OT: MSU players reinstated
Rittenberg just wrote a little piece about the 4 players (the contibutors) being reinstated and how they are adjusting
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/11120/reinstated-spartans-adju…
I couldn't help but laugh at some of the word choices the Spartan players used:
J'Michael Deane - "I should apologize to all of Spartan Nation because we definitely gave a black eye to the program,"
Keith Nichol - "I don't feel like they missed a beat,"
the real question is," Will attending spring practice violate their parole, since they will be in contact with other know felons?"
Cue a bunch of self righteous posts about how dirty MSU football is, while forgetting that we've had players beat up other students too.
Edit, cue the negs too...
I pos'd this one, why the negs? It's not like he's wrong.
The difference is that Michigan football players don't ROUTINELY become criminals in substantial numbers.
http://michigansportscenter.com/2007/08/two-more-wolverines-involved-in…
Here we have two football players that attacked one guy in a group fight situation when at the same time two different players had plead not guilty to their own legal issues. So that is four players all in legal trouble at the same exact time. This was just yesterday in 2007. I kinda feel like you just want to think that Michigan football is squeaky clean compared to MSU, and that is simply not true.
http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/say-goodbye-to-carson-butler.html
Don't forget about Carson Butler and Chris Richards beating up nerds when Richards had gotten into trouble just a few months before this event.
Did you read my comment?
I know we didn't have 15 players involved in one incident (which will obviously skew the stats), but we have had plenty of legal issues too.
March 29th, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^
the other major difference is how the programs dealt with these issues. I don't have all the details in each individual case, but I am rather confident that UM dealt with each case more fittingly and with much less of a 'boys-will-be-boys' approach.
Wasn't Carson Butler suspended and then kicked off the team for continuing issues?
You could go back 20 years with UM football and you couldn't find 15 players who have been charged with assault. That happened in one incident with the Spartans. Just a bit different, no?
I would like to add that the Great Frathouse Beatdown was a premeditated gang raid on non-athletes, some of whom were women.
When over 15 percent of your scholarship players participate in a gang raid, it's definitely quite different than one player getting into a fight every year or so or one trying to run a Florida drug con on the wrong person.
Also, when UM players do stuff like this, they get kicked off the team like they should. I am still waiting for the MSM's "righteous indignation" columns like the ones they would write about UM or RR if this happened in A2.
I guess I'll be waiting a long time if I don't count outlier Drew Dull.
No women were hit. That was as untrue as the ski masks. Most of the players involved have transferred or been kicked off the team. Two or three who were reinstated are going through a program to have their records expunged...much like Demar Dorsey did.
No. The masks did not cover all but eyes...but they did cover the head and chin. So...ski mask? Depends on where you ski, I guess. I've never seen a skier wearing a burglar mask.
As for discipline...You can't really claim that a player was "kicked off" when the coach knew they were going to jail for probation violations (if not also for the actual new crime). Further, Demar Dorsey did not commit crimes while on scholarship at Michigan. He had a couple years to show that he had (hopefully) cleaned up his act before being offered a ride to UofM. That isn't like Jenrette who had a very similar incident to Dorsey (same state even) before being recruiting, and then again was arrested for B&E under Dantonio who LIED ABOUT IT and then put him back on the team without suspension. Remember, when the Court orders an activity, it isn't a "suspension" from the coach.
What Sparty can't seem to understand (I know, thinkin' is tough) is that the players involved in a large scale premeditated gang attack were suspended for a maximum of ONE GAME. That is not discipline. Finally, bringing them back for the VERY FIRST DAY OF SPRING BALL proves, again, that there is no discipline for the Mean Machine. Maybe if Dantonio didn't drive Winston from prison to practice, the gang attack wouldn't have even occurred. There is a clear pattern and it will repeat itself in EL.
you're behind the curve. i got blasted for noting the number of second chances kids have gotten at Michigan
Spartan Nation? You mean parts of the state of Michigan right? It's not a "nation" if it's such a small population.
Ford Field during the Final Four last year disagrees with you.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:12 PM ^
Spartan Stadium being half empty for each game agrees.
That you were able to bring a lot of fans to a sporting event in your own state hardly demonstrates that MSU has national appeal.
Of course they didn't miss a beat. If they'd missed the beat, they would have avoided this altogether.
Spartan Nation's black eye, what about the kids they attacked? No black eyes there?
Not to be a dick
The only thing I am wondering is when it will happen again.
+1 for using when not if
What a terrible precedent this sets. It's unfortunate that it gets overlooked. I just can't help but think that this is going to snowball into Sparty's face.
What makes anyone think, that this is never gonna happen again in the future? Letting off athletes who have the PRIVILEGE of playing a sport, and allowing them to come back does nothing but to reinforce the behavior. Dantonio already had one chance with these guys and they messed up. Giving them a second chance does nothing for them and that team.
I think it's a worse precedent for the school--these guys perpetrated a large-scale premeditated assault on other students and MSU is letting them stay. What do they do when some other student does something horrendous and the administration wants to kick them out?
Coach D-
You are a master disciplinarian. The tough zero to one game suspensions you levied are the sort of legend. Oh yes, some will point to those "kicked off" the team permanently. Alas, you sneaky devil, you know that a player in jail is no player at all.
It takes something special to make sure your convicted criminals are always ready, come rain, sleet or criminal justice, for day one of spring ball. We need not fret that the potluck beatdown could have been avoided if Winston didn't go jail-to-jersey. Why dwell in the past? It's almost time for The Longest Yard East Lansing Edition!!!! Go Mean Machine!