Betrayal at South Carolina reveals true heart of the SEC

Some of South Carolina’s better football players are quitting on this star-crossed season of football during a pandemic, and it’s hard to blame them for it.

Their university quit on them first.

South Carolina and the SEC begged these kids to play football this season, and through all the tests, isolation and stress, they’ve played well enough to compete in just about every game (but a record of 2-5). What did they get for their troubles? South Carolina’s athletics director Ray Tanner fired their coach on Sunday after a 59-42 loss to Ole Miss.

Will Muschamp’s defense gave up 708 yards of total offense, but, as Alabama can attest, that’s not completely unprecedented. The Crimson Tide’s defense gave up 647 yards to Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss in a 63-48 victory for Alabama that made more than a few fans temporarily lose their faith in Nick Saban.

Let’s not dance around the fact that Muschamp had this coming. We all know that, but Tanner couldn’t wait a couple weeks? What’s the rush? Had to get a jump on the next guy who’s going to get baptized by Dabo Swinney next year?

The complete lack of respect for South Carolina’s student-athletes this week by their own university is a disgusting admission by the administration, university president, board of trustees and boosters of just how little the players doing all the work really mean to their university. But am I shocked? Yeah, that’s a big no.

The SEC is insane, and that’s why we love it, but that’s also why a toxic culture of football at all costs runs every campus. There’s the whole “playing football during a pandemic thing,” but I’m not talking about that. They’re playing these games this season for the money, and in South Carolina we now know where it’s all going.

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During our raging national COVID-19 pandemic, with the University of South Carolina facing a financial crunch, the school now owes Muschamp a $13 million buyout. Wealthy alums and boosters of the South Carolina athletic department will foot the bill for Muschamp, of course, but buying out one coach (and his assistants) for millions, and then paying another lucky coach even more millions doesn’t send the best message to the university in a year employees have been forced to take mandatory furloughs.

Football is more important than faculty and staff is that message, if you needed it spelled out.

The Gamecocks are scheduled to play Missouri on Saturday night in Columbia, S.C, but I’ll be surprised if it actually happens. Between Monday and Tuesday, South Carolina lost three starters off its secondary to go along with two defensive starters out with injuries. If the Gamecocks can field a team, it could get even more embarrassing. This isn’t what those players deserve.

Yes, it has been a disappointing season for South Carolina, but they did upset Auburn, and the Gamecocks’ defense held Florida’s high-powered offense to a tie for its season low in points (38). Games remain against Georgia and at Kentucky in addition to this weekend’s home game. If South Carolina wins two of the three, they should just name interim…