Stay Classy Ron Zook

by BSD on Oct 16, 2008 12:08 PM EDT in Big Ten Conference

Let's do a quick comparison of coaching styles. Austin Scott gets accused of rape and he's off the team despite the charges later being dropped. Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma get caught with less than an ounce of marijuana in their room and they sit for three weeks. Illinois backup quarterback Eddie McGee pushes a girl twice to the ground and Illinois coach Ron Zook doesn't see a problem with that.

Eddie McGee's status as Illinois' No. 2 quarterback will not be affected by his arrest in connection with an incident at a dance last weekend, coach Ron Zook said Wednesday.

McGee has continued to practice with the team and will back up starter Juice Williams on Saturday against Indiana (7 p.m., BTN, 560-AM).

''If there was an issue with Eddie, something would be done,'' Zook said. ''I'm not going to punish him for something that I feel very comfortable with [as far as] the outcome. We have good kids. Sometimes they get into situations you wish they wouldn't, but that's life.''

That's life? Something he feels "very comfortable" with? I guess sometimes a man has to do what a man has to do, and apparently sometimes a man has to get in a fight with a woman and put her in her place if you ask Ron Zook and Eddie McGee.

This is utterly despicable. I hope Illinois fans are enjoying their newfound success, because they are paying a heavy price for it. We here at BSD are not big fans of Rich Rodriguez, but at least he made the right decision in kicking Mike Milano off the team for beating up a Michigan hockey player.

And before anyone says "apartment fight" or "HUB fight", let me remind you most of the characters involved in those incidents were suspended for some period of time. Some were reinstated while some never put on the PSU jersey again. None of them went back to practice the next day as if nothing happened.

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Ron Zook = Ron Burgundy

Perfect photoshop opportunity just waiting to happen.

by NJ lion on Oct 16, 2008 12:39 PM EDT 0 recs

less than an ounce?

I heard it was less than two GRAMS. That won’t even last you a weekend.

not that i would know….i’m just sayin’.

by Stately NOVA Lion on Oct 16, 2008 12:40 PM EDT 0 recs

That won't last a Phish song

"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008

by jesse. on Oct 16, 2008 12:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

Phish songs last longer than a weekend, don't they?

John Madden told me 90% of the game was half-mental...

by TheK-GunNeedsReloaded on Oct 16, 2008 2:05 PM EDT up 0 recs

The good ones do.

"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008

by jesse. on Oct 16, 2008 2:37 PM EDT up 0 recs

yep it's always a big deal for PSU

and everyone else gets a pass. IRemember Peter Warrick (I think it was) for FSU. He and a second or third stringer get busted for shoplifting. Backup gets kicked off the team, Warrick’s practicing and playing the next week.

The coach, a man my brother-in-law likes to refer to as “Fat-Ass” Bobby Bowden on nationwide tv makes the comment something to the effect of

I don’t think it would even get that much attention if they weren’t “ath-a-letes”.

Bottom line . . . if you’re a backup we don’t put up with this kind of behavior. If you’re gonna score touchdowns for me, though, well . . . that’s something altogether different.

How many OTL like reports on last year’s FSU T.A. scandal? Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too.

"the secret to loving your job is having a hobby that you really despise"

by nitwit86 on Oct 16, 2008 12:47 PM EDT 0 recs

Laveranues Coles...

was the backup that was kicked off the team. For whatever reason, maybe he was an underclassman?, Coles wasn’t that much of a contributor at the time. He still has a major beef with Florida State and Bobby Bowden over the whole ordeal, feels like he was made an example of while Warrick got a pass, and I believe to this day Coles names his high school in the pregame introductions.

by jimbo2psu on Oct 16, 2008 1:52 PM EDT up 0 recs

They Were Not Caught Stealing

They actually paid for the clothes they bought, but the cashier gave them like a 99% discount because of who they were. I think they got $700 worth of clothes for $10.

Warrick was suspended for one game.

I do not think the actions of the players violated any laws, but it did vioalate NCAA rules. The cashier I believe was prosecuted because of what he/she did.

by DrDetroit on Oct 16, 2008 1:58 PM EDT up 0 recs

"Peter Warrick stole my bike" . . .

Still the greatest sign I have ever seen at a football game.

by kmpsu on Oct 16, 2008 2:03 PM EDT up 0 recs

It is tough to compare coaching disciplinary styles

even with JoePa himself. We commend him for sticking with Rashaard Casey after he was arrested and charged, and then he won his case (or the charges were dropped, or whatever), and even won a settlement against the cop for harassing him. Then with Austin Scott (who admittedly had some other issues, but nothing really legally bad) gets kicked off the team because of an alleged sexual assault that turns out never happened (again, tricky with the he said/she said sexual assault stories). Not that I ever liked Austin Scott, but I do feel that he was held to a different standard than a lot of players.

For the Mo Evans and Abe Koroma suspensions, I like that Joe dealt them a swift, tough punishment, but the timing definitely smelled of “see, OTL people, we can discipline our guys”

As for Illinois, it is their backup QB, so I don’t see them trying to keep their “star power” on the field, and you never know what actually happened in the “fight”. The story says something about him getting poked in the eye, and then pushing the woman. Maybe he didn’t even know it was a woman who poked him in the eye, since he couldn’t see from you know…getting poked in the eye. She pushes back and he pushes her again and she trips and falls down. Not saying he’s a classy guy himself, but this doesn’t seem like a “got into a fistfight with a woman and beat her face in” type of story.

by The JuggerNitt on Oct 16, 2008 12:56 PM EDT 0 recs

backup QB

Isn’t Eddie McGee the guy (from Illinois) that killed us late in the game last year?

