Eleven Warriors

In all of the talk about Ohio State's representatives (both official and unofficial), there has yet to really be any degree of accountability from the Anzalone family in this situation. If the decommitment was brought upon by the actions of a deviant (which seems to be the case), the family has to know this is not something isolated to Columbus, Ohio. Far from it. This is why they should have taught young Alex not to talk to strangers. They should have taught him not to take rides and gifts from people he didn't know. They should have taught him that just because someone knows your name doesn't mean they know who you are. The things that most grade school children are taught. Stranger Danger! Learn the 11 traps. 

Alex is a fairly sizable linebacker, a "Bash Brother" to be. One would hope that young Alex would be able to protect himself in this type of situation. Most importantly, by first making smart decisions on who to associate with. At least I hope so, for his safety. Bad people are not isolated to Columbus, Ohio. Every place has their skeletons. 

Take for example Notre Dame. 

A former Notre Dame student who in 2002 accused four former Notre Dame football players of rape said Thursday on CBS's "The Early Show" that University officials told her not to press charges....Charles accused Abram Elam, Donald Dykes and Lorenzo Crawford - who, in 2002, were current football players - and Justin Smith, who was then a former player, of sexual assault and gang rape....All four men were expelled from the University for violating Notre Dame's regulations on sexual misconduct.

In another case at ND, a young woman committed suicide in 2010 after complaits of sexual asualt against athletes were mishandled.

Then there is Penn State, who in 1998 were warned in a psychologist's report that Sandusky was a "likely pedophile."

“One colleague, who has contact with the Second Mile, confirms that Mr. Sandusky is reasonably intelligent and thus, could hardly have failed to understand the way his behavior would be interpreted, if known,” Chambers continued. “His position at the Second Mile and his interest in abused boys would suggest that he was likely to have had knowledge with regard to child abuse and might even recognize this behavior as a typical pedophile ‘overture.’”

That the University of Michigan is on the minds of everyone who mentions Penn State is something I have yet to understand.

University of Michigan officials waited six months before telling campus police that child porn was allegedly found on a computer flash drive left behind in a locked hospital lounge for pediatric care residents, according to court documents.

Stephen Jenson, who was a resident physician at the U-M Medical Center, has since been charged with possessing child pornography. Federal charges are also pending for Mr. Jenson. In addition, the US Department of Educating now is investigating the U of M (you're not alone, Penn State) as places that may have violated reporting laws set up for all 6,000 colleges and universities that accept federal dollars. 

And how about USC? Here is a place I might not feel comfortable for a daughter to attend after reading the following.

“I will refer to females as ‘targets.’ They aren’t actual people like us men,” the e-mail reads. “Consequently, giving them a certain name or distinction is pointless.”

To be fair, this is something that you might hear at any college campus. Then there is fellow Pac Ten program Arizona State.

In an unprecedented legal settlement, a former Arizona State University student who was raped in her dorm room in 2004 by one of the school's football players will collect $850,000, and the Arizona university system will establish a women's safety czar for all three major campuses -- ASU, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University.

In this case, a football player was allowed to return to campus after being "accused of grabbing and touching women in the dorm, exposing himself to female staff members and threatening freshman women." 

When confronted over his misconduct, Henderson told an ASU official that he wanted women to fear him and that it was important for him to "show them their place."

Kind of sounds like the fighting irish. And finally, I would also like to highlight Stanford University's very own pre-twitter predator, Eric Adams. Stanford football star, convicted pedophile.

The 1996 charges stemmed from calls Abrams allegedly made in late December 1995 and early January 1996, just as his career at Stanford was coming to an end. However, campus police confirmed last week they began an internal investigation in the summer of 1995 into accusations that somebody posed as "coach Doug Brown," among other pseudonyms, and requested nude photos of boys who had attended a summer basketball camp on campus.

Yes, there are Waugh's (and worse) out there on every campus. I will not call Anzalone a "sissy," or say that we are better off like so many have implied. I really do wish him the best. Let's be honest - it is a sad situation for all parties involved. The young man seems like a great student athlete. 

That said, to run and bury your head in the sand is not the answer. The world is a scary place. You can not protect your children forever. At some point, you won't be around when the monster comes. At some point, they have to leave the nest. Funny enough, the same things children should do to stay safe are the same rules that apply as student athletes. Perhaps OSU Compliance should start Spring Football with a long chat about how to be "People Smart." Or add such a link for Future Buckeyes. For those that may be naive enough to think these types of things do not happen anywhere else, the do. 

I hope that if anything good comes out of this situation, it is this. First, I hope that the more "sane" fans of Ohio State realize that these are just children. Chill out. Stop being a creeper - it is one thing to come to 11W to hear about how we are doing picking up commitments, a whole other to reach out to 16 and 17 year olds yourself. Second, I hope that Alex, the OSU players that were involved, and even the OSU Athletics Department use their position as "role models" for something positive in all this. That they take a moment to reach out to younger children about the danger they put themselves using social media.

Why? Because it's a scary world out there. No matter where you run.