As a college athlete that won't be making my sport a career after college it pains me to see athletes wasting their god given talent and hard work. Being a pro athlete must be fantastic, but the way players act blows my mind. Stop me if you have heard this headline before, "Last night (insert pro athlete's name here) was involved in an incident with..."

The most recent incident involved Bills running back LeSean McCoy who was involved in an altercation with three off-duty police officers. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from a guy nicknamed "Shady," but how hard could it be to not fight people. It's not just McCoy, it's Johnny Manziel, it's Adam Jones, it's Josh Gordon, the list goes on. These guys spend their whole lives working to get into the NFL, where they will get paid millions of dollars, and once they get there they throw it all away.

I don't get why these athletes do the stupid things they do, beat up guys, beat up women, beat up girlfriends, how hard can it be to not hit someone when you spend every Sunday for more then 6 months hitting other players. Personally I've gone through my whole life without hitting anyone. Johnny Manziel hitting his girlfriend and Ray Rice knocking his fiancé unconscious is as low as it gets. That is someone you supposedly love, you act like it, you don't hit women end of story no questions asked.

Most of these incidents happen late at night, usually between the hours of 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. Nothing gets better after 11 o'clock except for Taco Bell (it's a known fact Taco Bell saves their best food, and workers for the late night hours). But other than that nothing good can come from being out that late. Drunk drivers are on the road, angry drunks are leaving the bars, drugs deals are taking place on street corners, none of which are very pleasant thoughts. As a pro athlete, you have to know when it is safe to be in a place and when it is not, especially during the season.

Clubs, bars, parties all should be off limits during your season, you owe it to your teammates and fans to give all you have to the team, anything less is unacceptable. Jahil Okafor of the Philadelphia 76ers was involved in a street fight on a Boston street following a game. How pathetic is that, an intoxicated fan talking trash to you and you feel the need to fight him. Let your game, and bank account do the talking, don't lower yourself to their level.

However it isn't just fights and doneybrooks that get athletes in trouble, it's substance abuse. Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon are the two people that come to my mind (How about them Browns). Manziel is iconic for his alcohol abuse, ever since college Manziel had a reputation as being a drinker. At the time it was "Johnny being Johnny" and people seemed to forget about it when he would preform on Saturdays. Once he got into the NFL he had high expectations, but he wasn't willing to put in the work. No longer could "Johnny be Johnny" and get away with it. He checked himself into rehab the past offseason, but still to this day has issues with alcohol, and recently domestic dispute incidents. He has yet to face a suspension, but that shouldn't be a problem because he is about to be out of a job. Josh Gordon is another clueless chacacter in his own right. Suspended twice for marijuana and once for a DWI. Get it through your head, you may not have many brain cells left, but it's a simple concept lay off the drugs.

Its not just breaking the law that costs athletes millions of dollars, it is general stupidity. Take for instance Jason Pierre-Paul, going into a contract year where he could have sought a long term deal until he blew off two fingers after a firework incident where he was lighting a firework and it blew up in his hand. I understand you want to celebrate the Fourth of July with a firework display, but save it for professionals, or people not making millions of dollars. Now he is missing out on the long term deal he was hoping to receive, but he also has to deal with serious nerve damage to his hand that will be with him for the rest of his life.

Athletes are always in the spotlight and every time you go out in public your actions are inspected under a microscope. You've spent too many hours in the weight room, at practice, in the film room, to throw it all away for a high. American athletes are role models for young kids, and it's time to start acting like it.