Tyrell Sales Arrested in Pittsburgh

by BSD on Mar 19, 2008 11:15 AM EDT in Football Comment 31 comments

Yeah, so you probably already heard this by now.

Penn State football player Tyrell Sales was arrested Saturday in Pittsburgh and charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, Pittsburgh police confirmed yesterday.

Pittsburgh police refused to release further details about the Station Square incident that they responded to at about 8:15 p.m. Saturday.

Here again, not a big deal. We're probably talking two points in the Fulmer Cup. But what's more troubling is the pattern. This is Sales' second run in with the law as he was also charged in the apartment fight last April. Those charges were later dropped. Sales is just lucky this didn't happen on College Avenue or else the State College District Attorney would be handing a football program to the "victim" and preparing some kind of bogus felony charges this morning.

You know, it's a shame that a few bad apples are making this entire team look like a bunch of thugs. You never hear about Sean Lee getting in trouble. You never hear about A.Q. Shipley picking a fight. Or Evan Royster getting busted for underage drinking. You never see Deon Butler getting pulled over for DUI. It's just a select few bad apples like Quarless, Baker, Timmons, and Sales who can't seem to stay out of trouble. It's a shame the rest of them have to read the lunatic crayon threads in the message boards about how Joe has lost control of this team.

Now I have a bone to pick with the Daily Collegian, the Pittsburgh Post, the Centre Daily Times and every other Pennsylvania print publication. Please stop reminding us of our past transgressions every time a Penn State player gets in a shoving match.

Sales was charged last April with disorderly conduct, criminal trespass and harassment in connection with an April 1 altercation in a downtown State College apartment, according to court documents. Penn State football players Anthony Scirrotto, Christopher Baker, Jerome Hayes, Justin King and Lydell Sargeant were also charged in connection with the incident, which occurred at Meridian II, 646 E. College Ave.

All charges against Sales, Hayes, King and Sargeant in connection with the fight have since been dropped.

The altercation, which court documents described as "crazy" and "like a brawl," stemmed from an earlier confrontation Scirrotto and a female friend had with three men on the corner of College Avenue and High Street the evening of March 31, 2007, police said.

Scirrotto accepted a plea deal Feb. 14 for his involvement in the assault, pleading guilty to misdemeanor defiant trespass. Scirrotto was placed on a year's probation, fined $500 and ordered to complete 25 days of community service, according to Collegian archives.

Baker, a former defensive tackle for the Nittany Lions, is scheduled to go to trial March 31 for his alleged involvement in the April 1 incident. Baker will face charges of criminal trespass, simple assault, harassment and burglary.

Seriously, what value does rehashing the entire apartment incident bring to the article? I thought this was an article about Tyrell Sales in an incident in Pittsburgh. The apartment fight was a year ago. All of the court cases have been settled with the exception of Chris Baker who stubbornly insists on fighting it rather than just taking a plea to a lesser charge. At what point do these kids and us fans get to move on from this? If a player gets in a fight ten years from now am I going to have to relive that Saturday night in April of 2007 all over again? We know what happened. We've already heard it a thousand times. Give it a rest.

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Is there no........

personal conduct code tied to a scholarship ? If not, there should be.

Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.

by ech2os on Mar 19, 2008 11:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

lets...

wanna make a petition? ill sign it.

students have to adhere to rules in their professional studies
-teachers can't have any alcohol related charges, have to get clearances to work with children (as do social workers and child psychiatrist etc.)
-lawyers get their records looked at prior to admission
-cant work in the government and have a record

why shouldn't student athletes (who are having their education PAID for them) have to adhere to standards and not just an agreement that they'll be on their best behavior

For the glory

by lionalum05 on Mar 19, 2008 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mine had one

I had an academic scholarship through IBM that required a certain GPA and, if I remember correctly, personal conduct provisions. Likewise, I had to keep up a certain GPA to stay in the Scholars Program, and I'm sure getting arrested would have been a ticket out of that joint as well.

by M1EK on Mar 19, 2008 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh my god...fighting in college????????

I hate to tell everyone on the Board attacking our players that they are targets! Should they walk away from drunk a-hole frat boys talking smack....sure. Is that always going to happen....no! Good kids do stupid things in college and like it or not 18, 19, and 20 year olds are going to get into fights. Does that make them bad people or require the withdrawl of their scholarship....No!

BTW....the charges in April were dropped against Sales because the douchebag DA had nothing to go on AND AS I HAVE SAID OVER AND OVER AGAIN THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WERE NOT THE PRIMARY AGRESSORS IN EITHER THE APARTMENT OR THE HUB.....THE NON-ATHLETES WERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! INCIDENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Mar 19, 2008 4:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Again...

Not charged with fighting...

