At first it sounds like a joke: Three University students, and prominent athletes at that, firing weapons in a public park at not nutria, not squirrels, not even beavers – but at ducks. Apparently freshman basketball players Josh Crittle, Michael Dunigan and Teondre Williams saw the humor in such behavior, as they were detained at gunpoint and cited by Eugene police Monday night for shooting pellet guns at ducks and geese in Alton Baker Park.
It seems the only learning these men do is in the classroom, as their actions come only a week after two members of the University club ice hockey team were arrested and jailed for firing pellet guns at an apartment building in the West University neighborhood. The public has already expressed varied reaction to the events, but a sampling of the responses to the story on the Register-Guard’s Web site finds the following thoughts:
“Kids do tend to do stupid things from time to time.”
“It was just “typical” poor frosh decision making.”
And, of course, “Boys will be boys.”
Sure, these men are young college students, and mistakes are part of the college experience. Certainly no one on the Emerald editorial board would deny his or her own share of poor decision-making back at the tender age of 19.
However, recklessly firing a weapon in a public park (a misdemeanor) isn’t your typical freshman-year craziness, and what’s more, these three men are public figures who represent the University as a whole, as well as the city and even the state, and therefore must be held to an exceptionally high standard of conduct. All three are on scholarship and if they wish to be awarded such honors and be admired public faces of their institution, they must conduct themselves accordingly and show some appreciation.
And, when they do not, there must be consequences.
There has already been talk around campus suggesting that because the players are valuable assets to the men’s basketball team, head coach Ernie Kent should keep the consequences minimal. But the coaches and athletic department should enforce disciplinary action for the men’s behavior and not let the events simply be swept under the rug because of the men’s status as star athletes, which all too often seems to be college athletics’ M.O.
Take, for example, Oregon wide receiver Derrick Jones’ 2008 arrest. Jones was cited in October 2007 for driving with a suspended license, and then arrested when the officer found a warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in court on a past charge. Then, in January 2008, police arrested Jones for frequenting a drug house and failing to appear in court yet again. Jones was briefly suspended and put on “special probation” but never removed from the team, and was allowed to keep playing. Also, no stand was ever taken against his actions by the coaching staff or the athletic department. This all came at a time when Oregon’s receiving line was dangerously thin, and losing a player like Jones could have been catastrophic.
Or, take Oregon linebacker Eddie Pleasant’s arrest for reckless driving and citation for speed racing last September after he crashed his car into one carrying three passengers, including a 1-year old. After the event, Mike Bellotti’s response was that it was “possible” that disciplinary actions could have later been taken on Pleasant. None ever were.
As another commenter on the Register-Guard’s Web site pointed out, there was more at stake than just whether or not Crittle, Dunigan and Williams shot at an animal. What if a person nearby had been hit? Or, what if the police officers had shot at the men after seeing a gun? The men must be held accountable for their actions, and not just by the city of Eugene (though community service cleaning up the rampant duck and goose droppings in Alton Baker Park seems highly appropriate). At the very least they should be put on probation or suspended. And though the idea of revoking their scholarships or kicking them off the team altogether may seem harsh, it’s important that the University sends a clear message that the men’s actions were unacceptable.
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Athletes must be held accountable
Daily Emerald
April 1, 2009
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