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Be careful out there, guys. Please.

Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham said on Monday he was going to talk to his team later that day about the shooting that took place Saturday night at a party in Salt Lake City, a shooting that deeply worried all of his players. Two Ute teammates — Lo Falemaka and Marcel Brooks-Brown — were fired upon and hit when two men crashed the party and when asked to leave by the host refused to do so. The players came forward to escort the men out, the story went, when suddenly one of the crashers pulled a gun. Fortunately, it looks as though Falemaka and Brooks-Brown, though hit in their torsos, will make full recoveries.

Question is, what exactly was Whittingham supposed to say to his team after something like that happens?

"Fellas, I know you're in college and all, but don't go to parties because two uninvited dudes packing heat might show up and refuse to leave."

Was that what he should say?

Or, should he have covered the tough-guy angle and said something like this:

"I know you're the biggest, strongest, most physically imposing individuals at whatever social setting you find yourselves, but do not — I repeat, do not — step up to help others in need when trouble arises because … well, you're football players and we need you to stay safe and be ready to play."

Whittingham probably told his players to avoid trouble at all costs and if problems arise, whatever the circumstance, back off and let the police handle them.

That's a hard thing to do when friends are threatened.

He can't tell them to completely dodge the college life, to never go out, to stay hermetically sealed off from what other students do, to go home at 10 p.m. and rely on watching a lot of TV or playing video games in the confines of their residences.

On the other hand, it's a wild world out there now, a more violent world.

And this is where any broad discussion about athletes getting caught up in violence of any kind, be it brought upon them or perpetrated by them, be it in an intervening/do-gooder role or in a criminal/aggressor one, ranging from fistfights to confrontations with someone hauling out a .357 Magnum or a 92 Beretta to domestic assaults to anything else, conclusions are difficult to draw.

Are athletes more prone to violence/aggressive behavior off the field because of the violence/aggressive behavior they are drawn to on it?

Beats me.

Some research seems to indicate that they are. Some says they aren't.

That's not really the point here.

I'm not going to throw any suspicion or allegation or blame on the Ute players who were victims in this particular case. They were freaking shot at and hit and might have been killed at a party thrown by friends. Seems like they were simply looking to have a good time on a rare off Saturday night during the season, doing what college students do.

Here is the point, and it's likely what Whittingham told his team, for, as he put it, the "6th-or-7,000th" time:

If you are a college football player, you've got to be smart. Not every bit of trouble is avoidable, but avoid what you can. Don't go looking for it. Keep your head about you. You could be a target for other so-called tough guys who want to prove how tough they are. You could be innocently tangled up in happenstance, minding your own business, having a fun time, and then, something takes a turn. Someone does something stupid. Someone won't leave a party when they are asked to leave. Somebody might say something inappropriate or totally out of line. Somebody might have bad intentions. Somebody might be a total jackass. Don't be aggressive back at them. Remove yourself and others from the situation. You've got a lot to lose. Don't talk, just walk.

Maybe that's what Whittingham said. And, in this day and age in which unstable people do crazy things, in which nasty circumstances sometimes go from 0 to 60 in 1.5 seconds, in which an uninvited stranger at a party meant for others reaches into a pocket and pulls out a gun and squeezes off a couple shots, the coach would be correct.

There are times when strong men need to, if at all possible, turn and walk away.

Fight if you have to, stand down when you can.

And, most importantly, please, be careful out there.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.