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Mar 19, 2008 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Charges

Fighting leads to disorderly conduct, battery, trespass (in bar incidents), assualt, (in State College - aggravated assualt), reckless conduct and countless other charges. I would tend to say that every incident a PSU has been charged in has resulted from a fight with the exception of the DUI and underage drinking charges.

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Mar 20, 2008 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is a wrong assumption

If there was any possible way that Sales could have been charged with assault or public intoxication he would have been. Cops don't cut belligerent drunk black kids breaks. Ever.

The charges speak for themselves, we was not drunk (or at least not very drunk), and there was no fight. He didn't move fast enough for the cops taste when he was told to leave and then cursed he at him while walking away. That's the worst he did based on the charges.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Mar 20, 2008 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wish I could agree....

but....I dealt with cops charging people for four years as an ADA and a little pushing and shoving in a bar accompanied by a request to leave that doesn't happen could just as easily fit the charges.

If you are correct and all he did was swear and not move fast enough....I certainly wouldn't think people would be pushin for him to be dismissed...but that is just me.

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Mar 20, 2008 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

IMO

The charges indicate that if there was a fight, Sales wasn't a part of it. Maybe near it, but not in it.

Reviewing the other posts, it seems that the only people pushing for him to get kicked off the team are those who assume Sales was in another fight. The whole point of my posts was to point out that's not what he was charged with. My view (prejudice even) is that if he was involved, even tangentially, in a fight the cops would have thrown the book at him.

I'll bet you a dollar that the disorderly conduct is dropped in city court, and the trespass is reduced to a summary charge (if it's not already), he pays a fine and its over.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Mar 20, 2008 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You are probably right....

Most jurisdictions don't take the "hard-line" approach that the Asshole DA in Centre County takes! He will probably just get hit with a fine.

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Mar 21, 2008 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Past incidents

The past incidents are necessary to defuse the "it's just one bad apple" comments. Obviously didn't work in your case.

by M1EK on Mar 19, 2008 12:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm Pretty Much.........

with you. However, it is interesting to think of how Penn State got here. Some say this has always gone on.......some say it goes on everywhere......some say its the karma for living in a glass house for years.....some say its the result of an out of touch Paterno.....at the end of the day....I don't have an answer.

You do have to wonder why this stuff seems to come in waves.

Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.

by ech2os on Mar 19, 2008 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Apples

Mike said it was a "few" bad apples, whose names keep coming up - which is entirely accurate.

by Spats on Mar 19, 2008 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Zero tolerance...

kick Sales off the team. It's time for a statement from the coaching staff.

The apartment fight is still recent enough to be mentioned at this point, and it's relevant because Sales was involved.

by Joe 96alum on Mar 19, 2008 12:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

pryor to osu

Is he now the most hated player in state college?

by runngunn29 on Mar 19, 2008 12:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't hate him.

I didn't want him.

by Ab4PSU on Mar 19, 2008 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Big deal

I guess kicking Austin Scott off the team last year was not a big enough message. Lets be honest though, drinking and fighting are what college guys do. As long as they are not brandeshing weapons, fighting is the most overrated criminal offense ever. even in saying that these players have to know better. they need to learn where and when. Their futures are riding on it.

"I've gotto go with PSU. Ill make that pick every year till I die, and eventually it's gonna happen. Hear me now."- LL Cool J

by psuaar on Mar 19, 2008 12:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

FWIW

Sales was not charged with fighting, he was charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass. He wasn't even charged with public intoxication.

Disorderly Conduct is cop for "I don't like you, so you are getting charged with something". My guess is the criminal trespass was because didn't want to leave the bar he was getting thrown out of.

jesse, speculate as to what happened? Okay, try this one on...

His friend got 86'd at a bar. The bouncer (a moonlighting Pittsburgh Cop), called in his buddies held because, "Jesus, there are some huge black guys here that are going to kick my ass if I don't call in the cavalry". The bouncer tells him to get out; he says "screw you I'm not leaving", bang...disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.

The fact that he wasn't cited for public intoxication is pretty interesting, because he was at Station Square on St. Pats, which is the biggest lush fest orgy of green beer this side of Dublin.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Mar 19, 2008 1:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Don't these guys fucking get it?

My attitude about it is this: all of the ones who are repeat offenders--GONE!!!!! Period. We all make mistakes. A smart person makes a mistake, learns, and doesn't do it again. The truly stupid do the same thing over and over again, looking to blame somebody else. Sciorrotto screwed up once; he's been quiet since. Baker, Quarless, Sales, and Timmons need to have their scholarships revoked. They haven't earned the honor to play for us.

