Report: Rucker Reinstated to MSU Team

Submitted by Geaux_Blue on

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.]

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Geaux_Blue

October 28th, 2010 at 7:42 PM ^

is how serious can you take your coach that your punishment is confined to a game suspension and your jail sentence? they know they can do whatever they want, face the legal system just like everyone else, and continue on their way.

Joined: 01/25/2009

MGoPoints: 24096

AdmiralAkbar

October 28th, 2010 at 7:30 PM ^

I think its an important distinction that he was actually convicted of two things:

-misdemeanor assault

-reckless driving (which is a "moving violation" IIRC)

 

To look at the world in with your head in the sand, this is not really all that much to go on as far as "crime" overall goes. You can get charged with all kinds of stuff, but what goes in your record is what you are actually convicted of... credit his lawyers I suppose.

 

I would think people would be more concerned with the two basketball players who had the rape alligations leveled at them, honestly.

Joined: 01/03/2009

MGoPoints: 38

BiSB

October 28th, 2010 at 7:38 PM ^

And Al Capone was only convicted of tax evasion.

A court of law looks at what you've charged with.  Dantonio needs to look at what he DID. And what he did was beat up some engineers (even if he only 'helped'), and while on probation he got caught driving drunk when even the 'drunk' part was a violation of his probation.

Joined: 08/15/2009

MGoPoints: 46071

MH20

October 28th, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^

My buddy, who is the biggest Spartan homer you'll ever meet, is quite unhappy about this.

That sets a shitty precedent.  Wow I thought Mark was going to dump him.  I can't say I'm proud.  This tarnishes a magical season.  State lost more respect nationwide.

Joined: 10/30/2008

MGoPoints: 40453

MaizeAndBlueManGroup

October 28th, 2010 at 7:39 PM ^

Looks like "Win at all costs" Dantonio is back at it again. The bright side is that he clearly hasn't learned from the Winston situation which will lead to more events that will enforce the stereotype that he runs an undisciplined program.

It's just such a moronic move by Dantonio on all fronts. This is the 1 season in every 40 years that MSU will have some success, and rather than taking advantage of it, you open it up to criticism by doing this. Not to mention, Rucker's substitute (Dennard is his name, I believe) was playing pretty well.

Joined: 02/21/2010

MGoPoints: 34

Pai Mei

October 28th, 2010 at 7:43 PM ^

With everything in Sparty's  season going their way, do they really need Rucker?? This makes the program look horrible. 

Talk about a "good story nationally" going wrong...geez. 

Joined: 08/14/2009

MGoPoints: 1106

tk47

October 28th, 2010 at 8:41 PM ^

Wow.

UPDATE:  Here are some, you know, actual statistics for you, slugger.  Wins at Michigan Stadium:

  • Tressel: 4
  • Dantonio: 2
  • Rodriguez: 10

Am I thrilled about those numbers?  Not particularly.  But I don't quite think you can go as far as to say that Tressel & Dantonio have more wins at Michigan Stadium than Rodriguez.

It's okay though, Sparty.  Don't let silly little things like facts get in the way of your opinions.  Go have a cookie, you've earned it, champ.

Joined: 06/13/2009

MGoPoints: 1047

markusr2007

October 28th, 2010 at 7:45 PM ^

I don't care if it was Chris Rucker or Kevin Grady at UM, drunk driving is just godamned stupid as hell in modern society. It's 2010.  M.A.D.D. has been around for 30 years. Jesus Christ, get some self-control or call a f*%3ing taxi!   In Michigan it's not a felony until you get convicted a 3rd time for doing it - plenty of time to practice property damage and potentially killing people on the road.  This is the part where we laugh it off, you know boys will be boys, and "let's not destroy this young man's future". We do this at least until it's our loved one that gets offed. 

Go out and have a great game against Iowa, Chris!  Congratulations. You beat the system.

Joined: 10/21/2008

MGoPoints: 19372

Kal

October 28th, 2010 at 7:49 PM ^

He was just moving his car across the street to a different parking lot, not mowing down pedestrians on a major street. His mistake, IMO, is doing anything of the sort intoxicated while on probation. If I were already on thin ice at a school I had a full ride to play football for, I'd be damn sure I wouldn't be making any questionable decisions that could (ok well SHOULD HAVE) cost me my scholarship from the team.

Joined: 07/10/2008

MGoPoints: 4608

dwags

October 28th, 2010 at 7:51 PM ^

and then violating probation.  That's horrible.  quick block all the glass in our house, I've got the stones.  Or should I say Stonum.  lol

Joined: 10/28/2010

MGoPoints: -5

BiSB

October 28th, 2010 at 7:57 PM ^

Anyone who is a fan of a team who lets someone play who is convicted of a violent crime, and is then caught doing something ELSE that would be illegal regardless of their probationary status?

