Stonum update - Plead guilty - Sentencing next week

The program he's on right now is very tough. Best of luck to him.

Whatever happens, I hope he becomes a better human being because of it.

This kid came out of high school with a TON of potential - huge talent, recruited by most of the top programs, seemed to have his head well on his shoulders.  I thought he would be our next Braylon (no DUI pun intended).

I hope that he learns from this experience and becomes a better man from it. 

As for football, who knows how that will work out - there is always the option of Hoke telling him that if he is serious about wanting to get his life together, he can redshirt this season, work his ass off in the classroom, the weight room , the likely community service, perhaps some additional Hoke-imposed community service and something akin to the Lloyd 6:00 a.m. stadium stairs routine and earn his way back for the 2012 season.  Hoke seams like the kind of guy that really wants to help make these guys into men, and simply cutting him loose - even after a second offense - might not be his style.

I'm just going to say it: Anybody who defends a decision of keeping Stonum on the team is walking a fine line as far as hypocrisy is concerned.

Really, nothing else even matters at this point.

Forgive me for stealing a line from a rival coach: He's either playing 12 games or none.

Bad lack of judgement on his part, hopefully he finally learned his lesson.

and a side of disrespect for the law by not meeting his probation requirements on numerous occasions.

Tell me again why he is still on this team?  I'm frankly amazed that the majority of commenters seem to favor reinstatement after some form of punishment.  He should be kicked off the team, no excuses.  Hoke will definitely not be setting a good precedent for disciplinary issues if Stonum is not removed from the program.

1.  Keeps scholarship.  Can use tutors.  Push him to get a UM degree.

2.  Off team permanently.

This is the honorable thing to do, see if he can at least get a headstart on his life, that was the promise made to him when he was initially given the scholarship.  But I don't want to see this kid on our team ever again.  He made a HUGE mistake TWICE, and while I'm not saying he should be in prison or anything (leave that up to the judge), playing for UM needs to be a privilege that is entrusted only to those honorable to earn it. 

This isn't tSIO or Sparty, after all.

The program is very tough. I got two OWI's in the my early 20's and it was a nightmare.....5 days in jail, 1.5 years to get my license back, but its a life changing experience if you take the positives from the program.....hopefully he does.

DUI #1 happened while RR was coach.  DUI #2 after Hoke became coach.  But from what I have read, after DUI #1 and while RR was still coach, Stonum missed required meetings that were terms of his probation.

From what we have heard of Hoke's discipline re classroom attendance, if Stonum had missed a mandatory meeting he'd be at least pushing a plate at 4 AM the next morning.  And I suspect that he wouldn't have been given an opportunity to miss another probation meeting. 

Why was Stonum able to miss several mandatory meetings re his probation while RR was coach? 

I'm guessing here, but it could be that Hoke believes with proper discipline Stonum would never have had DUI #2,  and so is willing to give Stonum a chance.

That said, the kid is facing jail time, so being suspended/kicked of fthe team is the least of his worries.

I think players don't deserve a fourth chance. It undermines the rules, sets a bad example, and ultimately does Stonum no good. Let him stay in school, but his playing days should be over. If he really wants to keep playing, he can do so at a smaller school. 

but I'm not sure that is actually in his best interest as it may remove a major motivation for him to change his life and possibly exacerbate the behavior in question by leaving him without structure, guidance and a goal to strive for.

I say boot him this year with a very tough road back to being reinstated next year with zero tolerance for not complying with whatever demands and contraints are put upon him.

These are kids. Kids F up and sometimes they do so a few times before realizing they are heading down the wrong path.

In general, for non-hanging offenses, I favor the following approach:

1. infraction occurs

2. hammer is brought down commensurate with infraction (really serious offenses get the axe at this point) and player needs to toe the line with whatever the 'hammer' entails

3. Repeated and/or similar offense - gone from team for season/off-season/both, again commensurate with infraction, but gone with the a last chance opportunity to re-join team if and when they complete a more rigorous and participatory penance, whatever that might be.

4. Should the player make it through that, they remain at a zero tolerance status until they leave, with any further incident simply resulting in a goodbye, with no questions asked.  

In Stonum's case, at this point he would need to sit a year, get in and stay in a program to stop drinking, pass substance tests, reach a realistic set of academic goals and likely complete some course of external volunteer work and./or community service, pereferably something that makes him aware of the risks he is taking and the danger he presents to others when he drinks and drives. He spends a year doing that and stays the course, he gets another chance. One more chance, no acceptions.

We all joked about Boren's comments after he left the team saying that there was a breakdown in family values.  I think that having coaches like Carr and Hoke who will put in the time with kids that mess up like Arrington and Stonum really does show the family values that are in place at Michigan.  Some colleges may simply turn a blind eye (OSU) or cut the kid and figure that it's one less thing for them to worry about, but Michigan actually takes the time to try to help their kids through their issues.  This is the kind of family environment that I would want to send my kid to if he were playing football.  In my opinion it really shows that the coaches are committing to your kid for 4+ years as long as they are putting in some effort to become a better person after they make mistakes (While some people like Cissoko may have blown off any attempts at changing).

Additionally, after Arrington had his big legal troubles and did the 6 AM stadium stair punishment, he came back and contributed on the field and ended up getting drafted by the Saints.  In that situation, sticking by our guy worked out well for both the school and the player, and the same could happen here with Stonum if he really is committed to getting over this issue.

Hoke has told the story many times that, when he was playing, he thought he would drink every beer in town.   He credits his coaches with changing this and having a great positive impact on his life.

Perhaps he will cut Stonum loose someday.  But I think his first priority will be to try to impact the man’s behavior.

I was just about to say some stuff like... If he's booted, He's just gonna drink himself to death, rabble, rabble, What he really needs is motivation and structure, rabble rabble...

But then I remembered something like that coming from the sparty tent not too long ago, and there goes that whole hipocrisy thing again. Take a step back, and think about if he were some 4th string walk-on instead of a starter. Think he'd be allowed to stay? Doubt it. One kid or another, why should he be held to a different standard? Also, keep in mind that any punishment handed down to Stonum will not only force him to pay back his own "debt", but will serve as deterrent and a sign to other players of what they can and can't get away with.

I guess I'm a little impartial here; I want him to be a productive player for Michigan, but I think he's done enough to be cut loose. The only way I'll be more disappointed in this whole situation is if he's allowed to play this year.

In Stonum's defense, his BAC was at 0.10 for the original incident (Sept. 2008) and 0.11 this time. Which yes does qualify as drunk driving but that's really not that much to drink. BUT, he shouldn't have missed his probationary meetings and what not and he is also a college athlete, he should know better. If he is really waking up at 5 am or whatever it was to push that sled up and down the field I think he deserves a chance to get back on the team because he clearly wants to be apart of it.