Perhaps it's something in the Tallahassee water, but the Florida State Seminoles football team is in trouble once again.
After video surfaced July 6 of freshman quarterback De'Andre Johnson allegedly punching a woman in the face inside a bar on June 24, Florida State moved quickly to dismiss him from the team. Sophomore quarterback Dalvin Cook was indefinitely suspended from the squad July 10 after being accused of punching a woman in the face on June 23, just one day before Johnson's altercation.
Considering these two incidents, which happened so close to one another, the question of prevention is on everyone's mind. Luckily, the team has a rare ally willing to help.
Myron Rolle, a former FSU safety and one of two Rhodes Scholars to ever make it to the NFL, wants to take it upon himself to help right the scandalized FSU ship, he told HuffPost Live on Monday.
"I think right now guys are just making bad mistakes and had bad people around them that aren't helping preserve their dignity or even protect them from situations like this," Rolle said. "The only thing I can do right now is try to offer my support to these young players in the form of mentorship. Or if Coach [Jim] Fisher or President [John] Thrasher need any assistance from former guys like myself, I'd love to lend my support."
Rather than chastising these players for their aggressions towards women, Rolle believes they need someone who's dealt with the stressors of being a publicly recognized student athlete to help guide them.
"I think it takes [a lot] of people to counsel these young players, not really trying to punish or castigate or charge them as being the worst, evil, vile human beings on Earth," Rolle told host Nancy Redd. "But rather say, ‘Look, you made a mistake. You did wrong. We all know it's wrong. Now what’re we going to do from here? What’s the solution?’”
Rolle admitted that drugs and alcohol are often a catalyst for these transgressions, claiming that student athletes often "self-medicate with substance abuse" to alleviate stress. It seems FSU officials agree, as Fisher has reportedly banned his players from going to bars amid the controversy.
Watch Rolle discuss his plan for keeping athletes out of trouble in the video above, and click here for the full conversation about FSU's relationship with violence against women.
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