OT: Minnesota Gophers players boycott football; bowl game participation in jeopardy

[huskymedic]

Gophers players boycott football; bowl game participation in jeopardy

>>University of Minnesota football players announced Thursday they are boycotting all football practice and team activities — even their Dec. 27 bowl game if need be — in protest of 10 teammates being suspended from the team earlier this week in the latest fallout of a September sexual assault investigation.<<

>>What appeared to be every Gophers player appeared Thursday at a university athletic building to deliver a united announcement, saying they are immediately boycotting team activities and are willing to boycott the Holiday Bowl if their teammates are not reinstated. That would require reversing Tuesday's decision to suspend the 10 players from the team.<<

 

[huskypantz]

wow, I don't see this ending well. There is no way the school can back down. Bye bye bowl game.

 

[Redding Husky]

And the Wazzou players have to suffer because Minnesota can't get its act together.

 

[weyuo]

The NCAA should give Minnesota 2 days to confirm they will field a team. If they can't invite the next best team left out of the bowls. The opposing team for Minnesota in that bowl deserves time to prepare for whoever they will face and are not at fault for what happens at the U of Minn.

 

[huskymedic]

The NCAA should give Minnesota 2 days to confirm they will field a team. If they can't invite the next best team left out of the bowls. The opposing team for Minnesota in that bowl deserves time to prepare for whoever they will face and are not at fault for what happens at the U of Minn.

Northern Ill.

 

[huskymedic]

Story updated w/ University President quote:

 

[Fishy]

UConn is ready, willing and able to step into Minnesota's shoes.

Say the word.

 

[RSTuthill]

UConn is ready, willing and able to step into Minnesota's shoes.

Say the word.

The hell you say. Invite more embarrassment? I don't think so. The able part of your statement is simply incorrect.

 

[Rocktheworld]

The hell you say. Invite more embarrassment? I don't think so. The able part of your statement is simply incorrect.

Do we start rooting for more embarrassment if it means Diaco gets canned a second sooner?

Tough call because the kids obviously don't deserve it

 

[Fishy]

The hell you say. Invite more embarrassment? I don't think so. The able part of your statement is simply incorrect.

The entire season has built towards this moment. Embrace it.

 

[Stainmaster]

A 3-9 UConn team playing in a bowl --> Chief suffers a complete nervous breakdown and abandons the football board forever.

GET IT DONE, DAVEY!

 

[Nostical]

Who cries uncle first?
Will the entire team sacrifice the Bowl for these teammates? The truth once told will either convince the players the suspensions were proper or will indict a "Duke Lacrosse-like" UM move by a twitchy administration. Fascinating showdown.

 

[uconndogs]

That team is playing a very dangerous game.

If the administration believes that the actions it took were proper then it has only one course of action: "Men, you have a very clear choice to make. You can either report to practice and prepare for our upcoming bowl game or you will be removed from the team and your scholarship rescinded."

 

[Bonehead]

UConn is ready, willing and able to step into Minnesota's shoes.

Say the word.

Its football - not womens hoops.

 

[polycom]

That team is playing a very dangerous game.

If the administration believes that the actions it took were proper then it has only one course of action: "Men, you have a very clear choice to make. You can either report to practice and prepare for our upcoming bowl game or you will be removed from the team and your scholarship rescinded."

That would severe ramifications for the program if they did that. Recruits who are hosted by current players would have to think twice about their scholarship offer to Minnesota. I'm not sure if football is a big money maker for them...but the downstream consequences of doing that don't seem like a net positive.

 

[RSTuthill]

That team is playing a very dangerous game.
....
You can either report to practice and prepare for our upcoming bowl game or you will be removed from the team and your scholarship rescinded."

Never happen. That would be like the death sentence for the program. All the Team has to do is stick together. Neither side will give in which means the bowl game is history, nothing more.

 

[freescooter]

Oh no! What will we do without one bowl game? That means there will only be like 287.

 

[SubbaBub]

The issue here is a good one. Because of Title IX, the NCAA, and the way the media jumps on these stories should they be "covered up" puts universities in a tough spot. Their response following and endless string of high profile cases is to throw the accusee players under the bus. Off the team, out of school (Yale) on solely the accusation by another student before any investigation by law enforcement.

Quite frankly, it's wrong. Schools desprate to avoid being labeled as a place where high levels of crime occur do everything they can to avoid police involvement. In the past this meant covering it up. Now that Title IX is being misused to hit them over the head the reaction has been to remove the accused before any investigation occurs and even falsifying evidence when one does occur.

What they should do is not get involved at all if there is a complaint that a crime has been committed and let the police handle it.

The Rolling Stone backlash was all about this. UM is thinking we don't want to be accused of behaving like Baylor.

If 10 players were involved in a sexual assault it should come though as true or not rather quickly. Once the corrupt DA in the Duke case was out of the picture, that case collapsed immediately.

Good for the players for defending due process regardless of the outcome of the case.

 

[upstater]

This is a "no win" situation for everyone. The players don't seem to realize basic facts about life as a university student.

