We have been writing about seeking accountability from our major sports programs when any of our athletes get implicated in an off field scandal. We know there is no accountability at USC. That is pretty apparent when Chetey Petey had no problem starting a freshman LBer Ray Malauga in a game a week after he was charged with punching the brains out of a fellow college student on campus. Chetey simply did not bother taking any action after the thug was arrested for investigation of misdemeanor battery after punching a man at an off-campus Halloween party (twice, without provocation).
Yet some pathetic Trojan apologists (hiding themselves in a closet under the guise as impartial college football observers) are making excuses for Chetey Petey saying something to the effect that it happens in every program. Not quite.
Take a look at Mark Richt, the head coach at University of Georgia, who arguably is leading one of the elite programs in college football. Recently a Georgia football player was charged with public drunkenness. Key offensive lineman Ian Smith passed out while seated on the commode in the bathroom of an Athens restaurant with his pants around his ankles. Clarke County cops apparently had to hammer through a wooden door to get to Smith. Yikes. Well Kyle over at Dawg Sports thought the criminals charges brought up against Smith were bogus. Still Mark Richt to his credit wasn't willing to take any chances. He went ahead and suspended Smith. Richt has no problem suspending his players no matter how crucial they are to his football program:
Georgia coach Mark Richt was not available for comment Friday. Inman, a three-year starter from Hope Mills, N.C., declined to comment on the suspension when reached Friday.
He has not been arrested by the university or Athens-Clarke County Police in connection with this incident.
Dorrell could have sent a similar message in public sphere if he had immediately put Ward and Hale on interim suspension when they were being alleged to be involved in an off campus brawl. Sure Ward and Hale could be innocent. But there would have been nothing wrong with putting them on interim suspension while legal charges were being hashed out. We need to send our players a clear cut message about how they should watch themselves re. where and what kind of characters they hang out with. We still haven't seen Dorrell taking any decisive actions with regards to Hale and Ward. And it will be interesting to see what everyone else thinks on how he has handled this situation.
Keep in mind - UCLA football is under the microscope in the number 2 media market in America. The LA media have already proven to be bunch of morons constantly making excuses for Chetey Petey's corrupt program. They love the Condoms whose shady coach has turned schmoozing with the lazy reporters in the traditional reporters into an art form. So they will have no problem coming out like bunch of blood thirsty sharks (as they did during the Parking Gate, SUV Gate, Paus DUI gate) when reports of any UCLA football related off field shenanigans became public, just so they can even out the bad news between the two major college sports programs from the same town. Why should we give them any additional material to work with? We have to play smart. Yet we still have not seen any signs of savvy PR moves from Dorrell and his coworkers in the Morgan Center that they are serious about seeking accountability from their football program unlike their counterparts from cross-town.
I guess I?d like to see Dorrell seek accountability from his program just like Mark Richt, an elite football coach leading an elite football program. But I guess it is too much to expect a mediocre/less than average coach to act like an elite head coach all on a sudden.
GO BRUINS.