I work nights, and I'm tired, so here comes a belligerant rant: What in the fucking hell is going on at University Park?!? A program of our so-called stature has a lame duck coach, and nobody has the guts to address the issue one way or the other. And Tim Curley says there's no rush to resolve this issue. Why? Is this too hard of a decision to make, and nobody has the guts to make it? Is this why we've had one of the worst recruiting classes in recent memory? But yet, they raise the donor levels for the Nittany Lion Club, and tickets have gone up $3 a piece. Some of these kids repeatedly get in trouble, with no fear of being kicked off the team, and I don't mean during the spring and summer. I mean when it counts. No games and no TV time. What in the hell are they doing?!? Right now our football program is a rudderless ship drifting aimlessly in the night, and I really don't get even the slightest feeling that the higher ups are concerned. They should be. These things are getting harder to afford, and they cannot take our love and loyalty for granted. Somebody up there had better step to the front and take charge with the status of our coach, and the off field incidents, or we're going to find the hole we're sliding into harder and harder to get out of.

And one other thing: you hate to lose a local recruit to a rival school, but I don't think Pryor was Penn State material anyway. So who cares? We have Clark and Devlin, and if we can land Tate Forcier we should be okay at QB.

by Ab4PSU on Mar 19, 2008 2:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Funny...

The University found that Baker was not involved in the Hub incident. And the first judge who heard the prelim threw out the charges! The DA is State College is and Asshole looking to make a name for himself. ALL CHARGES against Sales from his "1st" incident were dismissed. Your logic assumes our players are automatically guilty. Sounds like Soviet Union logic to me.

ALSO....though in retrospect Scirotto shouldn't have did what he did (being he is a football player) I would have done the same thing to any j/o's that hit me in the face and pushed my girlfried to the ground! I hope most of us would!

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Mar 20, 2008 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kevin Newsome

that is who we need to land in Happy Valley...Michael Robinson 2.0

PSU Softball

by QBsneak12 on Mar 19, 2008 2:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

VT kicked Ore today

just for being lazy! We will give guys multiple chances to fight.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3301997

by JGuiher on Mar 19, 2008 5:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

For the third time...

Not charged with fighting.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Mar 19, 2008 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't care

what he was charged with. I go out multiple times a week and you have never seen my name in the police blotter of the Collegian or the CDT. The same can be said about my friends. You can not say the same about some of the football team. Why not? That is what I have a problem with.

by JGuiher on Mar 20, 2008 7:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well

I don't think the problem is with the kids going out...I think it is with thier minor celebrity status in the town or the state for that matter, I mean how many ppl go to the clubs and bars that spears and paris hilton go to but you never hear about them b/c they are not famous and nobody wants to hear about them...my point is that we put the spot light on these kids and I don't think that they realize they are going to be scrutinized for thier actions, I mean they probably still think they are just kids trying to have a good time, for the most part I believe that most of these situations are a "wrong place at the wrong time" situation

by Lion Alum on Mar 20, 2008 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

PSU non-football players are charged every week

Don't kid yourself. IF you don't see people getting picked up by the Po-po in State College I don't know what you are doing on Friday and Saturday night.

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Mar 20, 2008 10:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sure people get arrested all the time

whether they are football players or not. The thing is if you don't act like an idiot you will not get arrested just for nothing, and certainly not multiple times.

by JGuiher on Mar 20, 2008 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

disorderly conduct and criminal trespass

More than likely these charges resulted from some type of pushing and shoving match inside a bar or other public venue (hence the criminal trespass). In other words a scrap, fight...whatever! Can anyway shed light on what happened????

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Mar 20, 2008 10:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

let me explain

pushing and shoving = assault, a misdemenor

yelling at a cop = disorderly conduct, a summary offense (traffic ticket).

Sales is accused of yelling and screaming at officers, balling his hands into fists and shouting obscenities, city police said

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/college/s_557925.html

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Mar 20, 2008 10:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

According to the article....

Ore had multiple run-ins with the coaching staff...not just a one time occurance.

I thought only safeties played 15 yards off the ball?

by pic15 on Mar 20, 2008 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sales is a good kid from what I understand

Kids are gonna get into trouble from time to time. It's part of being that age. We need to be patient with our judgments and allow Joe and his staff to decide what is the appropriate level of punishment (if any) in this incident
This non-sense of kicking kids off the team because they get in a little fracas is asinine. They kids are targets for punks that are jealous of their athletic prowess. Also, the DA is going after these kids like that guy in Durham last year with the Duke kids. Has anyone checked to see if he is a graduate of Pitt? So our kids get baited into confrontations. Sales needs to just walk away next time but in no way should he be dropped from the program. Joe will handle this situation appropriately. I have confidence that the man knows what he's doing when it comes to discipline. How many other coaches would have penalized an entire team for what happened last year? None. Joe knows that the best way to motivate the team to behave is to handle this matter internally.

by Umberto on Mar 19, 2008 5:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs