Gopher Football

The University suspended 10 football players this week amid allegations of all sorts of sordid activities. Unlike the press, I'm not going to tell you their names or show you their pictures.

These same players had been investigated by the police and the local prosecutor for sexual misconduct  earlier. No charges were brought. Supposedly another such incident occurred after that, the local University officials investigated that one themselves and decided to suspend the players without releasing details to "protect the players" involved. Legally they can suspend them, drag their names through the press, release their pictures to the media, BUT they can't tell us any details because that would "violate" the player's rights.

What's interesting is that the University didn't expel the students, and local  law enforcement didn't arrest them either. So what they allegedly did was serious enough to not be on the football team, but was not serious enough to have them arrested or even remove them from the general student body.

YET, the media continues to talk about their previous investigations which were dropped
for lack of evidence, while showing all their names and pictures.

This did not sit well with the remaining football players. They, as a team, walked out of the program yesterday by saying they would ALL boycott any and all football activities for the University, including all remaining practices and the Holiday Bowl on December 27th IF all the suspended players didn't have their suspensions dropped.

Well, THAT was an interesting twist. The University says they can't tell the other players what happened because, again, it would violate the player's rights to privacy.

IF the players decide that they are going to follow through on their threat, there's all sorts of legal  and financial ramifications for the University failing to appear in the Holiday Bowl. The future of the entire program may ultimately be at risk. If events go far enough, the University might even get kicked out of the Big Ten, for failure to meet their basic obligations to the league. The monetary ramifications to the University if that occurred could actually cause the University to shut it's doors.

I don't think anyone expects it to go that far. But the players feel they have right to know why they lost so many teammates, and they think somebody owes them a real, full explanation. Right now, none is coming.

The players, IF they follow through on this, could lose their scholarships and future eligibility as well. It's a tense standoff.

And it's also the most interesting story to come from the University is several years. I'm anxious to see who blinks first and how this is resolved.

Lots and lots of money is at risk. Never forget, that's what will ultimately decide this conflict.

Blink. Blink.