Unless what THC does on his own time clearly and expressly violates the rules and code of conduct he willingly agreed to as a part of being a member of the football team at the University of Georgia.

quote:
i know its not the way things work, but for an ethical standpoint, it is valid.

On the contrary. From an ethical standpoint it's irrelevant what the prohibited actions are. It could be eating at McDonald's, watching South Park or drinking Gatorade. If it's against the rules and he chooses to willfully violate those rules, then he accepts the consequences. You forget that he entered into an agreement with the team's leadership (Coaches, administration, boosters, etc) that he would refrain from certain activities in order to benefit from the school's resources, training facilities, personnel, room & board and most importantly - the opportunity at a free education.

While you feel that what he does on his own time doesn't impact what he does on the field, it actually does seeing as how it's keeping him off the field for 4 games. He's already missed one, so there's 5 games in two seasons that he'll be on the bench. 300 minutes of game time, just to get high. That's a healthy chunk of his football career. How nice would it have been for the opposite to have been true and the NCAA grants players extra games of eligibility for good behavior? Wouldn't it be sweet if they told AM that he could come back for 5 games because he was an upstanding student athlete and leader on and off the field?

At best, assuming a player keeps their nose clean, stays healthy and is skilled enough to start every game for their team, you're looking at a possible 48 games of regular season play. Winning your division and going to the SECCG & ensuing bowl games takes you up to 56. As a draft eligible junior, assuming your skills are in demand enough to be taken highly enough in the process, you're looking at 36-42 games. Those 5 suspension games make up an even higher percentage of his total collegiate career, spent in the penalty box. Those are games that he can't impress NFL scouts, that he can't show his position coach and coordinator that he's the right person for the starting job at his position. Most importantly, those are games where he's expressly shown his teammates that he can't be trusted.