Chris Rainey has put Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer in a difficult position

GAINESVILLE -- How does this happen ... again? Felony stalking? How does a starter get arrested for something this embarrassing for the second straight big game in a row? (Sorry, Cincinnati fans, but I'm not counting that consolation Sugar Bowl as a big game.)

Carlos Dunlap was arrested for DUI in the early morning hours on the Tuesday before the Gators' 2009 SEC championship game against Alabama. Chris Rainey was arrested in the early morning hours on a Tuesday before the Gators' 2010 SEC opener against Tennessee. This astonishes me. (And, if you're not astonished by this, then something is really wrong with you.) Rainey has put Florida coach Urban Meyer in a difficult situation. There is a growing perception nationally that he doesn't have control of his players.

Rainey was issued a mandatory curfew by an Alachua County judge on Tuesday. Not a bad idea. Meyer said that "accountability and development" were the themes for the Gators' fall camp. I just assumed that mantra was going to carry over into the season. Am I being too critical here? Perhaps. After all, Rainey's individual actions away from football certainly should not be a reflection of his teammates. But that's my point. They will be. Right or wrong, this is an example of the national perception facing Florida football right now and, by extension, the entire University of Florida. Since Dunlap's arrest, four more Gators have been charged with misdemeanors and one with a felony. And I'm not even going to bring Brandon Spikes into this discussion.

Rainey's arrest during Tennessee week is a terrible situation for Meyer. Meyer did not speak publicly about Rainey's arrest on Tuesday -- although Rainey's attorney, Huntley Johnson, certainly did enough talking for everyone -- but I know Meyer is absolutely crushed about this. Rainey might be Meyer's favorite player on the team.

Will that save Rainey or will Meyer be forced to dismiss him permanently because of public perception? One of Meyer's "core values" for his team is respect for women. The other core values are no guns, no stealing, no drugs and honesty. In the past, players have been kicked off the team for arrests involving women (Gary Brown, Jacques Rickerson, Ronnie Wilson and Avery Atkins).

If the person who called the police on Rainey on Tuesday morning was a UF student, I feel certain that Rainey would be kicked off the team permanently. The person was not a student and told a judge on Tuesday morning that she did not want Rainey to be arrested. Of course, none of this really matters. The damage has already been done.

-jo-

Comments

[she's STiLLL drippy that portland gal]

Don't you get tired of getting gutted daily on this site u clown canesrule? You have spent hours a day here for the last month. sure you have a job. sure you went to the game. U got some bolts loose freak.

[jay]

college football blogs run canesrules pathetic little life.

sad..very sad.

[jay]

that and jumping on INT12's nutsak everyday.

[Rocky Top]

Well Wucky Wucky UF isnt even close to being as good as Oregon. Line up your excuses since you seem so sure youre going to win this game. I cant wait to hear the crying and whining from you Gator boys after Saturday. Even the bias UF refs wont be able to save you this time
GO VOLS

[MonsterMuckyWuck!]

Tennessee's so pathetic even Lane laugh's at you all now. LOL!

[Rocky Top]

Great comeback WuckyWucky. You have some mad skillz going there
GO VOLS

[MonsterMuckyWuck!]

Ditto ;)
Your comments just make me cry until I can't anymore. They just wanna make me slit my wrist. lol

[jireh]

What's with a 34 old woman doing with a young man 19. Chris was only 19 when he started dating this woman.

[305_GAtor]

University of florida AKA the university of FELONS; when do u'all say enough is enough???
I mean come on 30+ arrests, players gettin paid, beatin up women, shootin off machine guns, drunk drivings, usin dead peoples credit card, gougin eyes out, resistin arrests, restrainin orders, ETC. ETC.. ETC...
ONLY IN GAYNIESVILLE IS THIS PETTY JUVENILE STUFF....

-JO-

[Rocky Top]

Wucky Wucky dont wink at me. Save that kind of stuff for your fellow UF fans. Or maybe that bloated QB of yours might enjoy something like that. UF leaves Knoxville 2-1
GO VOLS

[MonsterMuckyWuck!]

;)

[MonsterMuckyWuck!]

The series record:
Florida-20 Tennessee-19
Win streak-UF 5

nuff said. lol

[Toothless Nex]

Only ignorant trailer trash thinks a one game margin is a big deal

You are so stupid, Gatard trash. You dint know how stupid you are.

I think I speak for fans of all teams across the country when I say: GO VOLS. CRUSH THE TRAILERTRASH GATARDS.

[j0ec00l]

funny how miami and fsu fans like to hanf around gator blogs and websites. I'm not sure what their motive are?? jealousy??? should we achedule out of confernce games to prove our teams worth? we most cwrtaibly would if we played in a cupcake conference like the acc! we play at least 5 to 6 nationaly rankef teams each season... nuff said! go back to your boring teams that havent come close to a championship in almost a decade. as for the felonies... the "U" has an ex gangster for a coach and its only a matter of time the ncaa will be knocking on jacory "interception" harris' door for his thug actions off the field. there are plenty of miami thugs down in mini cuba

[Rocky Top]

You sure cant confuse WuckyWucky with someone who has any sense. He is as ignorant as they come
GO VOLS

[j0ec00l]

funny how miami and fsu fans like to hang around gator blogs and websites. I'm not sure what their motives are?? jealousy??? should we schedule out of conference games to prove our teams worth? we most certainly would if we played in a cupcake conference like the acc! we play at least 5 to 6 nationally ranked teams each season... nuff said! go back to your boring teams that havent come close to a championship in almost a decade. as for the felonies... the "U" has an ex gangster for a coach and its only a matter of time the ncaa will be knocking on jacory "interception" harris' door for his thug actions off the field. there are plenty of miami thugs down in drugville mini cuba

[Rocky Top]

joecool, what is "hanf","achedule","cwrtaibly","nationaly" and "rankef"? No wonder people goof on you morons
GO VOLS

[Rocky Top]

Even our woman(who by the way we dont tell them its time to die) trash talks your pathetic little school
GO VOLS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWnByXye7bI&feature=related

[305_Gators]

That video was awesome. Haha!

