College coaches are always talking about things like “the standard” and “the process” and “team culture.”

What about the disease of gun culture?

Hopefully coaches are talking about that, too, because it appears to be spreading and needs to be addressed. Gun culture on the streets of America isn’t going away, but the growing trend of young athletes surrounding themselves with guns, and possessing them, simply can’t be tolerated or allowed.

As spring football comes to an end, and conferences begin to prepare the agendas for their annual spring meetings, some time needs to be carved into the schedules for serious discussions about gun culture among college basketball and football players. No guns. It’s that simple.

Better yet, how about NIL deals for athletes to promote gun-free lifestyles?

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Friday marked three months since the shooting death of Jamea Harris involving Alabama basketball players. On Thursday, Memphis-bound basketball player Mikey Williams was arrested in his San Diego suburb for felony assault with a firearm. Williams, who is 18, was not only the crown jewel of Memphis coach Penny Hardaway’s 2023 recruiting class, the five-star recruit is also one of the most prominent high school athletes in the country. He had 3.8 million followers on social media until his account on Instagram was deactivated on Friday.

It’s disheartening. Williams had everything, and as college-age players go, they don’t get much more influential. He’s a culture symbol whose fame is tied to becoming the first high school basketball star of the NIL era to sign with a top sports agency. In November of 2021, he landed an endorsement deal with Puma. There was a bright future ahead of him, but now he’s facing three years in jail.

Williams puts the spotlight back on guns among athletes. This one is a flashing red light that can’t be ignored.

Why are young athletes taking risks with guns? The Memphis Grizzlies, of course, begin the NBA playoffs on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers and star Memphis player Ja Morant was suspended earlier this season for flashing a gun on social media.

Williams has a chance at generational wealth. A gun potentially took that away. Gun culture should be treated like an American disease. It can’t be allowed to infect collegiate athletics, and so it falls to coaches and administrators to keep their teams, athletic departments and conferences gun free.

This latest incident puts pressure on Hardaway and the University of Memphis. Are they going to cut ties with Williams based on these charges? Memphis said on Friday that it was gathering more information. According to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, the charges stem from a shooting in March at a residence in San Diego County. A verbal altercation occurred at the house, according to police, and visitors were told to leave. Police say Williams fired at the car as it left the scene.

Luckily no one was shot. Police added that the car contained three minors. Williams is still in high school, after all, and according to the San Diego Union-Tribune he purchased a $1.2 million home in unincorporated San Diego County last summer. Hardaway, a former NBA star, has proven to be a good college coach for Memphis. He’s facing a big decision here. Based on the police report, Williams shouldn’t be suiting up the Tigers later this year. Playing basketball in college is no one’s right. It’s a privilege. Let Williams learn this lesson the hard way and then begin his career as a pro basketball player.

The same thing should have happened to Alabama basketball player Brandon Miller, who police say transported the gun used in Harris’ death on Jan.14 in Tuscaloosa. Miller remained on the team and never missed a game. Based on how Nate Oats and Alabama handled its star player, I wouldn’t be surprised if Memphis admits Williams for the fall semester.

There’s money invested, and there are tickets to sell.

Too cynical? Let’s not be naive here.

When Alabama basketball player Darius Miles was charged with capital murder, Alabama emphasized that Miles was kicked off the team. Alabama withheld the fact that Miller and teammate Jaden Bradley were also at the scene of the shooting. The omission allowed Miller and Bradley to play basketball without question until their names came up in court during a police testimony a month later.

The arrest of Williams for alleged assault with a firearm isn’t an outlier. There is a pattern here. Alabama’s Miles and his friend Michael Davis are in jail awaiting their trial for the alleged murder of Harris. Gun culture is to blame for her death no matter who was or wasn’t charged by the Tuscaloosa County district attorney. Last month, Alabama freshman football player Tony Mitchell of Shelby County had a gun in his car when arrested for drug charges.

And let’s not ignore the elephant in the room. Arrests involving guns among young college basketball and football players have been a feature recently in this new era of pay-for-play. The big fear among some coaches and former players on the eve of the NIL era was how young people would react to suddenly having access to new money. That concern remains.

I’m not saying extra cash from NIL deals is the cause of this problem. Gun culture among college athletes is the problem. No one is entitled to a college scholarship, though, and at some point the most valuable education of all might just be losing it.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama”, a book about togetherness, hope and rum. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.