Aug. 29, 2007

The sentiments expressed below by a loyal Pirate are certainly shared to some degree by everyone who cares about young people and ECU.

"A one game suspension for a violation such as this is absurd and laughable. Players in the last two seasons have received far worse punishment for ostensibly milder offenses. Though this individual may have had no prior infractions, this one seems too big for a clean past to absolve him of appropriate punishment."

The truth is that any penalty is absurd and inadequate as it can never return, to us or the individual involved, what has been lost. Eventually we have to accept the fact that there is no penalty that can 'fix' this for us or even make us feel better for anyone involved.

This university (and this athletics department) takes its responsibilities very seriously and that is why policies and procedures have been developed to provide guidelines for addressing student issues in a consistent and fair manner. As far as I can determine, ECU's policies and procedures are stringent and focus on evaluation, education and treatment for first-time offenders before they are allowed to resume competition. A second offense results in a one-year suspension from the university.

I am not aware of any ECU students (athletes or otherwise) who "have received far worse punishment for ostensibly milder offenses." Although we have no hard data, I am also not aware of athletes at other institutions who have received multiple game suspensions for similar offenses but we will certainly attempt to find such data for future discussions about policies and procedures at the university and athletic department level.

Few people at this university would support treating athletes in high-profile positions or high profile sports differently simply because their actions and the punishments involved are more likely to become public. And I can not imagine any punishment that would create more agony and anguish for this individual and the individual's family than that already created and that will be accentuated on ESPN's Game Day and Play-by-Play broadcasts.

ECU's policies and procedures have been developed by men and women who care about ECU and each individual student. The best minds in the world have been unable to develop policies that are effective in addressing the dangers to our society created by drinking and driving, but I can assure you that everyone at ECU is open to reasonable suggestions.

Even though we are all frustrated by our society's inability to address this issue, it does not seem logical for any of us to believe, as much as we might like to, that there is any long-term positive result that can be obtained by a continued public outcry against the actions of this one individual.

A far more productive approach would be for each of us to assume the responsibility to help address substance abuse at every level by volunteering our time and resources to fight this very real societal problem.

When the Pirate Nation pulls together, we are capable of great things. So, let's see if we can find a constructive way to address this issue as a team.