When I see anti-social behavior like Culliver's, I have a tendency to be very blunt. I wouldn't be honest with myself, were I to characterize him as being anything other than what I've perceived him to be by his own accord. I don't think I'm denying his humanity by likening him to a trained show dog who thrives on public attention.

Show dogs in sports are a dime a dozen, but what's ultimately really sad about them is not their innate narcissism, but rather how many are subsequently abandoned by so many people around them, once they are perceived as being of no further value to anyone. And if selfishly using and discarding someone like that is not the ultimate denial of that person's humanity, than I don't know what is.

I sincerely wish that Culliver would take to heart the criticism he's been receiving this week, and work hard to become a better and more well-rounded person -- including taking personal responsibility to prepare himself for his life after pro football, which given his public display of emotional immaturity he has obviously failed to do.

The 49ers really did Culliver no favors by having their PR office draft that boiler plate apology statement for him. They did so self-servingly, out of their own personal interest to squelch criticism and controversy during the franchise's moment in the sun this week.

They certainly didn't act out of any real concern for Culliver as a person. I fear all they probably did was further enable his boorish behavior, when what he really needs is a swift kick in the booty, and someone in authority to tell him in no uncertain terms to grow up.

In that regard, the 49ers are like a mother who's forever apologizing to everyone in the neighborhood for her child's offensive behavior, rather than compelling her son or daughter to own his or her mistakes and answer to the outside world for them.

ESPN2 is replaying a fantastic documentary on Sunday, Feb. 3 about the surprising number of retired pro athletes who've gone bust -- including a few well-known "show dogs" -- after their cleats are hung up and the applause dies away, mostly because they've never really been prepared to do anything in life other than excel at their respective sports. It was both insightful and moving, to say the least.

Everyone wants to be your friend when you're young and in the big leagues and you've got the big bucks to burn. And I don't think Chris Culliver has a clue what awaits him when the money finally runs out, the women and the brothers are no longer interested in hanging with yesterday's newspaper, the fast cars are either up on blocks or being repossessed, and the McMansion is in foreclosure.

I would lay better than even odds that nobody has really been looking out for Culliver's best interests -- not his agent, not those people he thinks are his friends, not even Culliver himself. Rather, they've thus far been enabling and excusing his conduct.

This week's public blowback over his insensitive and homophobic public remarks may probably be the first time that anyone has really challenged him as a human being, rather than as merely a pro athlete. Let's hope he wises up.

I agree that it is up to the college athlete's own initiative to prepare himself or herself for the day he or she is no longer playing in his or her chosen sport, but I disagree with your contention that the burden is solely upon the athlete.

I happen to believe that colleges do in fact have an inherent responsibility to ensure that all the students who are enrolled -- non-athlete and athlete alike -- are in fact being educated. Athletics should be considered as part of the overall curriculum, rather than considered solely for its revenue generating potential and entertainment value.

Schools that emphasize the latter rather than the former tend to treat their athletes as mere cogs in the machine at best, and pieces of meat at worst. There's been growing public pressure upon the NCAA in recent years to crack down on college athletic departments and sports programs that exploit their charges for their own purposes, rather than prepare them for the world that awaits them.

It's for that very reason why the University of Miami Hurriane football is presently under investigation, and why you won't be seeing UConn Huskies in the NCAA men's basketball tournament this year.

An athlete's academic performance has to be given equal weight to his or her athletic performance, and coaches need to be called out when they fail to ensure that their athletes are attending class, passing their courses and making real progress toward their academic degrees.

my Dad ( a rich doctor)

Think they never report crime???

Now, how safe is Lilburn?

 Look, you're a smart guy, and I mean that. But, what I don't understand is whether you really are searching for solutions, or just propagating an immovable political concept?

You say, "we're running 40% deficits," and immediately conclude that "too much spending" is the villain. But, when numerous posters give you numerous explanations you, reflexively, turn on your "PPJim, Fact Deflector" and move on to another right wing slogan.

Anyway, just so I know whether engaging you in the future regarding the economy has a chance of being productive, will you answer this one question for me? Do you believe that our economy should be based on the notion that our country is best served, and that it approaches the lofty ideals expressed by our founders, when it is structured in such a way that everyone enjoys its fruits proportionately? Or, do you believe that it should be based on the notion that, "to the Victor belong the spoils?"

You really don't understand how this works, have shown you have no understanding of sovereign currency.