A Few Comments on the Ugly Side of Things

So look, here’s the story from the Daily-News Record (for whatever that budget publication’s worth):  http://www.dnronline.com/news_details.php?AID=52905&CHID=64

Four JMU football players were recently arrested in connection with a fight in Harrisonburg, allegedly with some students or ex-students connected to the baseball team.  At least three of them have been charged with Assault by Mob which carries much stiffer penalties than normal assault charges.  As our friend Jamie over at www.misterirrelevant.com said, “this is by far the most D1 thing that’s ever happened at JMU!”

Jokes asisde, and assuming most of our readers are probably hip-deep into this story by now and already defending our beloved university from co-workers on the heels of the “riot” last spring in Forest Hills, I’m going to skip the basics and move right to the highlights.

Never let the “charges” tell the story for you: This is true in nearly every criminal case, but it’s been my experience that it’s especially important to take charges in the Commonwealth, and particularly in Rockingham County and the HPD, with a grain of salt.  This is not to exonerate the players for what may have been premeditated violence, but the “mob” portion will take some serious work on the Commonwealth Attorney’s part.  Don’t let “assault by mob” as a charge convince you a more serious crime took place than what may or may not have happened.

What about Mickey?  At least for now, I’ve got to agree with those in the JMU community expecting a strong statement from Head Coach Mickey Matthews, particularly as it relates to his having given a major second chance to one of the young men involved after his dismissal from Virginia Tech.  That said, given that this is the deep-freeze portion of the offseason and that we can all assume the university administration will be more than just chiming in on this, I also don’t think there’s any harm in being patient about making the statement and letting the legal process run its course for a little while.  So long as there is something from MM by Spring Practice, consider me satisfied.

Separate the incidents: Just stop mentioning the riot right now.  We can all bet neither the administration nor the anti-university crowd that we all know exists in the ‘Burg will not hesitate to connect the two, but can the rest of us agree that at least in terms of judging all of the individuals involved, can we please agree to only hold people liable for what they are actually responsible for?

Be careful what you wish for: Been sayin’ this awhile.  I’m a big JMU-to-D1 supporter, but even I need to be reminded to approach this topic with my eyes wide open now and again.  While it’s completely unfair to football as a sport and a group of college athletes to state it this way, the truth is the truth, and a rise in the level of a college’s football program oftentimes goes hand-in-hand with issues like this.  If you don’t believe that, you’re either delusional or a Notre Dame fan.