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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.I would say Marcus Williams was their 'top' player at time. Regardless, I apologize for misunderstanding/misinterpreting your original remarks.
No biggee.
Only UConn fans seemed to understand that the suspensions were not handed down by Calhoun. They were handed down by 5 faculty members. Williams' suspension was in line with what 52 other kids caught stealing valuables on campus received in that same year. AJ Price was punished twice as harshly as other students. Price, however, lied to the police about his involvement. Williams didn't. On that basis, he received a harsher punishment. Since then, athletes at other schools have been caught doing the same exact crime (and received even lighter punishments, but it never became a media sensation). In fact, even Clay Bucholz did the same exact crime, and New England loves the guy.
The team went 18-1 for crying out loud. Do you remember Rod Rust? Joe Kapp? THis is NOTHING.
I think part of the issue was that a punishment was not handed down by calhoun. you can't compare these players to other random students, because they represent the university on a national stage, and athletes are routinely punished by their coaches for behavior that wouldn't get other students in much trouble.
personally, I was one of the people advocating a harsher punishment, and I stand by that. anyone's who's been robbed (myself included) knows what those students must've gone through- and then to find out the thief was a member of your school's basketball team, a team you support and cheer for? if that happened at my school, I would want the player gone. I don't care if he's NPOY, stealing from other students is simply not acceptable.
in the interests of full disclosure, I really don't like uconn, so my opinion isn't unbiased. but more improtantly, I also really don't like thieves.
So you think these kids should be held to a higher standard than other students?
Why?
What if a Fulbright Scholar got caught stealing? What if one of the best kids in the Engineering school got caught cheating?
This is a double standard. The punishment was issued by faculty and the punishment delivered in Price's case was twice as heavy as that given other students for the same crime.
yes.
because they represent the school. it's a privilege to play for your school, not a right.
in many cases, conviction of a felony would lead to loss of a prestigious scholarship like a fulbright. and it should.
ask any faculty member, and they'll tell you that athletes get all sorts of special treatment. extended deadlines, tutors, "help" on their assignments. faculty members are often pressured into looking the other way when athletes cheat (this has happened to my father).
so no, I'm not going to feel any sympathy for price because he was suspended longer than the average student. athletes get lots of advantages and privileges, they're well-aware of how much attention is focused on them, and they know that when they do something to embarrass themselves, they're embarrassing the entire school.
most importantly, I can't imagine how students could support someone who committed that sort of crime against other students. I guess people have short attention spans when it comes to sports.
Don't feel so bad...In 1972 we handed you your worst defeat ever. At least you can say you are a part of OUR history.
Dolfan in PERFECTVILLE
I'm a faculty member. I've taught at div. 1 schools, had athletes in my classes. Never was pressured to look the other way. Never.
How do you root for the Patriots, by the way? Do you know what's in their backgrounds? New Englanders love the Red Sox, even the guy who threw a no-hitter AND stole laptops.
I don't watch baseball, so I don't really care about the red sox.
and although I don't do background checks on the football players I watch, I tend to not care for those who have criminal records. and if I found out that an athlete I admired had done something along these lines, I would lose a whole lot of respect for him.
that being said, college and the pros are two very different situations. when you're giving someone a free education, I don't think it's too much to ask that they not commit crimes against the other students.
although I clearly have some gripes with what goodell has done as commissioner, I do respect his stance towards players like vick and pacman. I'm all for limiting the number of felons in the NFL.
So, I guess then that the stories of players turning things around from rough upbringing, becoming family men and role models are lost on you?
Caron Butler is one such story. Out of jail, into UConn, became a family man and a role model. Kids made one mistake. They learned their lesson. And, technically, they were accomplices to stealing laptops. The guy that actually stole them is still wanted on a warrant. He stole them and brought them into the player's rooms. They were like hot potatoes. Williams and Price actually got a football player involved to return the laptops to the women basketball players. That's when the whole thing got busted.