As Rutgers gets left behind UConn academically and athletically, comes this

[Rumrunner]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-57334216-10391695/violent-gangs-impact-college-sports/

CBS News investigates the dangerous, hidden influence of gangs on college athletics at Rutgers and a few other colleges.

Not a good time to be a Rutgers supporter.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Has there ever been a good time to be a Rutgers supporter? I mean, ever?

 

[CAHUSKY]

You think its more common at Rutgers than anywhere else on the east coast? Im all for bashing RU but I think its just as likely to be an issue at UCONN and any other major division 1 program. Its been an issue for west coast schools for years. Check out the movie "Boy's in the Hood". One of my favorite flicks of all time.

 

[HuskyFan16]

well first off, this isn't edsall related so if you need the off-topic board please note it is clearly marked, and secondly (in response to CAHusky) I would have to imagine gangs would be able to have a larger sphere of influence in northern New Jersey, than Storrs.

 

[whaler11]

This isn't exactly new news, there are plenty of stories about players and gangs and how coaches recruit around it.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Has there ever been a good time to be a Rutgers supporter? I mean, ever?

November 5th, 1869 was the high point of being a snooki fan.

 

[buckley503]

You think its more common at Rutgers than anywhere else on the east coast? Im all for bashing RU but I think its just as likely to be an issue at UCONN and any other major division 1 program. Its been an issue for west coast schools for years. Check out the movie "Boy's in the Hood". One of my favorite flicks of all time.

I'm going to guess that you are not too familiar with central and northern NJ just in terms of the urban towns (Trenton, Elizabeth, Perth Amboy, Newark, Linden, etc.) that are 15 miles from the RU campus, including New Brunswick itself. If there is equal gang influence in bucolic Storrs than I am equally amazed and naive.

 

[FDNY99]

This is nothing new. It has been a problem going back to the days of Bill McCartney and Gary Barnett at Colorado. There was a story in SI back then about Colorado players flashing gang signs on tv during big in season games and bowl games.

 

[MidTown Husky]

Wasn't a player from UConn from Compton, CA? Sounds familiar...

 

[SAMCRO]

Wasn't a player from UConn from Compton, CA? Sounds familiar...

Was that Doughboy's brother, Chris? He never made it to campus. Furious Styles tried to straighten him out, but didn't end well. He finally qualified on his SAT's, but then tragedy struck on the way back from the store.

 

[MidTown Husky]

I thought it was a basketball player...

 

[CAHUSKY]

I'm going to guess that you are not too familiar with central and northern NJ just in terms of the urban towns (Trenton, Elizabeth, Perth Amboy, Newark, Linden, etc.) that are 15 miles from the RU campus, including New Brunswick itself. If there is equal gang influence in bucolic Storrs than I am equally amazed and naive.

I think you are missing my point. Everyone recruits those areas and lots and lots of teams end up with gang members on their roster. The problem isn't the proximity to bad neighborhoods necessarily its the crime the players potentially bring with them.

 

[CAHUSKY]

I thought it was a basketball player...

Kevin Ollie went to Crenshaw. I think we can trust him though.

 

[buckley503]

I think you are missing my point. Everyone recruits those areas and lots and lots of teams end up with gang members on their roster. The problem isn't the proximity to bad neighborhoods necessarily its the crime the players potentially bring with them.

I agree with your statement. My point is that there is enough of the gang element local to complement/reinforce/welcome that type of behavior or culture.

 

[freescooter]

I tend to agree with buckley503 on this. I do think that if you have a kid in Storrs, even a kid from a tough neighborhood in New Jersey, well, he's in Storrs and his friends are in new Jersey...there are certain advantages about having a kid a couple of hundred miles from home...look, there was a recnt piece about gang influences in the military, too, so it isn't impossible to be sure, but I do think that putting a kid in a place that isn't all that easy to reach, with a somewhat different environment, can limit the effects of gang influences, at least while he is at UCONN...I've always thought that one of Wiggins' problems was that he didn't get far enough away from his old "friends" from East Hartford. And if I recall it correctly, the laptop situation occurred when one of Williams' hometown friends came for a visit...not totally blaming the friends, but being out of day to day contact with those guys can lead a person to change I suspect.