Through the first 23 days of July, 21 college athletes have been arrested or cited.
Fifteen professional athletes and 10 former athletes were also on the wrong side of the law during that period.
In the SEC's first two years as a 14-team league, it has been widely reported that 110 athletes were arrested or cited, with Missouri and Georgia leading the way with 16 each.
Mike Anderson had not had an arrest among his players in his first four years as the head basketball coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks.
None. Nothing even close.
His teams improved each year on the court and in the classroom. The loss of a scholarship because of low graduation rates was inherited and fixed almost immediately.
No arrests -- until last Wednesday, when Anton Beard, Jacorey Williams and Dustin Thomas were arrested in a forgery investigation after being caught on video passing counterfeit money.
All three cooperated, according to the police report, telling authorities, who started their investigation in late May, how they received the funny money, that they made the transactions and that they didn't know the bills were counterfeit.
Thomas passed two counterfeit 20s, Williams one and Beard four 20s and exchanged six 50s for three legitimate 100s.
They were suspended indefinitely from the basketball team, and only time will tell if they ever regain the privilege of wearing the Razorbacks uniform again. That is , regardless of sport or school, a privilege and an honor.
Athletes are blessed, not entitled, and in too many of the cases the issue of doing right or wrong started long before they got to college, and that is not to single out the three from Arkansas, that is nationwide statement.
These increasing incidents of guys hitting girls makes one wonder if the parents of those bullies ever said, "There is never, ever, a reason to hit a female."
That's where it is supposed to start. At home.
To be safe, maybe every youth league, junior high, high school and college coach in America should address that issue with their players the next time they meet.
It was interesting to hear Steve Spurrier, the head football coach at South Carolina, say a player isn't kicked off his team until a third failed marijuana test, but he's gone the first time he hits a woman.
Beard, Williams and Thomas will receive due process, but they better hope these fake bills were made in-state. If not, that's an interstate offense and automatically becomes a federal crime.
All three have clean records, but passing counterfeit money is a serious crime and it will be investigated to the fullest extent. Fayetteville police and the Secret Service have the reputation of treating everyone the same.
Beard, Williams and Thomas have embarrassed themselves and their families.
Even if it was just carelessness, they have disappointed Mike Anderson and his staff, as well as their teammates.
It was already going to be a rebuilding year for Arkansas after losing four starters, but without Beard, who started the last half of the season, and Williams, who was expected to start, Anderson is left with nine players; 40 minutes of hell is hard to create without proper numbers.
It will be several months, at best, before this forgery investigation is over. Anderson has done nothing wrong, but last week his team suffered its first arrests.
Sports on 07/26/2015