KANSAS CITY – Oklahoma Sooners’ coach Lincoln Riley will not start senior quarterback Baker Mayfield, the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy in this Saturday’s Senior Day game against West Virginia and has taken away his captaincy as a result of his immature actions during a 41-3 victory over Kansas last weekend.
Mayfield was disciplined for grabbing his crotch and reportedly yelling, “F …. You” at the Kansas bench during the third quarter of the blowout. In the process, he embarrassed himself, his team and the state of Oklahoma with his classless actions.
And he could have hurt his Heisman chances with his actions.
The Heisman Trophy is the premier college football award in the country and character should be part of the criteria in the selection process. Heisman voters, who have been saddled with Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M and Jameis Winston of Florida State in 2012 and 2013, may be getting tired of players acting like juvenile delinquents winning this award.
This is not Mayfield’s first brush with out of control behavior. Last February, he was arrested for public drunkenness in Fayetteville, Ark., that was chronicled on video. Oklahoma kept the discipline in house.
He also didn’t help his image when he planted the OU flag at midfield after the Sooners beat Ohio State in Columbus in the second game of the year. But this time, Riley had no choice after Mayfield’s X-rated act shown on national TV.
The scene was ugly before Sooners kick-offed against the Jayhawks. It started at the coin toss when Mayfield went over to shake hands with the Kansas captains and they declined and deteriorated quickly. There was a dangerous cheap shot by Kansas’ Hasan Defense, who was also out of control. But Oklahoma is a football brand name and the Sooners expect their stars to maintain a certain level of decorum, not taunt the fans and players of another Big 12 team.
Mayfield, as expected, apologized afterwards, claiming, “This is not who I am.”
But the rest of the country is starting to wonder whether it is nothing more than spin control.
