insideyournwa.com

By Richard Cirminiello
3. It?s one thing to look out for the best interest of your kids.  Ideally, we all do that once we become parents.  It?s another thing entirely to needlessly thrust yourself into the lives of your young adult children.  The parents of Arkansas freshmen Mitch Mustain, Ben Cleveland and Damian Williams stepped way over the line between good parenting and bad behavior last week in an utterly laughable and embarrassing display of selfishness that could wind up haunting rather than helping their coddled children.

In a move that would be intolerable in Little League or Pop Warner, let alone the SEC, the mad-as-hell trio had the brazen audacity to call a meeting with athletic director Frank Broyles to discuss the direction of the football program.  Are you kidding me? That Broyles took the meeting was absurd, but that?s a story for a different day.  That the Springdale (Ark.) Three would inject themselves into the inner workings of Houston Nutt?s program is an insult to the coach and the rest of the team, particularly at a time when the Hogs are coming off their first 10-win season since 1989.

The crux of their discontent was the play-calling this fall, which allegedly was more conservative than promised when the high school stars signed with the home team.  No, I?m serious.  They really questioned the play-calling in a season when the quarterback play was just average, the offensive coordinator was installing a new system and the running duo of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones was as prolific as any in the country.  Not good enough. To hell with Mrs. McFadden and Mrs. Jones, our babies want to put up bigger numbers or else.  It mattered not that Mustain started eight games, Cleveland caught a couple of touchdown passes or Williams was second on the team in receiving……as true freshmen.  Nope, they weren?t satisfied.  Williams has already taken his ball and gone home, opting to transfer.  Cleveland?s dad sulked that his boy, a tight end, is used to catching 60 passes a year and was ?sold a bill of goods?.  Mustain?s mom, Beck Campbell?sit down for this one?issued a ?statement?, saying, ?It was agreed by all parties involved that the head coach has the valid right to determine the direction of the program and the manner in which the team would develop.?  Thanks for clarifying that, Ms. Campbell.  If mommy and daddy thought they were helping, think again.  You think a few teammates want to knock the living snot out of Mustain and Cleveland for allowing this garbage without intervening? You think opposing fans will forget last week?s circus?  How about the linebacker that buries Mustain and follows it up with something like, ?How are your parents gonna help you now, momma?s boy??

One time or another, we?ve all witnessed this breed of parent in our lives and promised to never be like it.  They?re insidious and at the core of a generation that is painfully soft in many aspects of life.  Heaven forbid this spoiled bunch face adversity or have to endure and overcome a perceived injustice.  The Springdale Three made itself the story last week, pushing the rest of the Arkansas team to the back pages, a sad commentary about the state of today?s parents, who believe they can buffer their babies from every curve ball that life throws their way.  When does it stop? College?  The NFL? The real world? They may think they?re doing the right thing with their boorish, self-centered behavior.  They couldn?t be more wrong.