By: Adoabi Ezeani and Benjamin E. Lykens (Whetstone Staff Writers)

This is a common perception at Wesley College: its powerhouse football players are treated like royalty.

“To be on the football team is to be a part of not just a team but a family, to know that there are 115 players ready to put themselves on the line for you” said cornerback Cory Harrison. “It is the best support you can have.”

Some students say the football team, also known as the “The Dub,” has earned their treatment.

“They are cocky but they have a reason to be,” said Jessica Curry-Keith, vice president of the student activity board. “They are a winning team.”

Many students agree but believe that being a football player unfairly gives those students greater perks than practically anyone else on campus.

“I feel like they are glorified by the teachers and professors on campus,” said junior Megan Stoffa. “Professor Staley herself has a tattoo of a Wolverine.”

“All faculty are fans,” said Tanyetta Sanders.

Staley said she has the tattoo on the bicep of her right arm because she likes Wesley and its football team.

“Being from the Texas area, (loving football) is injected in you when you’re born,” she said.

But other teachers interviewed for this article, she says she treats them no differently than other students.

“If anything, I expect more out of the football players instead of less,” she said. “You learn to prioritize your time.”

Still, when it comes to being treated equally against the average Wesley College student, some students say they see signs of favoritism.

“I feel that when it comes to the classroom aspect of school, my priorities outside the classroom is not taken into consideration, the way that ‘practice’ can always be taken into consideration for a football player,” Sanders said.

The football players themselves don’t know what to believe about some of the stories they hear about themselves on campus.

“I personally don’t get special treatment so it doesn’t affect me,” said freshman cornerback Cory McCalla.

“Yes, I have loan, a lot of them, too,” said sophomore Chea Sloh. “But it wasn’t like that when I was playing football.”

Sloh said that he’s heard that some players are treated special.

“Yes, there is special treatment but it all depends who you are,” Sloh said. “I heard once that if you are a major factor to the team you wouldn’t get in as much trouble.”

Some football players say they don’t care what other students think.

“I honestly don’t care what people say about Wesley football,” said senior cornerback Dakevis Howard. “Yes, I am a member of the football team and I stand behind them one hundred percent. I have no say in what the other players do outside the locker room or off the field. There have been many times where I have been stereotyped as being an asshole because I play football, which is completely unfair.”

The stereotype also upsets members of the coaching staff.

“Yes it upsets me that we have this stereotype,” said Eric Adams, the defensive line coach. “Everyone sees the negative or the stupid things that our players do.”

Adams said the football team gets a lot of attention because the team is both large and popular and the school is so small.

“Everything that we do is known because, hey, Wesley College is known for football,” he said. “People can see us as villains of this college, but until that person talks to me personally and makes that judgment for themselves, I just ignore these accusations.”