Suspended Minnesota MBB Center Reggie Lynch has rejoined team practices

Submitted by Bambi on

Per Richard Pitino, link to tweet.

Lynch is appealing his suspension (and thus all penalties including the the ban from campus have not taken effect) and last Friday the school's athletic director said that Lynch would come back to practice and be with the team but not play (link).

Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with the Pitino's.

hailtothevictors08

January 9th, 2018 at 5:11 PM ^

I am sure I will take negs for this but whatever:

TLDR - As long as he is considered safe to go to class (which is the university process while appealing) I am ok with him practicing but not playing in games. 

 
1) It is incredibly stupid from a PR standpoint no matter what. 
 
2) I actually appreciate people not always doing the smart PR move if they don't think it is the right/fair/moral move (Note: I am guessing no one on this board knows whether Lynch is Actually guilty or not. So I can't tell you what the actual right/fair/moral choice is. There is of course a shit ton of smoke, so the safe choice is a full suspension, but safe doesn't mean right.)
 
3) However, if I am reading their policy (school, not AD) correctly, while he appeals, the school considers him not guilty (no penalties, can go to class, etc.). If the school considers it SAFE FOR HIM TO BE IN CLASS, I don't see why he can't work out or practice with the team. 
 
4) AS LONG AS HE DOES NOT PLAY IN A GAME and he is still attending class and it is still considered under investigation, him practicing doesn't bother me. This actually seems like a (uncomfortable but) fair way to balance the accused rights with that of the accuser. 
 
5) This stuff is hard for universities because it is literally impossible to be fair to both sides. I literally do not think you can expel every perpetrator without catching up a few that are not. We are currently in a CORRECT stage of trying to correct old policies and actually punish this shit. This is important work. We still have a long way to go. However, unless we literally invent a truth and accuracy serum that we give to people, it will never be perfect.
 
6) I think because this board hates the Pitnos and rightfully finds them slimy, they are assuming the worst on this player (Again tons of smoke, but I have no clue of he guilty or not. Gun to my head, I think it is highly likely but this is based off of things I have read on the internet. Not evidence.)
 
7) Furthermore, Minnesota has had a ton of problems with this in their AD lately which burns their AD's benefit of the doubt. This still shouldn't burn Lynch's.
 
8) The problem is these appeals take time, but assuming Lynch's goal is to make money playing basketball (totally possible in Europe), taking away practice time from him is similar to a university stripping me the ability to write my dissertation/do interview prep or a math student's right to do math work with a tutor or professor while under investigation. 
 
9) If he is guilty, he probably deserves jail time.
 
 

Bambi

January 9th, 2018 at 6:08 PM ^

I feel like you're all over the place here with a few straw man arguments thrown in. To address a few points:

1) It doesn't look bad PR wise no matter what. I mean obviously the accustaions do, but from the school/team's perspective if they remove him from all team activities until the investigation/appeal has run its course, there's little bad PR that comes from that.

2) You're saying you realize there's a bunch of "smoke" around Lynch (between his previous sexual assualt allegation, the rumors on campus, and the school's initial reaction to these allegations by banning him from campus until 2020), and later say you think the allegations are true if you had to guess. Yet you're still a fan of this move because ??? Because it's not smart PR? Because it's "fair/moral"? I can't take that seriously. In what world is telling a kid who is involved in a serious sexual assault allegation that he can't practice basketball unfair?

3) And because I know the next argument is "so what, are we just gonna let every girl who cries rape ruin potentially innocent men's future?", look at Oklahoma and Rodney Anderson. Anderson was accused of rape, but never suspended from team activities. An investigation took place and it was determined the allegations didn't have merit to them and he wasn't charged. No one is upset or criticizing Oklahoma because they did nothing wrong. There was no smoke, so nothing needed to be done. In this case, where we still have a lit fire essentially, maybe suspending from team activities is a good idea??? Especially because maybe his priorities should be on getting this all straightened out and not playing basketball right now?

4) You're saying you don't know why Lynch shouldn't be allowed to practice if he's allowed in class/on campus. Maybe because as a student athlete him playing basketball is a privilege that a sexual assault allegation jeopardizes? Maybe because the standards a scholarship athlete are held to in order to play that sport are different than that of a normal student (ie same reason smoking weed will get you suspended from a team but not class)? 

5) Once again, straw man argument dude. No one is saying expell the kid now, that has never been the argument. People are saying maybe avoid him being associated with the team after his second sexual assault allegation and the University initially trying to ban him for 2 years, at least until the investigation is done. Allowing him to be a student while this investigation happens is plenty fair to both sides.

