Athletes and Their Cars

Terrelle Pryor has probably played his last down of college football thanks in no small part to a growing investigation of him potentially receiving impermissible benefits. Those potential benefits include a string of fishy car deals. To wit, by one count he's driven eight different cars in his three years on campus.

On top of that, we found out yesterday that Pryor's license was suspended earlier in May. Not only did he drive to and from Monday's team meeting in a shiny, late model Nissan 350z with temp tags, but he apparently did so without the permission of the state of Ohio.

One thing is for certain: Pryor never would have made it at the University of Georgia. Athens is, of course, home to the nation's most vigilant traffic enforcers, and it seems like getting arrested for ticky-tack moving violations is a rite of passage at UGA. Auburn police appear to be sticklers for a few things too, as Onterio McCalebb was pulled over for driving an unregistered vehicle without plates two weeks ago. Apparently they're not that serious about it though, as I've yet to see anyone on the Plains determine who this vehicle belonged to or give an explanation as to how McCalebb got to drive it.

As a Florida fan, I'm glad my school doesn't have to worry about vehicular ownership issues to the same degree that most others do. Why is that? Because the ride of choice for players who live on campus is the humble scooter. For one thing, it's never not funny to see a 300-pound man ride up a hill on a small machine that appears to be laboring under the load. For another, it sets a low financial bar in the "ride" department for the guys in the dorms to meet. The only Gator I know off hand who was notorious for driving around in a nice car is Rex Grossman, but he came from a family with money. And he half earned that rep by being a big prick too, as I understand it.

My favorite stories about players and cars far and away are about former FSU QB Chris Rix. First of all, he got pulled over twice for speeding within a thirty-minute period on the same road. It gets better than that though.

He once used a bogus handicap parking pass on campus outside a classroom building. This sort of thing is not unheard of for star athletes, but Rix made the mistake of being hated by his student peers for doing things like throwing interceptions and getting suspended for the Sugar Bowl due to sleeping through an exam. Hilarity ensued:

Students recognized Rix as he parked his sports utility vehicle near one of his classes last Thursday, and chastised him as he walked away. They then left a note on his windshield and called police, who put a lock on a tire so the vehicle couldn't be moved, school officials said.

There's just nothing quite like the love a student body has for its starting quarterback.