Last week, a UT football player was suspended indefinitely from the team for a team rules violation. The athlete’s offense was punching another student during an intramural basketball game..

‘’He will be suspended from the team indefinitely. We want our student-athletes to be responsible members of our community. They need to know that they will be held accountable for their actions and these types of issues will not be tolerated,’’ Tennessee football head coach Phillip Fulmer said.

So how does this apply to Martin?

It is an illustration of an athletic program that does not tolerate the kind of behavior that we have seen in the last few months from our own UTM Athletic Department. It is swift, it is effective and it is addressed directly to the public.

The Pacer is often criticized for painting a negative picture of our athletic department because we run crime stories that have athletes as the accused. Our answer is that the offense lies with the offender, not with the reporter.

It is the opinion of this newspaper that a small minority of athletes have tarnished the good name of the Skyhawks. We have watched as, time after time, the coaches and university officials have declined to comment on drug busts, alcohol abuse and, most recently, outright violence.

Rather than address the issue head on, they have opted to allow it to quietly show up in a police report or by word of mouth, leaving media outlets to sift through rumors before getting to the truth.

But our concern doesn’t end with the coaches and administrators. After all, they weren’t the ones cited in the reports.

This passive approach to discipline has amounted to a slap on the hand when an offense occurs. Other than paying fines and court costs, these individuals have no incentive to uphold the reputation of the school.

For those athletes who have kept up the good name of the Skyhawks, we salute you. It is your actions on and off the field that shape the face of UTM to our community.