Gainesville Won’t Be Tallahassee, The Sequel

It wasn’t as shockingas itshould have been.

The reaction wasn’t a dumbfounding, blind-siding “WHAT!” It was more like an anguished, wincing “Oh, no. Now it’s us.” University of Florida quarterback Treon Harris, the hero of the come-from-behind win over Tennessee, had been accused of sexual assault.

That’s not so much an aspersion on Harris’ character, largely unknown, as it is a comment on the times, which are increasingly troubling, with lionized football players too often making headlines for all the wrong reasons. There’s a reason President Barack Obama has launched the “It’s on us” public awareness campaign aimed at preventing sexual violence–especially on university campuses.

Quicker than you can say Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson or Jameis Winston, Harris was suspended. Indefinitely. No PR-skewed public statement heavy on due-process themes. No wagons circling to insulate the accused and prepare him for the next big SEC game.

The University Police Department, the Gainesville Police Department and UF’s student affairs office are investigating and reviewing. Title IX obligations will be met.

And most notably, the first person out in front to address this ticking campus-and-societal bomb was the president of the university, Bernie Machen–not the athletic director, not the coach. In short, not the wrong protocol.

The president is still the most important person in an institution of higher learning. No matter what the power football conference. No matter how much the head coach makes. No matter how much pressure there is to turn around 2013’s 4-8 season. And no matter how much it matters to rabid boosters and alumni.

It wasn’t shocking because there is, as we know all too well, very recent precedent. Upstate, FSU hasn’t comported itself well over the sordid affair involving Winston, still the focus of an investigation into Florida State’s handling of sexual-assault charges. It’s now Exhibit A for compromised priorities. Bobby Bowden and Burt Reynolds, if not Jimbo Fisher and Jameis Winston, are embarrassed.

So, UF, as well as all of its peers, now has a sex-assault allegation playbook to consult. It’s come to that.

But keep in mind that Harris, who hasn’t been charged, is only suspended from an extra-curricular activity. It’s just that the activity in this case is the highest-profile revenue sport there is on any campus.

But it’s what would have been done if the activity were student council or the glee club. Harris hasn’t been kicked out of school. He’s a student-athlete relegated to being, well, a student until the matter is settled.

Gainesville, says UF in so many words, will not become Tallahassee, the sequel. Plus, it’s the right thing to do. Probably in that order.

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