Mo Washington Spill-Over Thread

[Ulty]

I see it from a different point of view. What he did was way worse than not going to class, not making grades, breaking team rules, etc. and players have been suspended or kicked off the team for those types of things. Shouldn't Mo be held to at least that level of punishment if he sent the text? None of those things would ruin his life.

That's a fair point, but I think things like going to class and making grades are tied in with NCAA compliance issues. Breaking team rules and other forms of misconduct need to be handled in accordance with whatever procedures they have in place. Since he sent the text while still in high school before coming to UNL, I'm not sure if team rules or university conduct policies would necessarily apply. For all of these things, there are procedures, and appropriate jurisdiction, for how to handle it and enforce potential consequences.

If MW was suspended now, for something he did in high school, which is in the early stages of a criminal investigation but has not even come close to seeing its day in court, but other players in comparable circumstances have not been suspended, then they could have a disparate treatment claim on their hands. I have no doubt that the AD is working closely with the university legal team to be very, very careful in how they handle this.

 

[Enhance]

I see it from a different point of view. What he did was way worse than not going to class, not making grades, breaking team rules, etc. and players have been suspended or kicked off the team for those types of things. Shouldn't Mo be held to at least that level of punishment if he sent the text? None of those things would ruin his life.

I agree that what he is accused of doing is worse, but most of those things you mentioned often result in being kicked off a team after numerous violations, or a particularly egregious violation of team rules. I don't personally believe what he is accused of doing, in and of itself, is worth being kicked off the team for or having his life ruined over. If guilty, does he deserve some form of punishment? Yes. I would just argue the severity of said punishment.

It's an important point, but that kid was a minor. Mo sent it years later as an adult. That's also an important point in this whole conversation.

Do we know if the other kid was tried as an adult? I know he was charged with distributing child pornography which is one of the items of Mo faces.

Regardless, I still think we're blowing this all out of proportion to what is actually going to happen. Assuming they try to avoid some sort of trial, he would likely take a plea deal that amounts to some form of probation and he can serve probation in Nebraska if his application is accepted.

 

[StPaulHusker]

I agree with the bolded 100%, but what he did in no way justifies any sort of scenario that results in his life literally being ruined. It just doesn't.

His life would not be ruined if were not allowed to play football at Nebraska or even at the collegiate level

 

[ZRod]

His life would not be ruined if were not allowed to play football at Nebraska or even at the collegiate level

Sex offender list would do it though. Just saying.

 

[StPaulHusker]

Sex offender list would do it though. Just saying.

I suppose it could.

Did Avery Moss have to register?  His situation turned out alright for him in the end

 

[RedDenver]

I agree that what he is accused of doing is worse, but most of those things you mentioned often result in being kicked off a team after numerous violations, or a particularly egregious violation of team rules. I don't personally believe what he is accused of doing, in and of itself, is worth being kicked off the team for or having his life ruined over. If guilty, does he deserve some form of punishment? Yes. I would just argue the severity of said punishment.

We can certainly argue over what the severity of the punishment should be. I'm not opposed to someone convincing me maybe he should be suspended for a season, or x number of games, or whatever.

Do we know if the other kid was tried as an adult? I know he was charged with distributing child pornography which is one of the items of Mo faces.

That's a good question. I assumed he was treated as a minor, but I'm not certain. Also, I don't think he was tried but rather a plea agreement was reached.

Regardless, I still think we're blowing this all out of proportion to what is actually going to happen. Assuming they try to avoid some sort of trial, he would likely take a plea deal that amounts to some form of probation and he can serve probation in Nebraska if his application is accepted.

I actually don't think the legal system will do much to Mo, if anything at all, but I also don't think the university should be entirely dependent on the legal system verdicts for whatever they decide. IIRC, Osborne suspended LP before he was tried or convicted as an example. Playing for the Huskers should not have the same standard as simply not being a convicted criminal.

 

[Saunders]

It's an important point, but that kid was a minor. Mo sent it years later as an adult. That's also an important point in this whole conversation.

This is true, but I also think context matters.

The kid who got probation was the original distributer of the video to the masses. The difference between his age and Mo's when they sent the video is a matter of months.

 

[Mierin]

I see it from a different point of view. What he did was way worse than not going to class, not making grades, breaking team rules, etc. and players have been suspended or kicked off the team for those types of things. Shouldn't Mo be held to at least that level of punishment if he sent the text? None of those things would ruin his life.

It's an important point, but that kid was a minor. Mo sent it years later as an adult. That's also an important point in this whole conversation.

What are the less bad things players have been kicked off the team for? Suspension talk doesn’t matter right now because he probably will be suspended for some amount of time at the least. 

I don’t think not making grades is too relevant either. It’s a different category from character reasons, and it’s likely the school that kicks them out which forces them off the team.

 

[Enhance]

His life would not be ruined if were not allowed to play football at Nebraska or even at the collegiate level

To be fair, I never said his life being ruined had anything to do or not to do with football, and neither did Zrod's initial comment.

But, either way, we can't really speculate what the potential loss of football would or wouldn't mean for his life. It could mean a lot, it could mean little, if it happened.

 

[StPaulHusker]

To be fair, I never said his life being ruined had anything to do or not to do with football, and neither did Zrod's initial comment.

But, either way, we can't really speculate what the potential loss of football would or wouldn't mean for his life. It could mean a lot, it could mean little, if it happened.

You can certainly speculate that the loss of a privilege will not ruin someones life.

 

[RedDenver]

What are the less bad things players have been kicked off the team for? Suspension talk doesn’t matter right now because he probably will be suspended for some amount of time at the least. 

I don’t think not making grades is too relevant either. It’s a different category from character reasons, and it’s likely the school that kicks them out which forces them off the team.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/21137492/division-iii-football-player-kicked-team-kneeling-national-anthem

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/9/23/17893064/virginia-tech-trevon-hill-kicked-off-team

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2012/09/12/jamie-kuntz-gay-football-player-kicked-off-north-dakota-state-college-sciences/1414737/

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/ucf-football-player-kicked-off-team-for-making-money-off-youtube-videos

And an article on "undisclosed violation of team rules": http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/blog/_/name/assael_shaun/id/5921905/what-undisclosed-violations-team-rules-mean-college-athletes-file

 

[Enhance]

You can certainly speculate that the loss of a privilege will not ruin someones life.

You could also speculate the opposite, which gets back to the point that neither Zrod or I were speculating either way. It was not mentioned.

 

[Enhance]

For the record, I said I didn't believe this situation is worth "being kicked off the team for or having his life ruined over." I separated them intentionally since one does not necessarily correlate to the other.

 

[knapplc]

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/21137492/division-iii-football-player-kicked-team-kneeling-national-anthem

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/9/23/17893064/virginia-tech-trevon-hill-kicked-off-team

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2012/09/12/jamie-kuntz-gay-football-player-kicked-off-north-dakota-state-college-sciences/1414737/

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/ucf-football-player-kicked-off-team-for-making-money-off-youtube-videos

And an article on "undisclosed violation of team rules": http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/blog/_/name/assael_shaun/id/5921905/what-undisclosed-violations-team-rules-mean-college-athletes-file

Help me understand where you're going with this. Are you advocating kicking Washington off the team?

 

[RedDenver]

Help me understand where you're going with this. Are you advocating kicking Washington off the team?

If he sent that text as reported (again, we haven't heard his side of the story yet), then I think he should be kicked off the team and be allowed a second chance elsewhere.