Report: Rucker Reinstated to MSU Team
Now before this gets out of hand, this does not necessarily mean he will play but, rather, that he is likely free to practice, travel and suit up on Saturday. The Ticket is currently melting down with Spartan fans calling in yelling Stonum so I figured the post should be created with the caveat above before Michigan fans begin muddying the issue.
Edit: Dantonio on Chris L playing on Saturday
"That's up to Rucker - there's risk involved."
Likely referring to the possibility of injury, not knowing the scheme but... alluding to the fact he's not necessarily being held out via disciplinary reasons
[FA Edit: Rather than trying to moderate every response to the troll(s), I'm just locking this thread. It's MSU news anyways, so it's not really important. I tried deleting several, but some comments worth saving were being deleted, too.]
October 28th, 2010 at 7:54 PM ^
Rucker was convicted of a misdemeanor and a driving violation.
While I agree Rucker was an idiot (Dantonio has stated such), is it really fair to ruin the kid's life after the second time, he did everything right? Owned up, took blame, served his time.
I mean, if Michael Vick gets a shot after spending years in jail, why shouldn't Rucker? In baseball, multiple guys have been caught cheating, why are they still even playing?
Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Dantonio was saying "maybe Rucker will play", when there's really no chance of him actually playing, just to mess with Iowa's gameplan. I would like it if Rucker sat for the game, but I have to trust Dantonio, who is a very good person, to know that when a person shows remorse and does the right thing, it's not right to ruin his life over it.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:31 PM ^
Give me a break. Since when did not playing four or five football games ruining a kid's life? He was cool with just sitting around last year while his football teammates had plans to physically punish and potentially ruin other people's lives. He might as well have been there throwing punches if he was going to let what happened happen. The kid that he was there supporting, Winston, had already ruined another kid's life.
If he's that good and football is his livelihood, then he'll get a chance to prove it in a couple months at the combine. This is no big deal.
BTW, if Dantonio is using this as bait for Iowa, then he's a fool. Rucker's not the type of kid you gameplan around. That's Charles Woodson. Cue up the 1997 MSU/UM game for a refresher.
And Mike Vick? He's a grown man, playing in the NFL, a grown up's league which is also a private entity. MSU is a public school, so it pleases no one when their tax dollars are going to state schools that bend these "zero tolerance" rules. I'd hate to live in Florida with my tax dollars going to help fund football scholies at Miami, FSU and especially Florida.
So really, explain to me how his life would've been ruined by missing a month of football?
October 28th, 2010 at 8:52 PM ^
Sorry this has you guys so worked up. Perhaps I've over stepped my boundries. apologize for defending a kid. Hope everything works out, maybe it won't. If it's any consolation, I really don't think MSU runs the table, and for some reason I think that's why this particular topic has gained so much ire on this board. Again, home it all works out. For you guys too. If you want MSU to fail thats great, if you want Rucker to, I understand, but hope he doesn't. We have to much fail going on with too many d1 athletes as it is.
Frankly, we have too much fail going on like this all over. Anyway, good luck against Penn State.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:56 PM ^
I see 10 "Dantonio couldn't keep him off the field until the Bye week or the next game... he had to play him NOW?!" posts to every "He should be gone." The joke is not that he hasn't been removed - the joke is he's likely playing Saturday. His life is not ruined by missing Iowa, his coach's authoritarian persona is.
October 28th, 2010 at 7:56 PM ^
He was minimally involved in the dorm beatdown and was really only guilty of being there (i.e. he was there but he wasn't one of the guys kicking the crap out of people). I think that is way different than had he been a direct participant.
With that said, I think he is a big-time dumbass for getting a DUI while on probation. Somebody needs to sit this clown down and explain what probation means; most people on probation take extra precautions not to get caught doing anything stupid b/c they know that they have been given a 2nd chance.
I personally don't care if he plays or not; this type of things (i.e. getting in trouble with the law, playing the game that week) happens more often than you think. I just love the fact that MSU has to deal with this in the middle of one of their best starts in a long time; especially after seeing the way their fans react to our bad press.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:37 PM ^
I'm sure the situation was something like this:
Glen Winston: "Hey Chris, we are going to break into a dorm and commit mass violence. Afterward, we are going over to Charlie Kang's. You Down?"
CLR: "Um...I'm not really interested in the beatdown Glen, but count me in for the Charlie Kang's. Let me grab my facemask, it's cold outside."
Later...
CLR: "Guys, there is blood everywhere. Can't we just wrap this up? I'm Hungry"
BJ Cunningham: "Gee. It is getting late. I must have gotten caught up in the violence"
Mark Dell: "Alright boys, let's pack it in. "
October 28th, 2010 at 8:57 PM ^
It's also been claimed that he was involved in the hockey fight. Would make sense given the fact he had Winston's back in the frat incident similarly.
