Another day, another arrest at Chip Kelly's peaceful Eugene abode. The Oregon Ducks are constantly trying to battle a perception problem that they are a team of character and commitment, yet every month of every offseason it feels like another Oregon player seems to find himself in some sort of trouble with the law.
The issue with Oregon cornerback/punt returner Cliff Harris is pretty much a confluence of nightmares for Kelly. All the red flags are up on this one, as John Taylor of College Football Talk reports.
- Driving at 118 mph, nearly double the speed limit.
- Driving with two Oregon Duck football teammates in the car.
- Driving with a suspended driver's license.
- Driving a rental car paid for by an Oregon employee (WARNING. WARNING. WARNING.)
However, while Kelly has been fairly consistent in punishing those who've misbehaved at Oregon, at some point it has to be an institutional issue that the Oregon football program has been hemorrhaging misdemeanors of all sorts the past few years. Kelly might be showing no mercy to players who have run afoul of the law, but it's an eyebrow-raiser that he manages to attract so many players who provide negative offseason fodder in the national headlines.
If these reports are true, what should Harris's punishment be: Suspension, dismissal or probation? What will be the fate of Oregon football?
For more discussion of the Ducks, check out Addicted to Quack.