Lets see how other schools treated this..

[White Helmet]

Wasnt there a cincinatti Bball player who was arrested for punching a police horse and he still got to play?

[SMU Football Blog]

Wasnt there a cincinatti Bball player who was arrested for punching a police horse and he still got to play?

Did he hate the horse or all horses? Was he an equine-phobe?

[mrydel]

Wasnt there a cincinatti Bball player who was arrested for punching a police horse and he still got to play?

Did he hate the horse or all horses? Was he an equine-phobe?

Actually I think that was Mongo in Blazing Saddles, and it was a Sheriff's horse if I remember correctly.

[White Helmet]

Im pretty sure he called the fine police horse a nag before he hit it. And something about glue factory.

[mrydel]

The fact that Willis is suspended and not Sanders leads me to believe that the Beard family is calling the shots and not SMU. Fairness would dictate they both be suspended. Revenge could mean just one.

[BRStang]

The SMU Administration is all about cowtowing to the liberals to keep them quiet. There is no innocent until proven guilty at SMU. It's not a public university, so they can do what they want, censor what they want, etc. It's been that way for at least as long as I have known it.

I was a FIJI and during my tenure some of my friends painted themselves purple (our colors) and wore grass skirts (another FIJI tradition) and walked in the Homecoming Parade with our float. Good ol' Clarence Glover got a hold of that and made it seem like they were walking down the street with a bunch of KKK hoods. All of them were accused of being racists and publicly equating black people with savages (which was completely unbelievable since these guys were the farthest thing from racists), and the University immediately suspended them and forced them to undergo hours of "diversity training" at the hands of Mr. Glover. Their attempts to explain their innocent motivations were dismissed out of hand by the Administration without any consideration.

The Willis thing is no different. You wait, the SMU Admin will drag this thing on intentionally to quell the liberal noise.

[KnuckleStang]

The SMU Administration is all about cowtowing to the liberals to keep them quiet. There is no innocent until proven guilty at SMU. It's not a public university, so they can do what they want, censor what they want, etc. It's been that way for at least as long as I have known it.

I was a FIJI and during my tenure some of my friends painted themselves purple (our colors) and wore grass skirts (another FIJI tradition) and walked in the Homecoming Parade with our float. Good ol' Clarence Glover got a hold of that and made it seem like they were walking down the street with a bunch of KKK hoods. All of them were accused of being racists and publicly equating black people with savages (which was completely unbelievable since these guys were the farthest thing from racists), and the University immediately suspended them and forced them to undergo hours of "diversity training" at the hands of Mr. Glover. Their attempts to explain their innocent motivations were dismissed out of hand by the Administration without any consideration.

The Willis thing is no different. You wait, the SMU Admin will drag this thing on intentionally to quell the liberal noise.

Well, it actually is different, in that Willis assaulted somebody physically, and the Fijis did not. You have to agree that's a little bit different from putting on a grass skirt. But I agree that it is time for a decision on Willis. He served a (I believe) well-deserved suspension. It's time to either clear him or expel him, or decide how long he will be out.

[CarolinaLawStang]

The issue with Blake Mitchell was just as complicated as this one. But it was handled immediately. They say Willis will go under investigation in a "timely" manner as all students do? As I recall, it sometimes took months to get any type of hearing under SMU's judicial code if you did not immediately agree to the terms they pre-set for you (i.e. guilty). I understand the school has lots of issue at hand, but an issue of assault is not in the same boat as an alcohol violation received by someone coming back from a bus party. You are allowed to prioritize and not make everyon draw #'s and stand in the same damn line. USC has over 25,000 students... I'm sure there are plenty of things that go on here that keep their judicial board busy, too. The Mitchell case, which involved an warrant for arrest, was cleared up in 3 days..

Blake Mitchell was at a bar in Columbia (Pavlov's.. think Home Bar/Green Elephant) at 1:45am on Tuesday or Wednesday. He was caught sneaking in underage students into the bar, and the bouncer confronted him. Mitchell thought since he was the QB, he'd go talk the bouncer into seeing things his way. The bouncer, who was also an undergrad student at USC, didn't see things his way so Mitchell hit the guy in the eye. Mitchell had a warrant out for his arrest for simple assault and had a court hearing scheduled for the Friday morning before the game he missed. Mitchell plead not-guilty to the charges.

At the hearing, the bar dropped the charges so long as Blake Mitchell never stepped foot on the grounds again. Mitchell's attorney agreed. Then later, the manager called the situation a "miscommunication" and that "Blake was welcome back there anytime."

Spurrier suspended Mitchell because there were charges brought and there was a warrant out for his arrest. Once the charges were dropped, Mitchell was re-instated to the team. Spurrier also said that Mitchell's hand was bothering him so Spurrier was looking to other options for the game against Wofford that week... but that could've been just coach-speak to ease the fans and media that Blake wasn't the cure all or savior for the team's season.

The week after, against FAU, Mitchell was re-instated but did not start. Syvelle Newton started most of the game, and Mitchell only went in for a few snaps and drives. Granted, the reason that Newton has replaced Mitchell is because Newton's playmaking ability is more suited to the USC offense than Mitchell's... which can't really be said yet about Slater and SMU. The situations are actually almost reversed in terms of the types of QBs that switched out.

But regardless, SMU should have this situation cleared up by now. A situation where there were charges and a court-hearing took less than 3-days to clear up. It's going on a week and there's still no definite charge, no definite punishment, and no clear answer.

I swear, SMU really likes to shoot itself in the foot. And then instead of going to the doctor to take care of the problem, they just let it bleed and hope it scabs over and heals on its own. Maybe if they don't let anyone know anything, it will just blow over... Nip this in the bud and put Willis back on the field.

[HFvictory]

Correct me if I am wrong, but it is not up to Beard to file charges. He can file a complaint, but the DA's office must file the charges and they can without beard's consent and they can also refuse if he files a complaint.

Must likely they will not pursue without Beard, but they will not sit on a case like this very long and if nothing happens soon it won't at all regardless of the statute of limitations on it.

[couch 'em]

I was a FIJI and during my tenure some of my friends painted themselves purple (our colors) and wore grass skirts (another FIJI tradition) and walked in the Homecoming Parade with our float. Good ol' Clarence Glover got a hold of that and made it seem like they were walking down the street with a bunch of KKK hoods. All of them were accused of being racists and publicly equating black people with savages (which was completely unbelievable since these guys were the farthest thing from racists), and the University immediately suspended them and forced them to undergo hours of "diversity training" at the hands of Mr. Glover. Their attempts to explain their innocent motivations were dismissed out of hand by the Administration without any consideration.

How did dressing in purple with grass skirts get associated with black people?

[couch 'em]

1. PB job is on the line. Surely the university wouldn't come pull him of the field

Burgers and Cheer.

[BRStang]

The purple made the skin "dark" and the grass skirts made the implication of "savages". No joke. 1992.