never mind that most any kid that can’t win the starting job wouldn’t be pro material anyway. It’s about the kid’s perception, not reality. Now think of Harrison Beck, a guy who by some accounts did not work hard in his first year at Nebraska, went a woeful 1-10-1 passing when he did play, and missed Spring football, and then was upset that he wasn’t first in line for playing time (i.e. “Show me the money!”). It was an issue that the player and the program didn’t see eye-to-eye on and ultimately lead to Beck’s departure.
Parents
Interestingly enough, a major issue in many divorces involves extended family. Think of the mother-in-law that mistreats her daughter-in-law and the son-in-law that doesn’t stand up for his wife. Usually experts say it’s up to the child of the in-law to set boundaries and protect their spouse. This often doesn’t happen and the parent and spouse end up having a tug-of-war and the child becomes the rope. Similarly, parents of an athlete can play a big role in the player-program union. In the case of Beck, his mother made a bad situation far worse by making comments that made it nearly impossible for her son to reintegrate with the team. In the case of Leon Jackson, his father made sure that Leon did not act in haste and was very sure of his decision to depart. Had Leon remained at Nebraska, it would have been in no small part due to his father’s support of the union.
Surviving Divorce
Another predictor of divorce is whether or not one’s own parents have divorced. In this case, the metaphor becomes more literal. Harrison Beck or Eric Crouch both are children who grew up with separated parents. Both are now famous for their break-ups when things got tough. Crouch nearly left Nebraska rather than play behind Bobby Newcombe, then quit both the Rams and Packers rather than stick things out.
None of these predictors is absolute of course. There are countless examples of very happy marriages that started young, survived financial problems or bad-behaving in-laws, and countless enormously successful and happily married people whose parents parted ways in their youth. Likewise, it would be completely wrong to characterize all divorces as resulting from a lack of commitment or willingness to work. Countless people of tremendous character have divorced. And in countless situations, a divorce really is the best course for all involved. The same is likely also true for some players as well. We can recall that Zac Taylor departed from Wake Forest.
Nevertheless, when we see all of the risk factors for marriages and these player-program unions, it should come as no surprise when we see so many athletes leave programs. Rather, we should expect that despite our best wishes, sometimes things just won’t work out.
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