I received a joke in my e-mail about a week ago.

I had to read it, because it was from Mom. Often I’ll delete e-mails like that, but when Mom sends you a joke in the e-mail, you have to read it. Those are the e-mail rules when you visit my computer.

Anyway, the joke went something like this:

A woman in Iowa City calls the police.

“Officer,” she says, “Help me please! Someone’s breaking into my house!”

“We’re really busy right now,” the officer says. “Just get the guy’s jersey number and we’ll get back to you.”

A little funny, but a little sad, too.

The joke reflects the public’s current perception of the Hawkeye football program, and unfortunately, that’s not funny at all. I don’t know how many people I’ve talked to — some of them rabid Hawkeye supporters — who lately have been rolling their eyes whenever the football program gets mentioned. They’ll mutter something along the lines of, “A bunch of crooks.” Often times, they’ll mutter something else that’s not appropriate in a family newspaper.

This is disappointing, because most of the Iowa football team certainly is not a bunch of crooks. I’ve met some of the players, I’ve talked with some of them. I even know some of their parents. The kids I know are good kids. It’s too bad they’ve been lumped in with a few kids who have done some bad things.

That’s how it works, though, when you’re in the public eye.

This is the problem Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz is facing as spring football practice opens this season. It would be great if the only problem for Ferentz was wins and losses, because this is something Ferentz is fully equipped to deal with. He’s a coach — a good one — and few are more capable of re-energizing a program that has gone 12-13 over the past two seasons. This is why Ferentz makes the big bucks. He’s one of those guys who can turn mediocrity into success.

Unfortunately, Ferentz also needs to find a way to deal with Iowa’s issues away from the practice field, as well as deal with the public’s perception of those issues.

At least six players have been dismissed from the team since last fall for serious legal problems — with allegations of things like drugs, theft and sexual assault.

This isn’t the kind of legal trouble that a normal college kid might get into. This isn’t a matter of driving too fast down Main Street, getting into a scrap outside a tavern or turning the music up too loud on a Saturday night. That kind of conduct is stupid but forgivable.