Wide receiver coach Eric Scott was one of three burglary suspects arrested Tuesday in Norwalk.
Suzanne Rico reports
Not sure how to comment on something like this.
I do know, if the allegations are true, it's bad. It's bad because it's a crime, naturally. It's bad because the season is about to start and UCLA could lose it's wide receivers coach. It's bad because Scott is a key recruiter, or so I've read.
It's just bad.
So, let's hope it's not true.
ADDED THOUGHTS: The reality is, if (and I'm going to keep saying "if") these allegations prove true, it's going to be something that sticks to our program for a long time.
And because we portray our program as the "clean" program and because some of our fans and supporters never fail to lay the thug/criminal tag on other programs, the situation is rife with sad irony.
UPDATE - N: Just last week Rich Perleman posted this note in attempt to rebut the argument Dorrell is one of the worst coaches in the NCAA:
Dorrell may have changed a lot of his assistant coaches, but after the cataclysmic handicap-parking scandal that destroyed the 1999 football season, his players have pretty much stayed off the police blotter. And reports are that he is recruiting fairly high-character high school players. This aspect of his tenure should not be overlooked; it certainly isn’t inside the Morgan Center.
UPDATE II - N: Dohn with some early details:
Scott was booked at 1:07 p.m. He posted a $5,000 bond and was released at 9:25 p.m., according to an arrest report.
"He was brought to Norwalk station and booked on residential burglary and bonded out,’’ said Tera White, the LASD’s station watch commander.
"Deputies were called (to a house). It was a call for service. It wasn’t an observation on deputies’ part. They were called there by neighbors.’’
White said two other men, Jesus DeAlba and Timothy Williams, were also arrested with Scott, 32, was hired as UCLA’s receivers coach in March, and was making a big impact in recruiting.
UPDATE III - A: One word of caution: It must have been about a year ago when Maurice Jones-Drew was momentarily implicated in a criminal situation at the Denny's in Westwood. MDJ was completely exonerated. Wrong place, wrong time, if I recall correctly. Not saying that's the situation with Eric Scott. I'm not naive. And if this turns out to be true, I'll be the second person calling for his immediate dismissal. (Nestor will be the first.) If Scott is guilty of burglary, it could be the beginning of the end for the entire regime. But news of the arrest is only hours old at this moment (10:01 Pacific Time). More details will shed more light on the situation.
UPDATE IV -N:Obviously we are going to hear more in the coming hours. However, I do believe right now Dorrell and Morgan Center should take immediate action and put Scott on "paid leave" (unless there has been some kind of dramatic misunderstanding) and keep him away from Morgan Center and all football facilities just like Vick has been instructed to stay away from the Falcons.
UPDATE V -N: No comment from Morgan Center as folks are still "gathering information".
UPDATE VI -M: The first set of MSM stories are starting to trickle out. Here's the LA Times piece. Also, the OC Register points out that DG has the power to do the right thing if the allegations against Scott prove accurate:
A standard contract for assistant coaches at UCLA includes a clause that states: '... Acts which may be considered a breach of this agreement include, but are not limited to, acts of dishonesty, theft or misappropriation of university property, fighting on the job, insubordination, acts endangering others or other serious misconduct.''
Upon any such breach, Athletic Director Dan Guerrero could terminate the contract.