On Feb 1, 12:59, D B Doucette wrote:
>Five students at the University of New Hampshire, including three members
>of the hockey team, have been charged in an altercation.
>
> [snip]
>
>Can someone explain how this story got shoved under the rug for "a few
>weeks" ?  What if this had happened elsewhere -- Some on this list would
>have had the coach bounced from the NC$$ for "cheating" if it had happened
>elsewhere.  Why the pass in this case ?
>
>What about sanctions / suspensions / discipline ?
 
What about "innocent until PROVEN guilty"?  I think I've read that in some
document somewhere.
 
I don't know whose decision it was to sit on this story, if indeed that's what
happened.  Athletic departments -- and for that matter, universities as a whole
-- often do their darnedest to keep events that tend to cast a bad light on the
school's "good name" out of the press, and one can't really blame them for
trying to do so.
 
More importantly, let's not lose sight of the fact that the players involved
have been charged but not even arraigned yet, let alone convicted.
 Disciplinary actions at this point, IMHO, would be premature, unless the
coaching staff actually saw the incident or if the players themselves or other
team members would swear that they were in fact guilty of what they are being
charged with.
 
Several years ago at Elmira College, three hockey players were charged with
disorderly conduct after an incident in town with a few drunks.  The head coach
immediately suspended the three for one game.  Good strong disciplinary action,
right?  Only trouble was, as it later developed, two of the players who were
charged were not involved in the incident, and their cases were thrown out of
court.  Nonetheless, despite the one guilty player's attempts to tell his coach
that he himself was the only one who had done anything wrong, the two innocent
players got "disciplined" ultimately for no reason.
 
There have certainly been, and no doubt will continue to be, cases in which
athletes have committed crimes and have been given preferential treatment
simply because of who they were, and the backlash against this kind of
treatment is understandable.  But in our attempts to hold athletes (or anybody
else) accountable for their actions, let's remember that they have the same
rights under the justice system as the rest of us and should not be judged
prematurely. If they're guilty, nail 'em, but make bloody sure they're guilty
first.
 
--
Disclaimer -- Unless otherwise noted, all opinions expressed above are
              strictly those of:
 
Bill Fenwick
Cornell '86 and '95                                             DJF  5/27/94
LET'S GO RED!!                                                  JCF  12/2/97
"You know it's going to be a rough flight when they tag your luggage *and*
 your big toe, just in case."
-- Gary Kern
 
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