For Alabama football coaches and players, competing in college football’s highest-profile program brings great rewards. Doing so is always a blessing and never a curse. Still, there is the weight of responsibility that for players can be burdensome. Players are responsible to themselves, to their teammates, to their coaches, to their families, to their teachers, to school and program administrators. That’s a long list. Especially long for some young men who arrive in Tuscaloosa short on life lessons.
Other external sources often demand added responsibility. Over-zealous fans and some media members act as if players should be accountable to their interests, wishes and demands.