Rebels fans’ misguided reaction to arrest fed by culture of mistrust

How does a college student drive a 2010 Mercedes? Who owns the car? This should be investigated ...

How does a student have this kind of car? Who is the car registered to? Do we have a more severe violation other than DUI? Do we have an NCAA violation? ...

Anyone found out how this college student on scholarship was driving a 2010 MBZ? Surely not loaned to him by alumni ...

I am concerned about the new 2010 Mercedes-Benz. That could be a bigger story ...

They are a handful of emails received by the Las Vegas Review-Journal shortly after UNLV basketball player Chace Stanback was arrested for suspicion of drunken driving a few weeks ago.

The voice mails were no different. People wrote or telephoned about little when it came to the charges, about the danger Stanback put himself and others in, about how fortunate no one was seriously injured or worse.

Just the car.

All about the car.

Do we have a more severe violation other than DUI?

Huh?

Really?

"I would venture to guess," UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood said, "that 90 to 95 percent of people I heard from wondered about the exact same thing."

I get it but don't understand the reaction from fans of a program that existed years ago under a cloud of mistrust about what type of cars its players drove and who financed them.

But that was college sports then and remains so today.

That's what people think about first.

Those who follow teams are often single-minded souls parading through the stands at arenas and stadiums across the country, unable to see beyond whatever it takes to secure the next victory, believing what type of car a student-athlete drives is more important than if the player was intoxicated while steering it.

Crazy but true.

Misguided but factual.

Dave Rice played at UNLV during a period when stories broke daily about luxury cars and a notorious photograph involving a hot tub sent a dominant era into a steady decline from its championship ways.

Rice is now steward of the program, a first-time head coach not blind to the impression of others.

"I think the perception is that there is more flash to Las Vegas, but I also believe the better your program gets, the more scrutiny will come," Rice said. "Regardless of where you are, you have to be extra mindful and diligent in all aspects of compliance. The most important thing we do as coaches is educate our players.

"It doesn't surprise me most of the (reaction was about Stanback's car). I understand by virtue of people being in town so long that they have been socialized into a compliance-sensitive mentality. When you couple that with some of the compliance-related matters we have seen across the country of late, I understand where they're coming from."

Ones like those now facing Ohio State football, where quarterback Terrelle Pryor is under investigation by the school and NCAA for his use of multiple cars and the salesman who put the player behind the wheel of them.

More than 50 vehicles purchased by Ohio State players, family members and friends are being examined.

That's a lot of cars.

Review-Journal reporters checked on Stanback's car following the arrest, and it was quickly surmised nothing sinister was in play, that all was legitimate and aboveboard.

His car wasn't the story and therefore none of anyone's business.

Fairness in these matters is a relative term. Stanback has as much right to drive such a car as the next person, and the fact he plays basketball at UNLV shouldn't dictate his choice of transportation.

But the Rebels also are the city's premier sports team, and its players exist under a microscope other athletes don't. Everything about them will and should be checked in such a situation as an arrest.

For a new head coach, such a reality comes with making sure his players know and accept it.

"Our players need to understand that we're not here to be watchdogs but to protect them and in turn the program," Rice said. "A lot of outside influences don't have their best long-term interests at heart. That's just fact. We want to make sure our guys have great opportunities now and in the future while doing everything within the rules.

"It always comes back to the relationship you have with your players. It is important coaches and administrators don't miss anything. Education. Diligence. Compliance is a daily reality of what we do."

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday and Thursday on "Monsters of the Midday," Fox Sports Radio 920 AM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.