Gophers players boycott football; bowl game participation in jeopardy

Frostberg

Frostberg

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After refusing to practice Thursday, Gophers players donned their maroon game jerseys and announced that they are boycotting all football activities — even their Dec. 27 bowl game, if need be — in protest of the University of Minnesota’s decision to suspend 10 teammates as a result of a September sexual assault allegation.

Those 10 suspended players stood directly behind seniors Drew Wolitarsky, Mitch Leidner and Duke Anyanwu — with the rest of the team arrayed behind them in support — as Wolitarsky read from a typed, two-page statement, laying out the players’ demands.



“The boycott will remain in effect until due process is followed and the suspensions for all 10 players involved are lifted,” Wolitarsky said.

Wolitarsky said the players want an apology from university President Eric Kaler and athletic director Mark Coyle, adding that the players “demand that these leaders are held accountable for their actions.”

Asked if the players were worried about losing their scholarships, Wolitarsky responded: “We’re all in this together. What are they going to do, pull 120 guys off the team? They won’t have a team if that’s the case.”

A source confirmed that Northern Illinois is next in line for a bowl game and a candidate to replace Minnesota in the Holiday Bowl. The decision on whether Minnesota will play likely needs to be made in the next few days, as a potential replacement team would need time to prepare.
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This is an example of where administrators and coaches some times are put in almost impossible situations due to actions of college kids.

I do not envy their situations right now.

 
So, I saw today that the football team is having a meeting with the regents.

If I were a regent, I would have to ask:

OK, at worst, you forced a gang bang on a girl when she was drunk. At best, you had a gang bang with a girl that was drunk. Either option, there was video taken of at least parts of the incident which can and probably will get out to the public.

What part of either of these options are respectable actions our University wants it's athletes partaking in and actions of a responsible person?

Now, we can sit and argue all day long if it were consensual or not. But, the fact remains, these kids need to figure out that by accepting a scholarship to a University, they become a representative of that University and representatives of the University have certain standards that needs to be upheld.

AND....even more importantly, the school is not the one that has tarnished their reputation. It is THEIR actions that has put them in the position that this happened. And put them in the position that a woman MAY accuse them of this.

Maybe the school doesn't have a legal leg to stand on to punish the kids the way they have intended to do and maybe they ultimately will be reinstated to the program. But, the message needs to be expressed that these actions are not acceptable.

 
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So if it goes to court and these guys are found guilty the rest of the team will look like complete a$$hole$.

 
Of course our best win of the season will not even play in a bowl game. All sarcasm aside, I am proud those players stood up for their teammates, but it may look bad on Minny if they allow them to play in the game. That is if the players are found guilty.

 
Here is what I am having a problem understanding, these players boycotting are standing up for 10ish players and a recruit(!) gang banging a fellow student who was drunk.

I mean really, that's a cause worth fighting for?

 
HuskermanMike said:
Of course our best win of the season will not even play in a bowl game. All sarcasm aside, I am proud those players stood up for their teammates, but it may look bad on Minny if they allow them to play in the game. That is if the players are found guilty.
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Why would you be proud they stood up for them if it's for a terrible reason?

As a wizard once said in a cheesy scene of a Harry Potter movie:

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends."

Sticking up for teammates/friends blindly isn't something to applaud.

 
HuskermanMike said:
Of course our best win of the season will not even play in a bowl game. All sarcasm aside, I am proud those players stood up for their teammates, but it may look bad on Minny if they allow them to play in the game. That is if the players are found guilty.
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Why in the Billie Hell would you be proud of these football players standing up for these 10 douchebags? The courts may decide what happened but by any account what about this situation was the least bit defendable?

 
No charges are being filed on the players. The DA determined that there was not enough evidence to go forward.

There were a couple of videos that surfaced and lead to the decision. One of the videos showed the accuser, the recruit and one of the players engaging in a threesome and it was deemed consensual by the accuser and the DA.

The accuser did not allow for that video to be sent to the university for viewing and that is why there have been boycotts from the sounds of it.

 
Stumpy1 said:
No charges are being filed on the players. The DA determined that there was not enough evidence to go forward.

There were a couple of videos that surfaced and lead to the decision. One of the videos showed the accuser, the recruit and one of the players engaging in a threesome and it was deemed consensual by the accuser and the DA.

The accuser did not allow for that video to be sent to the university for viewing and that is why there have been boycotts from the sounds of it.
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Just because the DA refuses to go forward with the case that doesn't mean what happened here was okay. The DA would need probable cause to move forward with charges, the school may not need that much weight to determine on their end if something was wrong or not, reasonable suspicion may suffice in their process. Hence the suspensions and this is where college kids don't know as much about the law as they like to think they do. They are held to a higher standard of conduct based on their positions with the football team. They need to be setting a good example as a representative of that university. This was NOT a good example..........

