Every now and again something occurs in the world of sports to rudely remind us that sports are games and nothing more.

The 1970 plane crash that killed the Marshall University football team did that.

The earthquake that hit during the 1989 World Series did that.

The hurricane that turned the New Orleans Superdome into a refugee shelter did that.

The suicide of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy's son did that.

Now we have another:Garrett and Britt Reid, sons of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, are in jail and fighting drug addictions.

Their father continues to coach the Eagles and isn't planning on stopping anytime soon.

This isn't to suggest he should.

Unfortunately, drug addition is prevalent in our culture these days. To suggest that Britt and Garrett Reid got hooked on drugs because their father has been consumed by his job as a pro football coach would be ludicrous.

Drug addicts and dealers come from all walks of life. Sons and daughters of police officers, teachers, steelworkers and bankers have forced their parents to deal with this nightmare.

None of them quit their jobs because of it and neither should Reid.

It's not like the coach hasn't tried handling his problem before. His sons have been in and out of rehabilitation centers. The man took a five-week leave of absence to deal with these issues earlier.

Sadly, none of those initiatives worked.

Garrett Reid, 24, had heroin, steroids and more than 200 pills in his vehicle when he wrecked it recently. He admitted to taking heroin earlier in the day.

The man — and he is a man, not a kid — smuggled 89 pills into his prison cell with him.

That's a human being with a problem.

His brother Britt, 22, is serving eight to 23 months in prison on drug, gun and ammunition charges.

Yes, it's strange that both of Reid's sons have gone down the drug road. It's not so strange if they've been hanging with the same crowd since their teenage years, and that is a likely scenario.

It's also strange that drugs, syringes and needles were found throughout the Reid household during a police search.

Can it be possible that Reid and his wife were unaware of this?

Indeed, it's possible.

All a football coach can do is put his team in a position to succeed on the field by teaching and educating them about the game.

Ultimately, the players' execution determines the outcome of the game.

All a parent can do is put his kids in a position to succeed in life by teaching them the difference between right and wrong and educating them to make good decisions.

Ultimately, the kids' decisions determine the outcome of their lives.

It's not the quantity of time Andy Reid put in with his sons. It's the quality of time that counted.

Garrett and Britt Reid are sitting in prison. That doesn't mean their father put them there.