Polar Opposites: A Tale of Two Players
This is a tale of two players. It’s a true tale about polar opposites. One sacrificed his personal interests for the good of the team; the other sacrificed the good of the team for his personal interests. When they were presented with the scrambled letters A, E, M, T – one found the word TEAM while the other found the word ME.
The first is a boy, who probably thinks of himself as a man. His name is Ryan Perrilloux, a football player blessed with extraordinary talents. Unfortunately, his incredibly well developed physicality is guided by an equally incredible lack of maturity. Everyone recognizes he has the physical tools to become a great football player someday, but it also seems he is unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to place him on the same plane with other great players.
He has made many bad choices, placing his own immediate interests before the best interests of his team and his own long-range interests. The latest was when he was asked to leave a bar, and he chose to make a scene instead of leaving. That choice led to him being suspended from the team the week before one of LSU’s most important games.
His history of outlandish behavior and the imbalance between responsible conduct and illegal activity endangers his future. If his imbalance causes him to fall off the legal tightrope he walks, he will land on the dark side of the legal system and an even darker future.
The second is a man in all meanings of the word. His name is Glenn Dorsey. He too has been blessed with amazing talent and is widely admired and respected by friend and foe alike. Had he chosen to, he could have entered the pro football draft and signed a contract worth as much as worth 20 million dollars. No one would have faulted him for doing so. Mr. Dorsey chose not to desert his teammates and made the decision to stay with his teammates. Placing the interests of his team far above his own interests, he opted to help his team in its quest for the national championship.
Glenn Dorsey is not the only person to ever do this, nor is he the only person on his team to make great sacrifices. There are many others. People, especially our youth, should aspire to emulate the example he and others like him have set. College athletics, our nation, and the world could use and need more people like him. All would be better off if that were so.
The first is a boy, who probably thinks of himself as a man. His name is Ryan Perrilloux, a football player blessed with extraordinary talents. Unfortunately, his incredibly well developed physicality is guided by an equally incredible lack of maturity. Everyone recognizes he has the physical tools to become a great football player someday, but it also seems he is unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to place him on the same plane with other great players.
He has made many bad choices, placing his own immediate interests before the best interests of his team and his own long-range interests. The latest was when he was asked to leave a bar, and he chose to make a scene instead of leaving. That choice led to him being suspended from the team the week before one of LSU’s most important games.
His history of outlandish behavior and the imbalance between responsible conduct and illegal activity endangers his future. If his imbalance causes him to fall off the legal tightrope he walks, he will land on the dark side of the legal system and an even darker future.
The second is a man in all meanings of the word. His name is Glenn Dorsey. He too has been blessed with amazing talent and is widely admired and respected by friend and foe alike. Had he chosen to, he could have entered the pro football draft and signed a contract worth as much as worth 20 million dollars. No one would have faulted him for doing so. Mr. Dorsey chose not to desert his teammates and made the decision to stay with his teammates. Placing the interests of his team far above his own interests, he opted to help his team in its quest for the national championship.
Glenn Dorsey is not the only person to ever do this, nor is he the only person on his team to make great sacrifices. There are many others. People, especially our youth, should aspire to emulate the example he and others like him have set. College athletics, our nation, and the world could use and need more people like him. All would be better off if that were so.
posted by Jack McLeod at 2:26 PM
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