I planned to do a column last week on the splendid behavior of Tennessee football players during the last year. Unfortunately, you can't write a wrong.

Or, as a colleague put it, "You can't hold that column."

The column became outdated when a couple of UT players made what a football coach or defense attorney might characterize as errors in judgment. Linebacker Marvin Mitchell was indefinitely suspended after being charged with disorderly conduct. Defensive lineman Raymond Henderson was dismissed from the team after making an inappropriate comment to a woman and her adolescent daughter, according to UT coach Phillip Fulmer.

You might wonder why Mitchell was merely suspended while Henderson was dismissed. You also might wonder, "Who's Henderson?"

He's one of those hello-goodbye guys. They make news when they arrive and depart but do little else in between, which helps explain his punishment.

Henderson was listed as a fourth-string left tackle on the post-spring depth chart after being redshirted last year as a freshman. Moreover, this wasn't his first incident, according to Fulmer.

He was a repeat offender and non-contributor. That's a bad combination in a program which often metes out discipline selectively.

Last week, Henderson was dismissed from the team for something he said. Last year, Tony McDaniel was suspended for two games after breaking four bones in a man's face.

Does that make Fulmer a born-again disciplinarian?

Not hardly. But it qualifies as progress for a program as undisciplined as this one.

Other progress also is worth noting. The UT football program went a full year between arrests. Contrast that with 2004-2005 when 13 players were either arrested or issued citations in a year and a half. Since then, Fulmer repeatedly has emphasized he won't tolerate bad behavior.

You can talk about it. You can meet about it. But if you really want to make your point, you can't do it with a fourth-string defensive tackle.

You do it with your starting middle linebacker.

And you don't do it with an indefinite suspension. That's too vague, and inconclusive.

What Fulmer said: "He (Mitchell) will be suspended indefinitely and punished internally and will meet all requirements or not play next season."

What Fulmer should have said: "Mitchell will be suspended for the season opener."

That accomplishes a couple of things. First, it tells everyone you're serious about discipline for a change. Second, it wraps up a story you would rather not have repeated.

Within the context of crimes perpetrated by UT football players, Mitchell's transgression hardly deserves dishonorable mention. Why, he wasn't even carrying a weapon.

But he's a fifth-year senior. He has been there for all of Fulmer's anti-crime speeches. And look how seriously he took them.

According to the police report, Mitchell's threatened to "knock out" another customer and cursed a policeman at the Rocky Top Market, where police officers were called to disperse a crowd.

When police officers are called to disperse a crowd, they don't know if the crowd will talk back or shoot back. Their job is beyond stressful. It's life-threatening. If you can't empathize with what they do, you should at least have the good sense not to curse them while they're doing it.

Otherwise, maybe you aren't smart enough to be the starting middle linebacker.