Last week a reader sent a message about the three freshman football players who were charged with attempted armed robbery.

His point: The story of the 2 a.m. misadventures of these University of Tennessee Volunteers did not deserve the front page. And the headline -- "Orange Crushed" -- was in poor taste.

When it comes to football, particularly UT Big Orange football, fairness goes out the window and the value of the news, one assumes, is based on interceptions and yards returned, not on personal behavior.

For the Southeastern Conference, the season began by hand wrestling over access to news, pictures and other information produced by member schools. At one time it was suggested that fans could be summarily removed from the stadium for taking cell phone photos and sharing them with others. The commissioner of the SEC talks about his premier conference, the removal of "asterisks" and the amount of money that flows to the SEC from lucrative television and Internet contracts.

The SEC and other athletic conferences make their money on the backs of young men and women, many of whom mere months earlier were high school students. For all the chest-pounding about being premier and removing asterisks, what steps are in place to draw up playbooks on life's lessons for SEC athletes? Remember the message from the NCAA -- most student athletes will become professionals in something other than sports.

Maybe a timeout needs to be called and a little more attention turned to the lessons of growing up in a fish bowl and being mature and responsible.

Higher education officials in Tennessee bemoan the classroom time required for remedial math and English courses for incoming freshmen. Those lessons are clear signals of academic shortcomings as students move from high school to college.

Does a remedial course for student athletes who move from the spotlight of family and friends as high school standouts, enticed by scholarship offers from big-name colleges, and are thrust into the world of big-time college football need to be a priority?

From the moment just months after leaving high school that an 18-year-old rushes through the entrance to Neyland Stadium on the UT campus,

running through the giant "T" formed by the band as the sounds of "Rocky Top" and 98,000 fans fill his ears, his life changes.

These young players are expected to meet the aspirations of orange-clad spectators who cheer or boo the actions in the playing arena. The roars of approval from the encircling throng fill the heads of the players. They have arrived. They are big in football terms but not so large in other areas that make up the overall college experience.

Competition, whether in college sports or later in life and business, requires being able to evaluate choices and make prudent decisions.

There are rules and playing outside the lines eventually catches up.

Learning the boundaries requires role models and leaders, and taking responsibility for one's actions.

Being warned by your governing body, being asked by your boss to tone down your rhetoric and having a fine named in your behalf should be reason for a role model to pause and possibly reassess.

Confidence is fine; cockiness is questionable, particularly when glancing over your shoulder and seeing younger eyes that are watching and learning.

Lives are shaped in many ways.

Is there a lesson to learn when Urban Meyer of Florida, Steve Spurrier of South Carolina and Nick Saban of Alabama, all of whom have been in the sight line of the UT coach, let an unfortunate incident pass without comment?

The athletic arena is one place for those lessons, but so is the classroom.

How the rules are enforced makes a difference. Whether it is showing up late or missing practice or repeatedly being tardy or cutting class, there are consequences.

The three 18-year olds who were out on the streets of Knoxville at 2 on a Thursday morning are the latest example to test the application of the rules and behavior.

They made a choice. Now the grown-ups have to establish the foundation for an athletic program, and the message sent reflects on the University of Tennessee.

The actions taken on the freshman football players are about more than being able to recruit more players; that will occur.

The decisions made speak volumes to the students and parents looking for the best environment to grow academically and socially.

Congratulations to the UT football program that made it for 11 months (but short of 29 days) without an incident. You now have a blemish; will you meet the challenge?

More than prospective athletes, rival coaches and fans in the stands are watching and waiting and listening.

To reach Tom Griscom, call 423-757-6472 or e-mail tgriscom@timesfreepress.com.