October 28th, 2010 at 9:16 PM ^
about "only guilty of being there." Since when is being a witness a crime? Sure there wasn't something more to plead about?
October 28th, 2010 at 7:56 PM ^
This was a dumb decision that's going to backfire on Dantonio. I know nobody cares what Drew Sharp writes, but he had a column from a week or so ago saying that Rucker should not be allowed to play again. There was also an MLive writer who a few days ago said Rucker should be allowed to stay on the team but should not be allowed to play. Earlier today, Mitch Albom had a column saying essentially the same thing and criticizing Dantonio for his refusal to comment at the press conference a couple of days ago.
Rittenberg a few days did say that he thought Rucker should be allowed to play again--but not for the Iowa game.
So, all the pundits I've seen so far are against this move. If this isn't the end of the "St. Mark" myth, then it's the beginning of the end.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:01 PM ^
You mispelled "crap" in your message above. For whatever reason you wrote "MLIve" instead.
October 28th, 2010 at 7:58 PM ^
Police report states that Rucker was involved in a hit and run. It only gets better.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:08 PM ^
He hit a parked car and the guy whose car it was didn't even want him to get in trouble. Let's not embellish the story here. Not saying he isn't dumb, but lets try and look at this objectively. Irrational arguments just makes us sound like little brother.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^
It doesn't matter if the guy happened to be a state fan and did not want him in trouble. The fact is he hit a fucking car while driving drunk. Thats all that matters here. Not that the guy was A) Either extremely gracious or B) A Sparty fan.
October 28th, 2010 at 9:00 PM ^
Someone called the cops to show up. They didn't just happen to pull him over as he was going across the street and find out they lucked out that he had hit a car before that. And if the kid didn't call the cops on Rucker, the cops apparently lucked out at seeing someone back up and then leave the scene without checking in, etc. Further, the kid found out he was a football player while in the police car and tried to bribe a cop to not arrest Rucker. Sounds more like a kid who didn't want to be the bad guy at his school.
October 28th, 2010 at 9:44 PM ^
I'm not embellishing at all. If anyone is changing the story at all it's you.
The fact he hit someone in the parking lot pokes a mighty big hole in the, 'He was fiiiine, just crossing the street' crap that a MSU fan posted. He was intoxicated enough that he hit something before he got on the road. He fucked up bad.
October 28th, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
Miami Hurricanes! Without a bunch of future 1st rounders though.
October 28th, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
Does this Rucker suspension and reinstatement have ANYTHING to do with Michigan's final five games?
No?
Way to waste your energy talking about irrelevant issues, folks.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:05 PM ^
Because it's only Thursday, and Michigan doesn't kick off until 8:00 Saturday, and we're running out of shit to talk about after the bye week.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:08 PM ^
MSU is not your Rival.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:21 PM ^
I noticed you must have made a mistake when creating your account. I can totally understand because you hastily created it 30 minutes ago so you could post on here to make yourself feel better for having a program that lacks standards. But just so you know you should probably change your "W" to a "B" when you get a chance and drop the "S" because that's what you're acting like.
Sincerely,
The Entire MGoBlog Community
October 28th, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
Let me cut to the chase. Most of you are upset because MSU's DUI'ers have been outperforming M's DUI'ers.
The impetus of all the Rucker talk on this blog is your hatred of MSU, otherwise you all wouldn't give a shit about the situation. Quit acting morally outraged, when in fact you are enraged because MSU is undefeated.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:12 PM ^
I was pretty pissed when MSU allowed Winston back on the team after, you know, going to prison, and they sucked last year. I'm all for second chances, but when we are on 3rd and 4th chances, it is getting silly. If there is any greater reason for the outrage, it is because all we hear is how "strong" and "disciplined" a program Dantonio runs compared to the "criminals" in Ann Arbor, even though there are numerous examples as to why that is false.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:18 PM ^
I never ever see this in print, except on this blog, where it is then used as a strawman to bash Dantonio and MSU.
we hear is how "strong" and "disciplined" a program Dantonio runs compared to the "criminals" in Ann Arbor,
October 28th, 2010 at 8:46 PM ^
Read some of those old Freep and MLive articles the past few summers. Reporters are smart enough to not call out a coach explicitly for hypocritical behavior, but the tone is unmistakable. And not to drag up the Freep articles, but consider how much play that story received locally and nationally compared to both MSU incidents, and it is hard not to see a thread.
