Since the 2014 Super Bowl, 27 former and current NFL players have been arrested for an abundance of reasons. From small misdemeanors like traffic infractions and illegal drug use, to felonies like weapons possession, and murder, athletes tend to either go on wild power trips, or withdraw to former bad behavior before turning pro.
What was most shocking to discover after further research into the topic was the power universities have to somehow always find a way to get themselves and their athletes out of trouble. Furthermore, their ability to “look the other way” when the school and players are scamming out of academics. Specifically, the paper courses that some UNC Men’s Basketball players took let them focus more on basketball. But many schools offer similar courses to get athletes higher GPA’s for both the school’s image, and to assure the student-athlete’s graduation. In addition, while cases like this are always trying to be covered up by the schools, the NCAA has been constantly looked down on for its lack of authority against schools, and its inability to step its foot down and hand down larger penalties. Cases of athletes, both in college and pros avoiding proper penalty with the law, NCAA and universities have been going on since the league’s birth, and will continue on. Its the ability to cover up the cases is where schools and teams have trouble.
OFF-FIELD TROUBLES 
Your blog has very interesting insights on off-field behavior of athletes. I feel I could tie in your insights to research I’ve conducted for my blog, which is about sports PR. Athletes are seen as celebrities in our society, and with this “fish ball” lifestyle comes immediate backlash once an athletes’ flaws and scandals are exposed. That’s why they need a team of PR people to help cover their tracks and attempt to build their image back up so they can be seen in positive light again by their fans. I also found your research on the NCAA interesting. These college athletes are not even pros yet, but they still have a team of people who are trying to cover up any mishaps. It’s more concerning that this “team” is the university trying to save the image of their school to ensure their recruitment isn’t compromised.
-Diana DiCocco
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I think it is so ridiculous that universities try to enroll student athletes in paper courses and similar types of courses to boost GPA’s. It is unfair the to the other students as well as the student athletes. They give athletes all this special attention, but that is not preparing them for the real world. They do not know how to handle things for themselves after graduation. Only a small percentage of college athletes go professional so the rest are left on their own. It is also very shocking to me that the NCAA is not more concerned and strict about it.
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