1. The administration is forbidden from commenting on such a case, per federal law. (So the football players can't be upset with the President for not filling them in).
2. Their demand to meet with the Board of Regents, with some of them effectively demanding the President and AD be fired, is crazy, since the administration is following the process of an alleged sexual assault.
3. It couldn't have been the university that announced they were suspended for an alleged sexual assault. This info came from the players themselves or a media outlet that got wind of it.
4. The fact that prosecutors determined their was no criminal liability does not mean there is no Title IX concern.
5. The players are upset that the reputations of the players are being dragged through the mud. This is understandable but...
5. At many universities, the student code of conduct forbids you from having sex with an intoxicated person (yes, this puts a different light on the college experiences of anyone over 30!)...

The police investigator saw a video of the alleged assault. It was determined that--at least for a section of the video--the sex was consensual. However, the woman said that she consented to have sex with two men, not the several men there. She was very intoxicated.

In other words, this is a very bad scene these players got involved in. While it's not a criminal matter anymore, the university must treat this as a Title IX matter (per federal regulations) and as a possible violation of the student code of conduct. It would be very bad optics for the university to allow these players to play while the proceedings are continuing. Not to mention the fact that--this time of year--any faculty/student committees charged with oversight of student behavior will not be in session.

 

[upstater]

The issue here is a good one. Because of Title IX, the NCAA, and the way the media jumps on these stories should they be "covered up" puts universities in a tough spot. Their response following and endless string of high profile cases is to throw the accusee players under the bus. Off the team, out of school (Yale) on solely the accusation by another student before any investigation by law enforcement.

Quite frankly, it's wrong. Schools desprate to avoid being labeled as a place where high levels of crime occur do everything they can to avoid police involvement. In the past this meant covering it up. Now that Title IX is being misused to hit them over the head the reaction has been to remove the accused before any investigation occurs and even falsifying evidence when one does occur.

What they should do is not get involved at all if there is a complaint that a crime has been committed and let the police handle it.

The Rolling Stone backlash was all about this. UM is thinking we don't want to be accused of behaving like Baylor.

If 10 players were involved in a sexual assault it should come though as true or not rather quickly. Once the corrupt DA in the Duke case was out of the picture, that case collapsed immediately.

Good for the players for defending due process regardless of the outcome of the case.

The criminal case is already over with. They are not prosecuting.

The standard of behavior in the student code of conduct is very different than any criminal legal standards.

 

[uconndogs]

Never happen. That would be like the death sentence for the program. All the Team has to do is stick together. Neither side will give in which means the bowl game is history, nothing more.

Missing the bowl game is a big deal. Earth shattering? No, but it is certainly damaging to Minny.

The problem as I see it is that this sets a precedent that the players use a "strike mentality" to get what they want. I think that is very dangerous and I would be inclined to nip it right in the bud. Upstater made some very good points that the kids probably don't understand all that can and cannot be done in circumstances like this. Somebody needs to explain that to them promptly.

 

[Husky25]

Charges weren't filed because a criminal case wasn't winnable. The burden of proof is very different in other proceeding (i.e. criminal vs civil OJ cases, where he was found not guilty in one but responsible in the other.).

 

[SubbaBub]

The criminal case is already over with. They are not prosecuting.

The standard of behavior in the student code of conduct is very different than any criminal legal standards.

Then what would be the reason that the school disciplinary process is still ongoing? If they have enough to suspend them publicly, then why is the case still open?

You hit the optics button. It had always been common for schools to do bad things because of the threat of looking bad. They are still doing it, just throwing the players under the bus.

Either they have grounds to discipline them under the student COC or not. If the police are done with it, I have no problem with whatever the school decides, just do it without all the innuendo. Delaying a decision so they could play is just as bad as not completing the process while there have this cloud over the players.

Are we really getting the school involved in trying to determine the degree of a drunken sex? Give the girl whatever support she needs and discipline whomever needs disciplining.

 

[upstater]

Then what would be the reason that the school disciplinary process is still ongoing? If they have enough to suspend them publicly, then why is the case still open?

You hit the optics button. It had always been common for schools to do bad things because of the threat of looking bad. They are still doing it, just throwing the players under the bus.

Either they have grounds to discipline them under the student COC or not. If the police are done with it, I have no problem with whatever the school decides, just do it without all the innuendo. Delaying a decision so they could play is just as bad as not completing the process while there have this cloud over the players.

Are we really getting the school involved in trying to determine the degree of a drunken sex? Give the girl whatever support she needs and discipline whomever needs disciplining.

I am entirely sure that the school is not the one publicizing this, so can they be blamed for the publicity it has garnered?

What are their options? The criminal investigation just finished--so now the school is taking up its own separate process in light of that. The school has no choice. It MUST do this per federal law. Any time a sexual assault is alleged the school must investigate, or else it is in violation of federal law.

The timing of this is bad--but life isn't fair. Maybe they should have participated in whatever happened last spring, instead of in the fall.

 

[Husky25]

In hindsight, Perhaps the kids should have been suspended in September. On the one hand, it doesn't appear that anyone was arrested, however there is probably and one or another team rule against representing the program, and university at large, in a negative fashion.