"I honestly think the "Spread HD" is going to work pretty well, and we’ll be just fine this year". - 8-27-2008

by jesse. on Oct 16, 2008 1:12 PM EDT up 0 recs

someone

and I don’t know which blog/news site did this, teased a link to this story by saying (paraphrasing here) that he “knocked her over while dancing” or something ridiculous like that.

Kevin @ Black Shoe Diaries

by Kevin HD on Oct 16, 2008 1:32 PM EDT up 0 recs

Austin Scott

Yeah, I’m a little leery about the comparision there.

Austin Scott wasn’t kicked off the team for the alleged rape (where the charges were dropped). He was kicked off for violating team rules — namely, for breaking curfew multiple times. The fact that he used this time out to hook up with a girl who later accused him of rape was actually a secondary.

I actually don’t have a problem with Zook sticking by his player if the evidence points to a false accusation and he’s supporting someone he feels is innocent. I do have a problem with glossing over true crimes, especially ones that involving hurting others.

by Laaaaazzz on Oct 16, 2008 2:56 PM EDT up 0 recs

Illinois situation

I agree with you on this. We really have no idea what actually happened, so I’m not going to try to jump to any conclusions. If this dance is anything like the ones I’ve been to, there’s so much stuff going on with tons of people, flashing lights, etc. I would say wait till this thing gets sorted out, but one thing I don’t like is how Zook says, “That’s life”

by WPIALkid22 on Oct 16, 2008 4:03 PM EDT up 0 recs

maybe he's in a lot of mosh pits?

Zook looks like a mosher, doesn’t he?

The Zookie Mosher!!! (I guess like the Cookie Monster, but with a mouth full of cottonballs…or just cottonmouth?)

by The JuggerNitt on Oct 16, 2008 4:17 PM EDT up 0 recs

Let's just....

…beat the tar out of scUM and enjoy it!

New prediction….

60-0….at halftime.

Pat Devlin in '08, er, '09

by Nick7 on Oct 16, 2008 1:12 PM EDT 0 recs

Will the final score of this game be worse than

the Coastal Carolina game?

I bleed Blue and White.

by Horse N Buggy on Oct 16, 2008 3:18 PM EDT up 0 recs

YES

Pat Devlin in '08, er, '09

by Nick7 on Oct 16, 2008 4:09 PM EDT up 0 recs

Allegedly.

Even though it doesn’t apply in this situation, I’ll say it anyway. I think coaches need to take the side of the players now in all situations until after the Police action/Court proceedings are done. Austin Scott and Duke Lacross are my two main reference points on this. Both were falsely accused of something. Both had their seasons end. Someone told some lies about them and basically ruined a portion of their lives.

I think coaches now have to err on the side of the players.

As for Zook, from the Chicago Tribune:

“McGee has agreed to an adult diversion program and will not be charged in the case, in which he allegedly threw a woman to the floor after he was poked in the eye at the African-American homecoming dance. Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Reitz cited McGee’s cooperation and lack of a police record for the move. McGee has a court date Thursday in which the agreement is expected to be finalized.”

So you are faulting Ron Zook for not punishing a kid who is not charged with anything.

I’m guessing Zook got the entire story. He probably flailed his arm around after getting poked in the eye and knocked the woman down on accident. McGee is 6’ 4" and 200 lbs. I’m betting it wouldn’t have taken much of a swing on his part to knock her over.

by DrDetroit on Oct 16, 2008 2:12 PM EDT 0 recs

I agree

and that was basically my point in my above post.

The coach, unless they actually have more inside info on the situation and actually know (beyone a reasonable doubt) that the athlete actually did something wrong should stick by the players, but also be the first to show them the door once they are found guilty. Part of the problem, of course, is that it could take much longer than the season to come to a decision about these types of cases, in which case you could have actual criminals playing for a while.

Perhaps some sort of compromise would be that players could get something equivalent to a redshirt for years/games they have to sit out due to false allegations (though that could get REALLY messy, with coaches colluding with local law enforcement to “arrest” the second/third string player who has already used/burned their redshirt, but could really benefit from another year of eligibility.

by The JuggerNitt on Oct 16, 2008 2:27 PM EDT up 0 recs

Play the Criminals

I think the coaches have to play the criminals.

I think the coaches will know if the kid is a good kid or not. If he has had all kinds of past problems then it’d be easy to kick him off the team. If its just one incident out of the blue, then stand by the kid. If it turns out the kid is a criminal then kick him off. Coaches now should defer to Duke Scott Austin when defending keeping someone on the team.

We are not exactly talking Jerry Tarkanian here either as far as the kids go. The shark flat out recruited criminals to play. Even the bad kids recruited by programs aren’t that bad.

by DrDetroit on Oct 16, 2008 2:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

African American Homecoming Dance.

Interesting.

Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.

by ech2os on Oct 16, 2008 3:22 PM EDT up 0 recs

Homecoming Dance?

Did anyone else read this and automatically assume a 60 year old white guy wrote the article?

Unless I’m mistaken, the concept of “dances” goes the way of the dinosaur once you leave your high school prom.

Maybe I’m wrong here… maybe McGee attempted to add the young lass’ name to his dance card, and accidentally poked himself in the eye with his pencil. It could be 1950 in Champaign for all I know.

by Tailgate Shogun on Oct 16, 2008 6:08 PM EDT 0 recs