6) If you're going to use Minnesota's AD past transgressions as reason to why they overreacted and it's unfair to Lynch, then once again, his past sexual assault allegation tips those scales way back the other way.

7) The argument that taking away practice time hinders his future earnings is so assinine I can't take it seriously. Wanna know what hurts his future earnings more than missing practice? Missing games. If you're arguing that the university can't hinder his future earnings, then you should be upset that he's suspended from the games. So either it's no suspension or he can't do anything  at all. Because even if he practices, no pro team is gonna give a shit if he's not playing. And that comparison to school work doesn't hold in the slightest dude. 

hailtothevictors08

January 9th, 2018 at 8:27 PM ^

Didn’t say I was a fan of it. Just that I was ok with it. Also Ok with it if tthey suspend him from the team fully too. I would prefer Michigan choose the second option tbh. Just said I am ok with the first one.

Again. I realize this is an unpopular view. It’s ok. At the end of the day, if he is safe to go to class and have other students be around him, it is safe for him to work out with a basketball team in a gym. I am ok with not ostercizing him from the team while it’s still under investigation.

hailtothevictors08

January 9th, 2018 at 8:34 PM ^

Also. I wasn’t clear on my first point. I think it is bad PR not to suspend him fully no matter what. The obvious PR move is to do that. I just don’t think the obvious PR move is always the right actual move.

MGOTokyo

January 9th, 2018 at 8:38 PM ^

That was my take so far.  If he is allowed to attend class and practice, it seems kind of arbitrary to conversely say he cannot play in games. Who draws that line and what rationale is used?

hailtothevictors08

January 9th, 2018 at 8:30 PM ^

Pretending that high level D-1 basketball players are like a club or a fraternity is silly. Unlike almost every other sport, basically every one of these guys CAN go pro in basketball in Europe.

I also would like athletes to be able to major in their sport, if they want, just as we allow students to major in art, acting, or music.

Guy Fawkes

January 9th, 2018 at 2:10 PM ^

The negatives far outweigh the positives here. I understand due process but send him packing, allowing him to practice only opens the University up to more mishandling of the situation. 

SoDak Blues

January 9th, 2018 at 2:39 PM ^

Credit to His Dudeness for his post on the this same topic initially, but it is damn disgraceful that any athlete could return to the team while appealing sexual assault. This is so fricking easy. Accused/under investigation, suspend the guy until it is figured out. Once it has been proven, the guy is kicked off the team. How hard is it to do the right thing. Pitino is scum and the AD should get the axe.

Perkis-Size Me

January 9th, 2018 at 2:49 PM ^

I understand that everyone is entitled to their day in court, but this just continues to look worse and worse for Minnesota. Adds to the perception that there is a cultural toxicity in that Athletic Department that is willing to overlook or downplay the severity of sexual assault. 

That being said, I shouldn't be surprised. Pitino's father was one of the biggest slimeballs that ever coached the game of basketball. Should not at all be shocking to see his son adopting similar tendencies. 

True Blue Grit

January 9th, 2018 at 2:52 PM ^

Why aren't the alumni and faculty of Minnesota screaming at the administration right now over what's going on in their athletic department.  You'd have thought they would have had enough of all the assaults and horrible handling of the aftermaths of them.   I'm at a loss for words.  

LSAClassOf2000

January 9th, 2018 at 3:07 PM ^

I didn't realize that Minnesota was taking its cues from the "Maybe This Will All Just Go Away" book of public relations. This is.....not a good look. A terrible look, as a matter of fact. 

Why is it that so many schools do not take the past mistakes of other institutions into consideration when dealing with this? Or worse, they take them into consideration and wilfully decide to repeat them?

 

Gr1mlock

January 9th, 2018 at 3:36 PM ^

This is an astoundingly unsurprising terrible decision.  Sadly, I'm not longer shocked when colleges make wrong headed, fucked up decisions about sexual assault, especially when it comes to athletes.  Shame on Minnesota's AD, shame on their administration, shame on Pitino, and shame on every player who doesn't tell him to fuck right off and refuse to be on the same court as him.  

PopeLando

January 9th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^

It's like some schools are in a game of "who's the worst at sexual assaults".

Nobody's going to top Penn State. But Baylor sure as shit made a run for the title, Sparty too. Minnesota is putting their hat in the ring in a big way.

Maize4Life

January 9th, 2018 at 6:00 PM ^

The AD and Pitino were a complete embarassment..dodged every question..Would NOT admit how long they knew about it and basically did what they could to minimize the charges