by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University
Nigel Carr was expected to start for the Florida State Seminoles at linebacker this season. Those plans are probably going to be altered, now that Carr faces a slew of felonies related to burglaries he allegedly committed this week.
According to Tallahassee police, Carr burglarized a parked SUV, stealing the victim's book bag that contained her purse and other valuables. Carr allegedly dumped the items into a nearby trash can and police say they found the victim's credit card on the floor board of a vehicle being driven by Carr.
Surprisingly, Carr is also a suspect in another car burglary on campus and faces charges from alleged marijuana possession. His career is in serious jeopardy and may likely be coming to an end.
I am not sure what the reasoning might be behind this alleged incident, assuming that the police version of the facts are accurate. Nearly any crime involving a college athlete on the weekend or at night makes me wonder if alcohol or drugs were involved. Carr's charges for marijuana possession lead me to suspect that this is a strong possibility. For some reason, we've fed our young people a set of beliefs that create a culture of substance abuse as a fundamental part of college life. As my daughter prepares for college, I make it clear to her that she should be strong enough to not follow the crowd. I am not one to tell her to refrain from alcohol consumption, but I let her know that college can be a blast without risking rape, illness, incarceration or death, which occurs each year in alcohol-related incidents across the country. While we can't say that substance abuse played a role in the Carr case, this point should be made nonetheless.
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