The Florida basketball team provides a glaring example of disloyalty and the tolerance of such behavior.

For years, many have been disturbed and angered by the tendency of athletic coaches to coddle their players in various sports. One of the ultimates in such foolishness came about this week in the case of Christian Drejer, a member of the Florida University basketball team.

Drejer, a Dane, went to Florida as a highly ranked prospect and has had his moments with coach Billy Donovan’s team. Florida began this season as one of the highly ranked college groups but has had its ups and downs the same as many preseason favorites.

The past Tuesday night, the team traveled to Athens for a key match with Georgia, and Donovan had Drejer stay home to negotiate with a Spanish professional team about his immediate future. Florida lost, and the absence of Drejer, who has been averaging more than 10 points a game, hurt.

As it turned out, Drejer decided Wednesday to leave the team to finish the season in Spain. But the fact the Florida coach allowed him to stay home to “negotiate” indicates that if Drejer had not been able to line up a suitable deal he could have been returned to the college roster. How unfair to the rest of the players who met their commitments.

In recent times, we frequently have seen college basketball stars leave after their freshman, sophomore and junior seasons for professional careers. In recent years, Kansas University has seen two stars, Paul Pierce and Drew Gooden, leave after their junior years for lucrative professional careers. But in the middle of a season?

Announced coach Donovan: “Christian has decided it’s in his best interest to move on, and this is an opportunity he cannot pass up for himself and his future.” What about the team’s interests and the loyalty he supposedly pledged?

The young man should have been cut from the team, clearly and openly, before it ever came to a negotiation while his team faced a key game in which he had agreed to play as a member of the roster. But he has talent, as witness the professionals’ interest, and his college coach apparently was willing to sacrifice the welfare of the rest of the team to patronize him or, perhaps, to help lure other professional-caliber players to his team for one or two seasons.

Drejer does not look good, the Florida coach does not look good and the face of college basketball and the inroads of greedy professionals remains as disgusting as ever.

Further, the allegiance of such ex-Jayhawk stars as Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison, who fulfilled four-year commitments here with flourishes, looks better all the time.

Even some professional people are shaking their heads at the mid-year jump by Drejer and the indication that his coach may have aided and abetted the move.