The accuser has the right to not allow more people to view that video. It would possibly victimize her further and from what I've heard she only consented to having sex with two people. Not ten...............

I for one am disgusted with these players for acting the way they are acting and boycotting playing football because of this situation. If this was one of my sons acting like this in this situation I can probably guess my response to that wouldn't be very good. Standing up for these 10 players is disgusting in this instance and these guys should be ashamed of themselves.

 
BIGREDIOWAN said:
Stumpy1 said:
No charges are being filed on the players. The DA determined that there was not enough evidence to go forward.

There were a couple of videos that surfaced and lead to the decision. One of the videos showed the accuser, the recruit and one of the players engaging in a threesome and it was deemed consensual by the accuser and the DA.

The accuser did not allow for that video to be sent to the university for viewing and that is why there have been boycotts from the sounds of it.
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Just because the DA refuses to go forward with the case that doesn't mean what happened here was okay. The DA would need probable cause to move forward with charges, the school may not need that much weight to determine on their end if something was wrong or not, reasonable suspicion may suffice in their process. Hence the suspensions and this is where college kids don't know as much about the law as they like to think they do. They are held to a higher standard of conduct based on their positions with the football team. They need to be setting a good example as a representative of that university. This was NOT a good example..........

The accuser has the right to not allow more people to view that video. It would possibly victimize her further and from what I've heard she only consented to having sex with two people. Not ten...............

I for one am disgusted with these players for acting the way they are acting and boycotting playing football because of this situation. If this was one of my sons acting like this in this situation I can probably guess my response to that wouldn't be very good. Standing up for these 10 players is disgusting in this instance and these guys should be ashamed of themselves.
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I didn't say it was okay or condone what happened. I was just relaying what I had read on the report.

Also, there were only 4 guys that sex with her. The others were present in the apartment but didn't partake in the incident. They are being suspended because they were present at the time of the incident.

 
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Stumpy1 said:
BIGREDIOWAN said:
Stumpy1 said:
No charges are being filed on the players. The DA determined that there was not enough evidence to go forward.

There were a couple of videos that surfaced and lead to the decision. One of the videos showed the accuser, the recruit and one of the players engaging in a threesome and it was deemed consensual by the accuser and the DA.

The accuser did not allow for that video to be sent to the university for viewing and that is why there have been boycotts from the sounds of it.
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Just because the DA refuses to go forward with the case that doesn't mean what happened here was okay. The DA would need probable cause to move forward with charges, the school may not need that much weight to determine on their end if something was wrong or not, reasonable suspicion may suffice in their process. Hence the suspensions and this is where college kids don't know as much about the law as they like to think they do. They are held to a higher standard of conduct based on their positions with the football team. They need to be setting a good example as a representative of that university. This was NOT a good example..........
The accuser has the right to not allow more people to view that video. It would possibly victimize her further and from what I've heard she only consented to having sex with two people. Not ten...............

I for one am disgusted with these players for acting the way they are acting and boycotting playing football because of this situation. If this was one of my sons acting like this in this situation I can probably guess my response to that wouldn't be very good. Standing up for these 10 players is disgusting in this instance and these guys should be ashamed of themselves.
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I didn't say it was okay or condone what happened. I was just relaying what I had read on the report.
Also, there were only 4 guys that sex with her. The others were present in the apartment but didn't partake in the incident. They are being suspended because they were present at the time of the incident.
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And the above is the reasoning for the boycott. The same punishment for the four players that did nothing with no explanation or reasoning. The act is messed up, not denying that but if you read the police report and the university investigation report there is definitely a bias in the later. Bias as in very one sided. The three way with the recruit comes off as very consensual even her friends come to that conclusion in the police report. The next four guys come off very he said she said. And one of those four left before intercourse.

Again, messed up situation and decisions were made poorly.

Can't see at least three players, Tracey Clays, and some admin being at Minny next year

 
Moiraine said:
HuskermanMike said:
Of course our best win of the season will not even play in a bowl game. All sarcasm aside, I am proud those players stood up for their teammates, but it may look bad on Minny if they allow them to play in the game. That is if the players are found guilty.
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Why would you be proud they stood up for them if it's for a terrible reason?

As a wizard once said in a cheesy scene of a Harry Potter movie:

"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends."

Sticking up for teammates/friends blindly isn't something to applaud.
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Edited-see post below

 
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