-jo-

[j0ec00l]

its called typing on an iphone... easy o make simple mistakes. look at a keyboard moron and notice the errors were just mistypes of letters directly next to the correct letter. i fixed it in a second post.

[Canes' empty band wagon]

This is cane nation folks. Ridin' the band wagon until the tires go flat, then they become SEC fans.

We're used to it, SEC envy and Gator envy are on the rise of late.

[Toothless Nex]

WickyWucknis either ignorant or a Gatard grad. Ultimately, it's trailertrash.

GO VOLS. POUND THAT GATARD TRASH.

[Rocky Top]

Thanks Jo

Its all in good fun. Even though the language did prove what pregame liquor can do HAHA!!
GO VOLS

[OrlandoCaneFIn]

UFelony, it keeps getting worse. The season is collapsing and your ranking is free falling and yet you defend 30 arrest in 4 years. This will make your NCAA Sanctions happen that much faster.
UFelony, the NCAA Sactions are coming! BAWAHHHH

[Must be Strange (it's Mom's money anyway)]

Rocky Top -- what's it like paying 3 times the price of canes season tix for one game (Gators/Vols)?

[Toothless Nex]

It's all Canes all the time. The Canes own this dump. Insecure Gatard trash can't stop talking Canes. You Mick what you fear, Gatard trash. That's why you don't see anyone posting about Appy State.

Trailertrash is everywhere. It is engulfing the country. Just say not to roach barbeques and Natty Light beer.

[trimblekeith]

why arent my comments being posted?

[db21]

Sad how out of control the gator football program has become.

[305_Gators]

Why arent my comments being posted?

Posted by: trimblekeith | September 15, 2010 at 10:19 PM
________________________________________________

Being timed out, maybe?

-jo-

[MonsterMuckyWuck!]

I love how people judge me and other's on this site. It makes no sense for people, that don't know you on a personal level, to judge you and your beliefs. They just make blind assumptions and innuendoes.
If you must know RockyTop, I am only posting this sh#t to tick you trolls off. But unfortunately you and others like you don't realize this and take it personally and attack/insult people that you don't even know on their beliefs and personal life. So I guess what I'm saying is that if you don't like my stupid post's,(and I do know that they are stupid) either stop leaving equally stupid post on this site for others to read, or just leave.
It's just an eye for an eye buddy. That's all it is. When you stop, I stop. Until then, I'll continue to write my idiotic post

[Freetruth]

The inferiorty complex put on display regularly here by Canes is just funny. When your own team is so low that only envy of an obviously superior team can inspire you to post on the hated teams board, we just have to laugh.

A kid is arrested and kicked off the team for texting an angry message to his (ex)girlfriend. An event that will likely ruin his life reveals a hypersensitivity by both law enforcement and media knaves. This hypersensitivity to minor violations over the past 25 years has grown to a silly level.

Can you imagine how many of the trash-talking, coke-head punks from the Cane glory days of a generation ago would be arrested today? Or the attitudes of Coaches Jimmy Johnson et al would play today? I'm sure their respect for women and curfews was so much better.

[iamme]

Are you an idiot or just willfully ignorant? Both perhaps? How do you get paid to have an opinion? Yes, opinions are like a-holes, but at least some are rooted in logic and rational thought, not a public school brainwashed education.

[Big Slap Shot Bob]

Vols are a shell of their former selves since Nu'qeese was kicked off!

I bet old fat Phil Fulmer is laughing his arse off at the state of the Tennessee program right now.

Go Gators!!!

[Idiots all around]

You idiots are missing the point that Rainey shouldn't have been arrested in the first place, and the charges will likely be DROPPED. What he did isn't "aggravated stalking" under the law no matter how you read it.

Guy gets arrested by overzealous cop who doesn't know the law - oh my goodness, what a black eye for the program!!!

[Joseph]

UF is thug U baby! get used to it. I mean were now gonna start talking about it after 30 arrest in 5 years. A few, ok, but 30? Give me a break. Thug U in gainseville. Kick the dogs, kick the women or just stalk them, you choose.

[expatinbrasil]

How many instances does one need to determine that there is a pattern at work? At what point does the public, who actually fund UF, step up and say enough is enough? We already have WWF, do we need this or do we demand more of those who are the beneficiaries (players and coaches) of the taxpayer supported institution known as UF? If I am astonished that this continues, time after time after time, does that mean that something is wrong with me - or that something is wrong with the system in gatorland?

[kayla]

RAINEY iS PLAYING AT TENESSEE COACH DOne saiD HEL BE READY SUNDAY

[((((crickets))))]

Jo -

Steve Babik given 12-plus year sentenceEmail Print Comments24 Associated Press

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Former University of Florida broadcaster Steve Babik has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for child pornography.

A federal judge in Gainesville sentenced Babik on Friday to 151 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release. He pleaded guilty in April to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography.

Prosecutors say that between June 2008 and November 2009, the 50-year-old Babik offered known child pornography files for distribution 326 times on his home computer. Babik's computer revealed a significant volume of children engaging in sexual acts with other children and with adults.

Babik, a longtime sideline reporter for football games, was fired in November. He had worked at the school since 1987.