Granted, Rucker's second offense wasn't nearly as spectacular as Glenn Winston's... but when someone sets the bar that high, I guess you've just got to temper expectations.

Joined: 08/15/2009

MGoPoints: 46071

Kal

October 28th, 2010 at 8:18 PM ^

Dantonio just makes no sense on this one. His program has so much positive spotlight right now, if he had just made the more ethical decision (not to mention the fact that he said "ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY") he wouldn't be facing so much backlash. I give all the credit for what State has been able to do this season and I'm not even going to sit here and say they aren't a good team. The fact is they don't necessarily need Rucker, and reinstating him is just a bad PR move that leads to the MSM making publications about how undisciplined MSU is. It's like a Sparty NO moment, but off the field this time. This is as rational of an argument as I can try to give you.

Oh and using Stonum and Grady as examples is fine, except in their case it wasn't a repeat offense after being involved in something serious (despite the fact it was downplayed to a misdemeanor).

Joined: 07/10/2008

MGoPoints: 4608

tk47

October 28th, 2010 at 8:01 PM ^

Yeah but what about Stonum and Grady?  LOOK AT ME, I'M BEING OBJECTIVE!  LOOK HOW OBJECTIVE I AM!  I'M SO MUCH BETTER THAN EVERYBODY BECAUSE I'M SO OBJECTIVE!

(never mind that, despite the fact that Stonum and Grady got DUI's just like Rucker, they weren't on legal probation at the time for misdemeanor assault)

Joined: 06/13/2009

MGoPoints: 1047

dwags

October 28th, 2010 at 8:05 PM ^

He was convicted of conspiracy to commit.  That means, he didn't touch anyone, he was there.  I know, that's a horrible crime.  He was there, he shouldn't have been.  

2. Stonum, and try to get this, violated probabtion and WENT TO JAIL.  

3.  Here is the point for all you people who really don't have MSU as a rival, but are just being ultruistic:   It's not the fact that schools have these kids who screw up.  They do.  EVERY SCHOOL DOES.  Like Rich Rod, like Lloyd, Like Izzo, Like Tressel, they are in charge of them for 4 or 5 years and try to do their best to make them better than when they got there.  Sometimes they fail, and when it''s our rivals that fail (even though  MSU is not a rival) we are more upset about it.  However, if cooler heads prevail, it sometimes works out for the kid involved.  Oh, and every time it's a "star" player, Stonum, Rucker, those kids who stole that stuff from K-Mart, Skiles, etc, the coaches no doubt put a bit more work into it. 

For every example you guys come up with, you have to know there are countless others from every school.  Some were kicked off for good, some couldn't start the first offensive series so they would be penalized by not hearing their names over the loud speaker as starters, some missed a game, some missed more.  It's magnified when the school is having such a good year and it's your rival (even though MSU isn't).  

We can go back and forth about this all night, but bottom line is you do what you think is best for the program and for the kid.  If it's so egregious, your school can use this against the other school for recruiting purposes.  Show them how pure you are and how evil your rival is.  It's a win win situation.  

Good luck against Penn State. 

Joined: 10/28/2010

MGoPoints: -5

dwags

October 28th, 2010 at 8:21 PM ^

Caputo's sidekick says MSU's season is tainted....Seriously?

If MSU has the season we think they'll have no one will remember this 3-4 years from now.

Does anyone remember these from the 1997/1998 Michigan season:

April 1997: Football players Steve Frazier and Aaron Shea are the target of an investigation after a dorm room fire leads to the discovery of an empty beer keg in their room. Both are underage.

November 1996: Football player Charles Winters is charged with assault with intent to commit murder, accused of beating his mother’s ex-husband with a baseball bat. Winters, then 22, a senior defensive back, is accused of attacking Horace Davis, 42, outside his mother’s home in Detroit. Winters allegedly knocked Davis down with the bat and then struck him another five or six times.


April 1996: Quarterback Brian Griese is suspended indefinitely for smashing a bar window in an “alcohol-related incident.” Griese tells police he broke a window after he had been locked out of a campus-area bar by its manager. He pleads to a reduced charge of malicious destruction, pays for the window and court costs, and agrees to undergo a substance abuse evaluation. Griese is suspended from the team for the remainder ofspring practice but reinstated in the summer


No, and rightly so.

Joined: 10/28/2010

MGoPoints: -5

tk47

October 28th, 2010 at 8:29 PM ^

2. Stonum, and try to get this, violated probabtion and WENT TO JAIL. 

I understand that, but Stonum (and try to get this) violated probation by leaving the state without consent, and failing to submit the required amount of random alcohol tests.  He didn't violate his probation by GETTING ANOTHER DUI.  I'm not going to try to argue that Michigan players haven't done their share of dumb shit through the years (peeing on dance floors, exposing genitalia in sorority house windows, etc), but you shouldn't try to argue that the Stonum/Grady situations are comparable to Rucker's either.

