Hundreds of topics interest me more than British royalty. To paraphrase an Eleven Warriors alumna, the war America fought and won 230 years ago means we're allowed to ignore all British royalty hype forever, and I usually take advantage of that right.
This morning, however, I'm tempted to gush about the royal birth by Princess Kate. This isn't because the topic is fascinating – it's not – but because it beats talking about the big story of yesterday, namely the punishment of Carlos Hyde, Bradley Roby, Marcus Baugh, and Tim Gardner.
After a weekend of nervous chatter regarding a crime Hyde may have committed, initial reports yesterday claimed that Hyde had been dismissed from the team. Later, the Columbus Dispatch acknowledged that Hyde had instead been indefinitely suspended. Roby's status is indeterminate, with an initial punishment of being recalled from Big Ten Media Day in favor of Christian Bryant. Baugh was suspended as well, though his situation is less dire than Hyde's. Gardner has been sent home, dismissed from the team.
What Hyde did is still in question; Hyde has not been charged with any crime and is only a person of interest for now. The consensus has been that Hyde assaulted a woman in a bar on Saturday night, but a source told ESPN's Brett McMurphy that video evidence contradicted that account.
Roby faces a misdemeanor battery charge after striking a bar bouncer. Assuming that the charge falls near Baugh's underage drinking and fake ID on the spectrum of Bad Stuff Players Shouldn't Do, a normal punishment would be a one or two game suspension. I don't understand why Gardner was dismissed for a charge of obstructing official business while Baugh was left on the team (note: this is not an invitation for hearsay).
LENIENCE VERSUS PATIENCE. As expected, media types have strong opinions about Urban Meyer's handling of players who get into trouble. For a nice change of pace, the debate is constructive.
Regular Buckeye foil Matt Hayes of Sporting News argues that Hyde and other players who commit violent acts should be treated harsher:
We can go through all the machinations of Ohio State and coach Urban Meyer and his history of dealing with troubled players at Florida. Who cares?
In this instance, Meyer could have taken a bold step: eliminated a problem from his team and sent a message to the rest of his players. Too bad that’s the minority reaction in sports these days.
Why, in this society we’ve built, are we afraid to call a bad dude a bad dude? Why are we so willing to give second and third chances instead of taking a stand against young men who think they’re entitled to something—anything—because they’re faster and more athletic than the next?
For one thing, everyone deserves the presumption of innocence until found guilty. Hyde hasn't been charged with anything, so why should he be punished as though he has? Hayes goes on to disparage Les Miles for saying he will wait for the legal system to run its course before dismissing one of his players. Sarcasm comes easy at this point here, but considering law's failings and sometimes prejudicial treatment of suspects, slow judgment is usually more rational and reasonable than quick judgment.
Does college football really need people to take a stand against violent crime anyway? College players are arrested at lower rates than student populations overall and for violent crimes, which undermines a claim to entitlement to... something nebulous that Hayes doesn't specify. And players have so little power that taking a stand against them is akin to suppressing them.
For some people, assault convictions are warning signs of future antisocial behavior, which is why they need to be treated seriously. For others, an assault conviction is a one-time event that serves as their low point. Giving people the benefit of the doubt is the better option.
GENE SMITH HAS AWFUL TIMING. Most Buckeyes would agree that Monday morning did not go very well. As for Gene Smith, well:
This was a couple hours before the news broke that the football players had been suspended. Meyer had called a 7 AM team meeting in response to the news. Smith is competent, so he must have been aware of the situation.
Gene Smith must be acknowledged as a decent athletic director who is terrible at public relations. This is another example of Smith's tone deaf reactions, of which there have been many. There is no comparison between him and a professional like OSU Sports Information Director Jerry Emig, who responded to dozens of irritating media inquiries over the Aaron Hernandez/Urban Meyer connection and will doubtless have to do so again in response to this mini-crisis. How Smith can be so bad at communicating yet still effectively lead the athletic department is beyond me.
BOB BOWLSBY LAYS DOWN THE GAUNTLET. After the three-ring circus of SEC Media Days last week, Big 12 Media Days were expected to be calmer. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby put an end to that with a number of quotes challenging the leadership and structure of the NCAA. For instance, this:
"I really do think we need to reconfigure the leadership of the organization," Bowlsby said. "I don't think we can at this point in time move forward, and we certainly haven't been able to configure an agenda that made the changes we need to make."
translated from politician speech is "I'd like to run Mark Emmert out of town on a rail, yesterday." Similarly, this:
It's probably unrealistic to think that we can manage football and field hockey by the same set of rules. I think some kind of reconfiguration of how we govern is in order.
is a polite way of saying that he would love for the big football schools to break away and form their own division. Bowlsby isn't alone, as John Swofford, ACC commissioner, sees a restructuring occurring as soon as January. Bowlsby says that secession would be a last option, but as a rule when somebody mentions secession the situation is a powderkeg. Other concerns about enforcement and NCAA oversight are inflammatory, too.
When conference commissioners stop praising the system and start expressing their disappointment, as Bowlsby, Swofford, and SEC commissioner Mike Slive have done, those commissioners are seriously ticked off and ready to make heads roll. Mark Emmert's presidency is probably not long for this world.
Jadaveon Clowney would've been ejected for this hit. CLOWNEY COMIN'. Speaking of things not long for this world, the "if in doubt, throw him out" maxim of the new ejection rules isn't looking too hot.
Under the new interpretations of tackling and ejection rules, the famous hit that Jadaveon Clowney laid on Michigan running back Vincent Smith would have resulted in Clowney's ejection on account of Clowney leading with the crown of his helmet. Under the old rules, it would have been a fifteen yard penalty. Under the new rules, according to former NFL referee Mike Pereira, he'd have to throw out Clowney on a questionable call:
"If I'm an official, based on 'when in doubt,' he's out. He's ejected. And when that goes to replay there's no way they overturn it. There's a great potential that hit causes an ejection this year."
It'll be a while before anyone gets this rule right; this year, it'll screw a few games up.
COME TO KANSAS, WE'RE CRAP. Kansas football coach and decided schematic advantage creating super-genius Charlie Weis answered a question about recruiting players in a scatological fashion:
I said, have you looked at that pile of crap out there? Have you taken a look at that? So if you don't think you can play here, where do you think you can play?
Brilliant! With recruiting pitches and team confidence-building like that, it's a mystery how he could have washed out at Notre Dame.
LINKS AHOY. No duh: media think Urban Meyer is the Big Ten's best coach... That one Taiwanese news show has a delightful, deranged video on Antonio Morrison's arrest for barking at a police dog... how ESPN poached Nate Silver from the New York Times... quite the quality gesture, Brady Hoke... a Middle Tennessee State player allegedly choked his girlfriend while teammates videotaped and narrated it... Raccoon throwing has potential as a drunken sport... the Arizona Diamondbacks will have a luchador mascot... PED user Ryan Braun begins a lengthy offseason... Serious abuse allegations for a college women's basketball coach... The Big 12's (XII's?) new logo... The unlikely pairing of Dick Vitale and John Mayer... and Landon Donovan says to deal with it.
