Terrelle Pryor’s Entrance in Expensive Sports Car Has Me Asking ‘Whaaaaaat?’

So I’ve had this idea for a little while and I’m finally going to put it into action.  I’ve been thinking about starting a running column, posted whenever I’m moved to do so.  The premise?  That occasionally an athlete or a member of the sports media needs a reality check.  And that maybe I’m just the man to give it.

Every now and then you hear a sports story of a guy saying or doing something over the top, shockingly inconsiderate, or otherwise just stupid, and it makes you react something like this:

For me, I always seem to react with a “Really?  REALLY?!” And rather than keep that inside, I’m going to use this virtual podium to deliver that message.  For my first edition, I look to Mr. Terrelle Pryor.

For those of you who aren’t familiar, the suspended Ohio State quarterback showed up to a team meeting following coach Jim Tressel’s resignation in what looked like a Nissan 350Z – a very nice sports car.  I see the video and I think to myself, seriously? This dude’s coach is pushed out because of a scandal involving several of his players, including Pryor, who received improper benefits, and he rolls into the team meeting on the subject in a car that, according to motortrend.com, RE-SELLS for about $21,000.

…

How you gonna do that?!  Whether or not the car was obtained legally is really irrelevant; how you gonna show up to a meeting, which is ultimately about your spectacular breaking of NCAA rules, in a flashy sports car?!  Come on, man!  Have some sense!  There’s a time to fly around town in the flashy sports car, and there’s a time to bum a ride in a buddy’s '88 Oldsmobile.  You can’t draw attention to yourself in that way moments after you trading memorabilia for tattoos costs your coach his job. And people say that there isn’t an entitlement problem in NCAA sports.

Which by the way, is why paying college players is ridiculous, because it’s not a money issue, its an entitlement issue.  Why is it that these types of scandals erupt around star quarterbacks and wide receivers?  Show me a third string left tackle who’s got these problems.  If we start paying players the star players will just want more.  I mean c’mon, Pryor’s driving around in a Nissan sports car, which, if obtained legally, doesn’t exactly scream strapped for cash.  If the car is affordable, aren’t the tattoos?

Look, the bottom line is you can’t be so ridiculous and oblivious to the world that you think it’s a good idea to show up to a team meeting, with the scrutiny of the sports world bearing down on your team’s integrity, calling into question whether or not your program is run clean, in a flashy sports car that someone who can't afford tattoos shouldn’t be able to afford.

So, Terrelle Pryor, for the first time, I say to you:  “Really?  REALLY?!”