While many of us on this website have never participated in college athletics outside of intramurals (and we were awesome), lets put the rules/punishment piece in perspective as it relates to the recent spat of players who have been booted under the Leach regime.

I would imagine most of us were involved at some level in high school athletics. I personally played football and basketball for a 4A school in Washington. At the beginning of every sports season in WA high school sports, students and their parents must sign and agree to alcohol/drug policies that impact their ability to participate if they are found in violation of the rules set before them (most refer to this as the athletic code).

Do you know why I never had a drink , a smoke, or a dip of chew in high school? Because I was afraid to lose my athletic eligibility for something I cared about. You could say it was because I never got invited to the parties with the cool kids, but that is a sore subject.

The point here is that if you are aware of the penalties for your transgressions while on scholarship, you have no one to blame but yourself when you are kicked off the team. The Pullman Police are dicks, but anyone who goes to school at WSU knows that within a weekend of being there, so don't blame them. The coaches were clear with the rules and are consistent in their punishments. Don't blame them due to the fact that the irresponsible kid decided to roll the dice. And lastly, your run-ins with the law don't matter either. If you received an MIP or a DUI or were busted for weed in Pullman, no one cares. You don't represent the university in the visible way that our athletes do. They are held to a higher standard, and will be scrutinized often through their actions.