The "Thug" Label

The “Thug” Label
By: Kerry R. Thompson, Sr

When you think of a thug, what do you think of? An Italian or Russian mobster? A drug dealer? An armed robber? Do you see a kid that smokes weed? It seems like every player that gets involved in something that gets them suspended from the team, they are labeled as thugs. In the midst of the now former Heisman Hopeful Tyran Mathieu getting suspended and starting RB Spencer Ware also getting suspended for “drugs policy” , a lot of the fans are now calling these kids thugs and how they are not looking out for their team.

What makes a thug?

Merriam-Webster defines thug as a brutal ruffian or assassin. Last time I checked, violating a team’s drug policy does not constitute that definition. Mathieu, Simon, and Ware failed to adhere to the team’s drug policy. Do we even know what type of drugs that the kids tested positive for? Do we even have confirmation from a coach? Do we know when the test was actually taken? No we have none of that information. So how can we make a proper assessment to label these kids as thugs if they weren’t being brutal ruffians or assassins?

Terrelle Pryor was labeled a thug because he exchanged “HIS” autograph for tattoos. Reggie Bush was a thug for accepting money. Cam Newton was a thug because he unknowingly bought a stolen computer. Russell Shepard was a thug for being ineligible for the first 3 games of the season. Do you see a trend? Was Ryan Mallett a thug when he was doing cocaine and partying all the time? Was Matt Jones a thug for being convicted of cocaine possession and use? Was Stephen Garcia a thug for being a drunk, resisting arrest, & coming to a leadership conference being drunk? No they were not, they were just labeled as being "troubled" or "just being a college kid". There is a media bias in each of these situations. When you are portrayed as a thug, then you are a thug in the public eye. When articles are written on your troubles as a student that is how you are perceived. Let's be real about this. The public views young black guys that fail a drug test or for that matter get suspended for anything thing or found to be ineligible a thug. When that is all you see on A&E's hit show, The First 48 or on Cops, that is what you are going to think. News about Mallett and his drinking, doing drugs, or partying didn’t come out until the scouts were concerned about it and voiced their opinion about what they were hearing from Fayetteville. The media controls what you find out about. These cases are no different.

The media, as well as a lot of you so called fans, forget how you were trying “things” in college. Most of you same judgmental people were smoking marijuana, snorting cocaine, and going to Woodstock. And the same judgmental people that are cheating on their wives were writing articles on how much Tiger Woods had them fooled into believing he was such a great guy. I can almost guarantee that if a lot of your bosses knew who you really were and the stunts that you pulled in your younger life, the unemployment rate in our country would be double what it is right now.

It just sickens me to see all of the so called “LSU Faithful” being so quick to label these kids as trouble makers, and saying how selfish they are. I have also been listening to Alabama fans comparing Les Miles to Saban; saying how they don’t have those problems down in Tuscaloosa and how Les Miles has no control over his team. Did we forget the textbook scandal, or the NCAA violations against Marcel Dareus in 2009? And yes, you guys were calling those players thugs too. Does that mean that Saban had no control? I am here to tell you, that no one man can control another grown man; unlike other programs that sweep these problems under the rug, Les Miles does stand up for what he believes in and suspends these players, regardless of how it will affect his team. Jordan Jefferson was supposed to be the leader of this team this year and was expected to have a big year. He got into an incident at a bar, and Les Miles wasted no time suspending him and naming Jared Lee the starter. Tyran Mathieu is no doubt the leader on this defense; yet he made his mistake and now he has to deal with his punishment. Les Miles is doing his job. He can’t control player’s actions, but he can demonstrate to the others on the team that if you are man enough to commit the action, then you are man enough to accept the consequences.

I think that what gets lost in the millions of dollars that these kids bring into your beloved university is the fact that these guys are still young adults trying to find out who they really are in life. Yes, these kids make mistakes. They didn’t use their best judgment. Tyran Mathieu is 19 years old. Do you remember what you were doing at 19? Don’t be so quick to label these kids thugs because of their growing pains; If that’s the case, then each and every one of us all have a little thug inside.