Michigan, Rodriguez shun kids

I saw this over on another blog I read, and it's just a travesty. I don't follow the whole "lifting for life" thing the players do, but I am 100 percent behind any form of team giving back to the community that benefits everyone. It's part of what makes not only being a penn state football player special, but just being a good human being.

At Michigan, new coach Rich Rodriguez chose a mandatory workout over the team's charity of the past four years where kids get to meet their 'heroes" on the football team. Not this year. But at least the Michigan State players still will show up, and it seems like they are brining extra to make up for their maize and blue bretheren. Also, someone in the comments section made a good point about mandatory workouts not being OK this time of year and cites the NCAA rule book:

It's also an NCAA violation to have mandatory workouts during this time of year. RR should not be able to exercise any control over who can and can't attend for any reason.

(2) Summer Conditioning Period. [FBS/FCS]
In football, between the start of summer conditioning and the start of preseason practice period, an institution shall conduct its out of season conditioning period as follows:
(a) Institutions shall count back nine weeks from the first permissible reporting date for preseason practice. During this nine-week period, institutions shall designate one week as student-athlete discretionary time.
(b) During the remaining eight weeks of the summer conditioning period student-athletes and prospective student-athletes who have signed a National Letter of Intent or, for those institutions not using a National Letter of Intent, a prospective student-athlete who has signed an institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid, may be involved in non mandatory weight training and conditioning activities that are conducted by the institution’s strength coach for no more than eight hours per week.

Here's the first few graphs and a link:

The fourth annual Heroes For Kids golf benefit likely still will take place Wednesday at Apple Mountain Golf Club, but not as originally planned.

Larry Preston, one of the directors of the event which raises money for Saginaw youth recreation, said he learned today that no University of Michigan football players are able to take part in Wednesday's benefit.

Preston said U-M officials told him first-year U-M football coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff have scheduled a mandatory strength and conditioning workout for the players on Wednesday.

"It's a big disappointment for all of us," Preston said. "The (U-M) players always have said how much they enjoy Heroes For Kids, and the strength and conditioning coach (Mike Barwis) said he wants to work with us on this next year.

"But this workout is mandatory, and all players must attend. It's coach Rod's call on that. This is his first year (at U-M), and he's doing everything he can to make sure his team is successful."

A message left with the U-M sports information office seeking comment was not returned.

http://www.mlive.com/saginawnews/news/index.ssf/2008/07/um_football_players_to_miss_he.html