October 28th, 2010 at 9:04 PM ^
So if I go back and read about M and MSU DUI situations, M will be portrayed as "criminals" and MSU will be portrayed as "strong" "disciplined"? I don't think so.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:01 PM ^
wow, there's a million sparty posters here. what happened? where did they come from?
and they're not the intelligent, objective, "i know im on a different team's site" type of posters (like Irish). they're the whiny ones who think that they need to win the internets and believe that the rest of us have to conform to their narrow realm of thought.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:02 PM ^
October 28th, 2010 at 8:05 PM ^
I just didn't see this coming at all and to be honest I have really been concerned with MSU football lately. This will most likely cause me to get mad and feel bad. Oh. I wish this never happened. Everyone will now look at their fine program with an entirely different viewpoint.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:08 PM ^
If so, this a real lame, chickenshit move if he decided to hide from the cameras and publish a statement or read it in front the cameras with no follow up questions.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:16 PM ^
Dantonio revealed his logic on his radio show tonight. Said he tries to be a parent, felt CLR had been punished enough, and doesn't want to ruin his life because of a mistake when he's done his time. He said CLR had already missed 16% of the season (in any other sport, that would be unheard of), and that he wanted to hear Rucker's name on senior day to applause for what he has done, not mistakes he has made.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:24 PM ^
I didn't hear the report so I cannot confirm this is his logic, but if so, that is just crap. He missed 16% of the season, which is basically a single game, after being involved in an offseason assault and then, during the season, being caught for DUI. If that constitutes sufficient punishment, then my legal education was a complete waste because the rules have so fundamentally changed. As for Rucker being able to hear his name on Senior Day, that wouldn't have been an issue if he hadn't ALREADY COMMITTED two acts that could send him to jail.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:20 PM ^
I want to feel like this
but I just can't anymore. I get the whole glass houses thing, the whole "why do you care about another team" thing, etc. This is just a missed opportunity by Sparty, and as an alum is bums me out that Dantonio couldn't just make the right call and drop Rucker, or at the very minimum say he is suspended indefinitely. Spartans will point out that this happens at other schools, and while that might be true, I would hope that even through the greenest of glasses people would see how hypocritical bringing Rucker back is. I know that this board has already exploded and whatever, but this is a pock on an otherwise magical season by MSU.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:20 PM ^
Dantonio wouldn't get as much crap for this if he'd never uttered the words "zero tolerance". That's going to be thrown at him by media everywhere, be it local or national.
I also think that if he'd suspended Rucker from the Iowa game, you wouldn't see this sort of reaction. I don't really think he deserved to be booted entirely, but the "out of jail and onto the practice field" think yet again just looks awful. Let him back for S&C workouts this week, suspended for the Iowa game and not allowed to travel, and reinstated for the following game? That probably would have been acceptable to most people.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:26 PM ^
Dantonio is pathetic. He has no morals, no backbone. He is an embarrassment to the sport of college football. fuck him.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:28 PM ^
One final note - RCMB apparently has a post up about the MGoBlog meltdown, if by "meltdown" you mean a bunch of MSU trolls posting and people responding along with legitimate commentary. I feel like at one point the various boards will fall in on themselves and an Internet black hole will sprout up.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:36 PM ^
Don't mind RCMB. The collective IQ of that board is barely above that of Forrest Gump.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:43 PM ^
When Dantonio uttered the "I won't comment on that" line the other day, we should have seen right then which direction this scenario was heading.........
During a recent MSU game, can't remember which, the commentators called Dantonio "old school" and a "disciplinarian"........I call him pretty friggin' hilarious!
October 28th, 2010 at 9:47 PM ^
They called him the "Dean of Discipline" lol
October 28th, 2010 at 8:45 PM ^
need to trust their instincts, and when you consider yourself a parent figure, that must be true ten fold.
If I were his parent, I might ask myself this:
Does Chris ever try to wear the ski mask while driving drunk on his way to one of his "engineer parties"?
If I thought the answer might be yes, then I would really be concerned for his future, because that is just not safe driving.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:48 PM ^
Jealousy must really suck. MSU is better than you right now and all of you can't deal with it. I feel really bad for all of you who lack meaning in your life and get this worked up about athletics. Face it, Stoneum and Grady should be off UM's team if mistakes like this were a one strike and you're out type thing. All of you should try growing up and shutting your mouths.
October 28th, 2010 at 8:50 PM ^
Thats ok you are the new thug U.
oh by the way my Michigan degree >>>>>>>>>>>> MSU degree
October 28th, 2010 at 8:52 PM ^
= kg, ds?
October 28th, 2010 at 8:53 PM ^
Did I miss something?
When did Stonum and Grady beat up other students?
October 28th, 2010 at 8:56 PM ^
You're not worked up about athletics? Then why are you on someone else's board trying to defend your team's criminal element?
October 28th, 2010 at 9:04 PM ^
I remember my first winning season.
October 28th, 2010 at 9:09 PM ^
Idiots are going to continue to be idiots. There is nothing we can do about someone this stupid.