Several days ago the following was reported in our forum (taken from
local newpapers I imagine):
 
>    At 1:19 AM Tuesday, November 19, three Elmira College hockey players
>    were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and traffic code
>    violations.  The three players, starting goaltender Tom O'Brien,
>    defenseman Chris Wayland, and forward Bob McGee, were throwing garbage
>    on vehicles and blocking traffic by tossing trash cans in the street.
>    Head coach Glenn Thomaris suspended the three players for the first-
>    round game Friday night, saying, "That's what I've done in the past.
>    If we have a problem with some people, they get a one-game suspension."
>    He had no further comments.
>    ...
>    By the way, Wayland pleaded guilty last Tuesday morning, while O'Brien
>    and McGee have not entered pleas yet.
 
This account, and some of the subsequent actions and reports, unfairly
damages the reputations of two excellent student-athletes and, at least
for the sake of our list, I must set the record straight. Much of what I will
now recount comes directly from a conversation I had with O'Brien yesterday
afternoon.
 
After studying on the night in question, O'Brien stopped by the bar for
a short while where he met McGee and Wayland, the latter of whom had
been drinking. Soon afterwards, many of the students began to head back
to the dormitories. On the way back Wayland began kicking over trash cans
and creating a general disturbance. O'Brien and McGee tried to restrain
him and convince him to come home, but he remained unruly. Apparently
it was then that they passed a residence where several men were out on
their porch drinking, because a few minutes later, the police arrived and
arrested Wayland. As the arrest took place, these men indicated O'Brien and
McGee out of the group of students gathered there, and said that they
had been with Wayland and participated in the disturbance. Despite the
fact that Wayland and several other students in this group attested
to their innocence right there, O'Brien and McGee were arrested and
thrown in jail.
 
Now false arrests happen, this is a fact of life, but what is more
disturbing are the events which took place afterwards. At no time
were these students read their rights. They were not offered a phone
call. They were simply taken from the street and thrown directly into
prison. Perhaps Elmira is not at the forefront of the fight for civil
liberties, but it seems unconscionable that people can be unlawfully
seized like this in 1991.
 
Wayland pleaded guilty to the charges, while O'Brien and McGee
pleaded not guilty. The witnesses used at the time of arrest could
not be reached, as apparently they have no place of employment or
home telephones. Their trial has been continued until a date after the
first of the year. Wayland is currently serving community service as
his sentence. It was suggested to O'Brien and McGee that it would be
easier on them to plead guilty, complete an very brief community service
sentence, and be done with the whole ordeal. They have refused this
course of action and demand that the truth of this incident be brought
forth and that their record be cleared. Furthermore, Wayland claims
that he was misquoted in the newspaper article regarding the incident.
He says he answered "no comment" to all questions posed to him and that
some quotes were falsely attributed to him.
 
Elmira head coach Glenn Thomaris suspended all three players for one
game each. Despite the fact that Wayland went to him and explained
that he alone was involved in the action and that O'Brien and McGee
were innocent, Thomaris suspended all three of them. When asked why
they were suspended before their case when they could be absolved
of all responsibility in the matter, Thomaris had no answer. I have
no major gripe with the coach on this matter, but the result of
the suspension was quite unfortunate. The suspended players were required
to watch the Friday night game against New England from the stands,
where they were jeered by many members of their home crowd about the
incident. On Saturday, O'Brien continued to hear it from the crowd, and
while he claimed it had no effect on his performance, when compared
with his strong performance the previous week, it was clear that this was
his worst performance of the year. If all this turns out as I expect,
i.e. with O'Brien and McGee acquitted, Thomaris will have put two fine
players through a difficult time for doing no more than trying to help
out an intoxicated teammate. Given the testimony of their Wayland and
others, I do not think it would have been out of line to hold off
suspensions until the issue was resolved. It seems to indicate a sad
lack of trust in his players. On this matter I would appreciate hearing
from other coaches on the list on what they would consider appropriate
disciplinary action.
 
Thanks for listening to this long story and thanks for the forum where
I can present it. Does Elmira College have network access of any type?
I'd like this story to get to people in the area, but will be satisfied
if at least people who care about the sport hear the facts surrounding
this unfortunate incident. O'Brien and McGee are fine student-athletes
who are dismayed that their record and reputation in the Elmira community
have been irrevocably and unfairly tarnished. I hope this will not be
the case. Thanks.
			Mark Daly
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