Fri Mar 14 14:54:39 2008

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Around FCS: A Lesson In Ethics

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - It wasn't as if I needed another rationalization to convince me of why I appreciate the Football Championship Subdivision. But good, old Tommy Bowden of Clemson gave me another reason this week.

I'm not so naive as to think that FCS is without its own warts, but I don't think you would find too many places in our little slice of the college football universe where what recently happened at Clemson would be repeated.

It seems that Bowden felt it was more important to have some other third- or fourth-string running back on scholarship for the Tigers than to allow one Ray Ray McElrathbey to return for his final two years.

For those of you who don't remember, McElrathbey is the player who won custody of his 11-year-old brother Fahmarr last year while their mother struggled with crack cocaine addiction. McElrathbey juggled class and practice schedules to provide a stable environment for his adoring, younger brother and won the hearts of football fans and non-fans alike for his courageous example.

McElrathbey's case also brought to light some of the boneheaded rules in the NCAA manual in regards to "extra benefits."

People around the country poured out their hearts and pocketbooks to help little Fahmarr when his plight became known. But it was only after an uproar of negative publicity that the NCAA allowed a trust fund to be set up for Fahmarr and administered by the Atlantic Coast Conference. The trust fund eventually raised more than $100,000.

Clemson raked in tons of positive media attention as the McElrathbey familys story played out and as the Tiger athletics department helped Ray Ray through the twists and turns of parenthood. But this feel-good story took a strange turn this week when word came out that Bowden had dropped Ray Ray from the Clemson roster in one of the most clumsy public relations moves in recent memory.

Keeping around a player coming off a knee injury suffered last spring that was so serious that Ray Ray missed the 2007 season and dealing with the distractions of having a little kid roaming around apparently became too much for Bowden and company when the player involved was third or fourth on the depth chart at running back.

Sure, there have been two sides of the story circulating this week. Clemsons rabid supporters have been quick to view the uproar as little more than a ploy by the arch-rival South Carolina Gamecocks to take a swipe at their program. The Tigers didn't waste any time pointing out that most of the states journalists are South Carolina grads.

There were other reports, however, that Bowden had signed too many recruits - 25 new scholarships were handed out last month - and that Clemson had to ax some players to make room for some of the new blood.

There has been talk of Ray Ray missing rehab appointments and some team meetings. Some observers of the Tiger program have complained about the fact that there were rules for Ray Ray and another set for everyone else.

Of course, probably no one in the Clemson program, including Bowden, has ever had to deal with the issues of being a single parent and a college student.

But Clemson officials have been strangely silent on the issue, if there is a real reason for Ray Rays release. And Bowden has come out of the carnage looking like a fool.

It makes me think that his dad, legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, ought to take him out back to the woodshed because it might be time for another lesson in ethics. I guess Tommy Bowden missed some of those sessions when his dad was coaching at an FCS team-to-be in Samford.

It isn't as if one player is going to make a difference in Clemson winning or losing an ACC championship anytime soon.

The good thing is that Ray Ray will graduate from Clemson this August with a degree in sociology. He is trying to remain upbeat in the midst of his return to notoriety.

Clemson has apparently offered him a graduate assistants position - not exactly the kind of work a single parent needs - for this fall. But Ray Ray would prefer to use his final two years of football eligibility, while he embarks on a masters degree that could further solidify his and Fahmarrs futures.

While Ray Ray would be free to play this fall for any NCAA institution, because of Clemsons release, he might just find himself best suited for an FCS school.

One thing is pretty sure, he wouldn't be likely to find such shabby treatment from a team in FCS.