Like you said though, we could go back and forth about this all night, so there's no point.  Have a good night, and enjoy reading nice fluffy columns in the local rags tomorrow about what a wonderful and caring person Dantonio is for giving Rucker a second (errrrrrrr, third) chance.

In the meantime, please do one thing for me.  I believe you've posted not once, but twice, that Tressel and Dantonio have more wins at Michigan Stadium than Rodriguez does.  Could you go ahead and double(errrrr, triple)-check that for me?  Thanks, chief.

Joined: 06/13/2009

MGoPoints: 1047

dwags

October 28th, 2010 at 8:39 PM ^

I know their winning percentage there is much higher.  :P   

 

Yeah, I sometimes look down your way and just wish we had the clean program you guys do.   However, we're stuck with what we have.  I guess we'll just have to be miserable.  Wish we were you guys.

 

Anyway, here's a parting gift.  Your tears taste wonderful:

 

From Dantonio:

Will he play on Saturday?

"That will be a decision that he'll make. It's important to note that if he decides to come, he takes a risk, and I understand that risk, and I laid out the risk of him coming now and playing now. He will not start. (It's a decision) of traveling with the team.

"That's a risk that he has to evaluate with him and his family. Last week or two weeks ago, I talked with his mother. I talked with Chris. This is a very emotional thing, when this thing goes down like this, but he'll make that decision I guess tomorrow (Friday) and we'll move there."


On making the decision:

"When you coach, I don't care if you are at the high school level or college level, you become a parent away from home in some regards. So when the time comes to discipline that young person, I think you want to make it severe, you want to make it serious, but you also need to allow room to come back to the family, if at all possible. That's the way I have always coached and I have always tried to look for the good in young people. I think I'm making the right decision. I think I'm making the right decision for him.

"The easy thing right now would have been to cut bait. That's the easy thing to do. It's not easy to stand here and be publicly put through the ringer. But I feel like after consulting with our football team and our unity council and our coaches and all the people that touch Chris in all areas of his life, in academics, equipment, strength, training room, all those areas, and asking them where they are at in terms of what type of person is Chris, and I know what type of person he is, so I have to do what I think is right in this area and that's why I'm the head coach. When I first came here, I wanted to be a players coach. I'm going to love our players and do my best to take care of them."

What do you mean when you say he faces a risk if he plays on Saturday?

"I think it's a risk for Chris because he's got to step out now, if he wants to. If he doesn't play well, the public scrutiny on him would be even more immense, fair or not fair, players make plays, sometimes they don't. So it's a risk in that capacity. It would be much easier for him to wait and play next week when there is a little less pressure, maybe.

"He has missed 16 percent of his season, he has missed two games, he has missed almost three weeks of practice. Two weeks and four days of practice.

"My biggest message to him is, on Senior Day when we play Purdue, my hope is when they announce his name that he will be applauded, for all that he has done here at Michigan State. That's my hope. That's my prayers for him. I'll be applauding, but that's where we're at."

When you say this decision was endorsed by the program, do you mean the president and athletic director too?

"I took dialogue with everybody involved in the program, but ultimately I believe that my superiors believe in me to make the decision that I think is best in this case. So don't hold them accountable. They should not be held accountable for that. I was given the flexibility to make this decision and I appreciate that and I appreciate their confidence in me as their head coach to make that decision. But my players, my staff, myself, we know our players best. I want to afford people opportunities. He made errors in judgment obviously. I think he has paid the consequences and I hope that we can forgive him and move on.

If he plays on Saturday, and what level to you think he will be able to play?

"I'm not sure on that one. He is a good football player. Prior to serving his penalty with the county I know he was working out and doing things. But that remains to be seen. Our players felt very strong that he be included in this, many of our players who have been with him for four years, he has vested himself.

"My father used to always say you need to be consistent but fair. Consistent means you have to try to do the same, the best you can, but there isn't always the same things that people do to provide that type of discipline. Fair means you have to look people in the eye and say, 'Is that fair?' Look my team in the eyes and say, 'Is that fair?' They have to look at me when I talk to them about what I want to do and say, 'Yeah, that's fair coach.' They have to believe in me too.

"The same with Chris, the same with me. I have to believe in Chris. He has to believe in me, but I'm here for the long haul. If a player comes to Michigan State, I will do everything possible for that young man. And in the end if he has to leave because he steps so far out of bounds that it is no longer possible for him to stay, which has happened and I think I have dealt very firmly with other incidents, then that's the way it is. But I think I have a responsibility to that young man and his parents and his high school coach to do the very best I can for him, and that's what I'll do

Joined: 10/28/2010

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