Editorial: Cal U football making the right call

Western Pennsylvania has a rich football history. In recent months, however, a Pennsylvania Division II program has made the headlines for the wrong reasons. Now, thankfully, it’s implementing measures to discourage criminal activity among athletes.

The California University of Pennsylvania released a report Tuesday announcing reforms to combat the growing number of criminal incidents involving its football players, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

Three months ago, six Cal U football players were arrested and charged with committing a violent street assault. As a result, the school’s interim President Geraldine Jones told the Post-Gazette that Cal U aims to reevaluate its drug-test policies for athletics, start requiring players to self-report arrests outside the local community and more closely scrutinize high-risk transfers from other programs.

These measures are advantageous to a university trying to hold athletes’ character to high standards.   However, Cal U, located in California, Pa., and other programs should outline more specific policies to show that education and character-building should trump football at any school — no matter what division level.

However, we are concerned about Cal U’s decision to make players self-report arrests outside the local community. The plan sounds good, but where are the details about how the school will actually execute it?

We must remember that college football is not a right, but rather a privilege. It is refreshing to see a university prioritizing character over football. However, perhaps Cal U’s intended reforms do not go far enough.

If athletes have repeated run-ins with the law and do not represent the school in a respectable fashion, then schools should remove them from their respective programs. Playing sports can build character for the athletes involved, but only if the player prioritizes the opportunity to grow over the glory of the game. 

Here at Pitt, our athletic programs have displayed a commitment to holding their students accountable for criminal actions. In 2012, basketball coach Jamie Dixon suspended Trey Zeigler for DUI charges. Zeigler later transferred to TCU. Additionally, three Pitt football players were suspended in April 2013 after being charged with possession of drug paraphernalia following an overnight raid on their South Oakland home. 

College should be a place in which students learn not only football or academics, but, most importantly, how to be responsible individuals and citizens. Cal U is taking the right step, but let’s hope the university properly enforces its own rules, and other schools join their commitment to character over football.