Radar on line is reporting that Justin Combs, son of music mogul Sean Combs, was released from the UCLA football team. Sean Combs was arrested last week for allegedly assaulting a Bruins asst. coach with a kettle bell.  Apparently, the dispute began when Combs confronted a coach about disrespecting his son.

I am not sure what it is with these music moguls and their sons.  Years ago, I had a run in with hip hop mogul Dr. Dre.  His son was on a flag football team I was coaching.  During a game, I told his son to hustle to the line of scrimmage.  For that bit of direction, I was threatened by both Dre and his wife.   Sorry, coaches tell boys to hustle in football.  Similarly, once a boy is past youth football, coaches yell and curse.  When a young man is playing Division 1 football, a coach is going to yell, curse, threaten, and might even disrespect a player.

But this is not about disrespect, this is about privilege.

I coached youth football for many years and saw the ugly face of privilege show itself on many occasions.  It was a face that looked remarkably like Dr. Dre’s – a face that said, “My son deserves to be treated special because, well, because he is my son.”

There are thousands of fathers in this country who sit in the stands and watch their sons practice. There are thousands of fathers who see their sons not get the playing time that they believe their children deserve. I am intimate with this latter experience.  However, unlike Combs, I sit and keep my mouth shut.  I let my son learn the lesson; he will be a much better man for it.  I don’t confront the coach.  I don’t threaten to kick a little ass because my son, whom I love dearly, is being disrespected by the coach.  I might add, so do the majority of fathers in America with sons who play ball and who also love their sons unconditionally.

But the rules do not apply to the privileged.  Like my run in with Dre and his notion that NO ONE could tell his son to hustle. (It is even more ridiculous these years later!) Combs has convinced himself that the rules of life and Div 1 football don’t apply to him or to his son.

From the article:

A UCLA Bruins player told Radar, “We were working out in a warm up line and Justin was in front. He did something incorrectly and Coach Alosi [seen here] yelled at him, saying ‘You’re never in the front of the line, go to the back of the line.’”

The player said, “Justin was shaking his head saying ‘You’re tripping and over-reacting,’ and that made the coach mad.”

So strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi “yelled at him, ‘You’re done for the rest of the season, go work out with your dad’s personal trainer!’” the source claimed.

The source said Justin missed too many mandatory team practices and claimed he was working out with his father’s personal trainer.

That, in a nutshell, is what this issue is about.  Combs, chose to miss mandatory practices…let me repeat that:  Combs chose to miss MANDATORY practice sessions, so he could train with his father’s personal trainer.  Understand that Combs would never advocate that all players be allowed to skip mandatory practices, only that HIS son be allowed to miss practice, because, well, it’s his son.

Is this called hip hop privilege?

A word of advice to Sean Combs:  Sit in the stands and be quiet.  At this age your son must learn the tough lessons; you can be a guide and a source of wisdom, but if you fight for him, you will make him weak.