Musings from Arledge: Thoughts on Bear Alexander and USC

We’ve entered a new age in college football where starters quit teams in the middle of a season because they’re not happy. The first assumption—and it’s not a crazy one in light of what college football has become—is always that it’s about money. And for the better part of a decade college players have been making business decisions when it comes to money; most elite talents leave their teammates at the end of the regular season and skip bowl games, for example. We’ve all become comfortable with that. It’s a sound business decision and bowl games don’t mean what they used to anyway. 

But it’s not always about money. There are lots of reasons why players can be unhappy; since the day team sports were invented, every team has players who are unhappy with their roles or their playing time. I’ve certainly had occasion to be unhappy with my role or my playing time. Many of my teammates over the years did as well.

I never quit midseason. Neither did any of them.

I’m not a psychologist. I don’t know Tony Jones or Bear Alexander. I don’t know the coaches’ true evaluation of Bear. I don’t know why Bear found himself getting less playing time than less talented, less famous teammates. Maybe he had a gripe, though I’m skeptical; I trust Eric Henderson and D’Anton Lynn’s ability to determine who is preparing well and performing well, and I’m quite sure both of those guys badly wanted Bear to tap into his God-given ability and become a force in the middle.

But I know this for sure: I wouldn’t want Bear Alexander on my team. Even if he had a gripe—even if he was better than Gavin Meyer and Nate Clifton and should have been getting some of their reps—I don’t want a teammate who walks out on me in the middle of the season because he thinks he should be getting one-third more reps. 

Someone will take a shot on Bear Alexander. He’s talented, and talented people tend to get more opportunities than everybody else, often more than they deserve. But he’s now left his second program, and he has a mentor who doesn’t have the wisdom to keep disagreements in-house. Making a fool of yourself on social media isn’t unheard of these days, but it’s not exactly a good look for somebody who is supposed to be helping and directing a young man who—with the right guidance—has a multimillion-dollar future. 

Make no mistake, this is a loss for USC. It takes away a key member of the rotation, and it deprives USC of a talented kid that all of us—fans, coaches, his teammates—hoped would become the player he’s capable of being. He flashed at times. But he never got past the flashing stage. 

The truth is I’ve known plenty of talented guys who were too lazy for their own good. Guys who don’t lift or practice the way they should. Guys who take plays off. Guys who sulk. I’m not sure I’ve known any who won’t give you a big effort when everybody in the world knows the game is on the line. A guy who can’t be bothered to put in a quality effort on a critical 3^rd and 1 with two minutes remaining in a close game against Michigan at the Big House is probably somebody that you can’t rely on. By walking out on his teammates a couple of days later, Bear has proven it.

Bear Alexander will probably never become what he’s capable of being. That’s sad, I suppose, but it’s a pretty common tale in all walks of life. I don’t wish him ill, but I also can’t say I wish him the best. I save that for guys who work hard and respect their teammates, not those who abandon the team and run to Twitter to complain. Those guys can be out of sight, out of mind. 

As for his now-former USC teammates who still wear the cardinal and gold, fight on and next man up.