Colts General Manager Chris Ballard addressed several football issues during a Tuesday press conference.
First, Ballard spoke about wide receiver Keenan Allen, who remains on the roster despite a recent arrest for driving while intoxicated.
Ballard confirmed that Allen will participate in the opening game of the season against the Ravens.
Regarding the legal incident, the general manager declined to go into specific details.
“I’m not going to comment on what happened,” Ballard stated, NBC Sports reported.
The general manager went on to highlight the character of the veteran receiver.
“What I’m gonna tell you is good people make mistakes,” Ballard explained.
Ballard continued to advocate for the athlete as the legal process moves forward.
“He’s a tremendous human being, give him some grace and he’ll work through the process of the legal system,” Ballard added.
Ballard also addressed the trend of some professional athletes attempting to return to college football.
Under the new eligibility rules from the collegiate governing body, several players have pursued lawsuits to return to school.
Ballard laughed when asked if any of his roster members had approached him about returning to college.
“It’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard,” Ballard said, CBS Sports reported.
The general manager explained that players work their whole lives to make it to the professional level.
“Your entire life, you fight to get up to the NFL, but now we’re gonna go back,” Ballard observed, per CBS Sports.
Other coaches across the country have shared similar feelings on the current college landscape.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney called the situation surrounding the roster movements highly disappointing.
“It’s just embarrassing that that’s where we are,” Swinney stated, according to CBS Sports.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian also noted that replacing college athletes with professional players is not right.
“I think that’s wrong,” Sarkisian said on Monday, NBC Sports reported.