Auburn's athletic program has prided itself on having athletes that stay out of the always news for the wrong reasons.
For other schools, like the University of Georgia, keeping players out of trouble has been a problem.
But on March 11, four football players ruined Auburn players' clean reputation.
Antonio Goodwin, Shaun Kitchens, Mike McNeil and Dakota Mosley were arrested after being pulled over by an area police officer.
The four men were in a vehicle matching the description from a victim of an armed robbery.
The robbery took place at a trailer park off of Wire Road, and involved a firearm.
After the car was searched, the pistol and stolen items were recovered.
This incident is even more embarrassing for the program because it follows a national championship season.
Many, including myself, questioned the motives of the men, because perception dictates that scholarship players are well taken care of by the program.
For those who do not know, scholarships can be awarded based on percentages.
For example, if you are a third-string quarterback, your percentage would be significantly lower than the percentage for a starting quarterback.
Most often, the starting players are awarded with a full scholarship, which covers tuition, fees, books and room and board.
I'm not certain what percentage scholarship each of the four men received from Auburn.
News was released Tuesday about Mike McNeil's two previous evictions from different properties in Auburn and a lawsuit against him for unpaid rent.
I'm not sympathizing with McNeil, because financial obligations rest on the individual.
However, from a student perspective, I can understand the burden rent can be.
Additionally, because these individuals are full-time athletes, having a part-time job is out of the question.
Because of these facts, I would not be surprised if McNeil's defense includes these burdens as part of his motivation.
Robbery, especially armed, is never an acceptable alternative, and each player should receive the appropriate punishment that is dictated by law.
The situation saddens me that we have players who take the law into their own hands to compensate for money they cannot come up with.
This is not how I, as a student, want our athletic program to be known.
I also would like to commend head coach Gene Chizik for acting quickly to permanently dismiss the players from the team.
There are numerous examples, across the board, of college football players' runins with the law, and I, for one, hope this incident is an isolated one, especially after such a historic season for our university.
Auburn athletes, let's keep it classy -- and legal.
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