There was one major difference between the two incidents. The football players didn't do it during the middle of the season. There were other ways to punish them before the season ever rolled around. Missing games is the only option for the girls at this point. A few years ago Nick Marshall was caught with pot and suspended for the opener because it happened close to the first game.
They should have just listened to Aubie. He had great advice for everyone yesterday.....
Whatever side of the pot debate you stand on is really irrelevant. In Alabama it's illegal (not to mention prohibited by NCAA, SEC, and Auburn), end of story. Light up at your own risk.
The punishments are uneven, IMO. What kind of off-season consequence is equal to being suspended from real games? What is happening to the softball players is more harsh, I think. UGA, to name one, is an SEC school that will suspend players from games based on off-season events - even just a positive test for pot - several months before the opener.
That said, I can't conclude that the difference in punishments are because it's football vs. softball. I don't have all the facts. The softball players might've had previous trouble for which this constituted a final straw.
Coach Steve Spurrier on playing the Dawgs early: "I don't know. I sort of always liked playing them that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended."