"A Vote of Confidence"

There hasn't been much light shed on the alleged brawl that took place on campus before Thanksgiving. As more details about the night come out, more players are getting suspended indefinitely. If I remember correctly, 11 players have been charged in connection with the fight and Myles White has been given an unrelated citation for MIP and Urinating in Public.
Every Spartan should keep in mind that Coach Dantonio suspended these players indefinitely as soon as he personally learned (before the press released their names and the police filed charges) that players were just PRESENT at the fight. Details of the fight at this point is pure speculation and anyone who claims they know what went down, outside of a few members of the fraternity involved, is probably full of crap. Coach D had the same policy for Glen Winston last year - as soon as he knew Glen was in a fight, he was out. Charges were filed about a week after that.
A quick note: suspended indefinitely, as it relates to an athletic team, means you don't participate in team activities until the coaches decide you can come back. There is no set time, players may return for spring practice, or they may never return. Glen Winston and Roderick Jenrette were kicked off the team, period. No strings attached. If anyone cares, both their scholarships are effective until the end of this academic year. After that, they will not be renewed. The university can take a separate action to dismiss the gentlemen from the school if their behavior warrants it.

Today, Tom Izzo had a decent sized press conference. The first issue, of course, was basketball. One of the key points was that he thinks he has settled on a rotation for the starting lineup, with Draymond Green being the sixth man. Although Green has been putting up huge numbers recently, it makes sense. It wouldn't be smart to put both Green and Roe out there (undersized) so it was pretty much Green or Roe at the 4 spot. Green coming off the bench makes sure we have a presence of some kind down low when Delvon is out. The team is off until the 19th, and then I believe they play #2 Texas soon after. A lot of fans are freaking out because we haven't looked the least bit polished, but Izzo always seems to get his guys in shape for the marquee matchups.
The other large order of business at the meeting was Izzo's take on the whole brawl situation and how it has affected Mark Dantonio and the program in general. Here's a link to the exchange, from Joe Rexrode of the LSJ:
http://noise.typepad.com/hey_joe/2009/12/a-luxury-train-a-sermon-a-recruit-and-izzos-sentiments.html
Here's a collection of quotes that pretty much summarize Izzo's feelings, if you don't want to sift through that:

"I can’t believe it’s front page (Sunday). I mean, I really can’t believe that"
Izzo made it clear that the media seems to be blowing this out of proportion, as young people, athletes or not, get into fights: “Without making light of this, did anybody that’s writing, talking, advising, did any of those people ever go to college? And what kind of Disneyworld do we think we live in.”

"So, me personally, I think Mark Dantonio has handled it a hell of a lot better than I would’ve. I’m sure as hell happy he’s our football coach. And I don’t think he needs anybody sticking up for him, either"
He made it clear that Dantonio shouldn't need a "vote of confidence" from the higher ups to be seen as a responsible and stand-up coach.

"And when I heard the second-chance [argument], people were mad because (Winston) got a second chance … I’d just like to know where all of us would be without a second chance. Or a third. Or a fourth."
Also mentioning that he's had his share of players in fights, notably Travis Walton, but he didn't get much flak from the papers. I know Mateen Cleaves, regarded as one of the all-time Spartan greats, had his share of trouble at MSU.

So this whole thing is interesting. Law nerds, let me know if I'm wrong, but the 9 players initially charged with "assault and battery" or "conspiracy to commit assault" could have been charged for just being identified at the fight. It could have been one guy showing up and throwing punches, with the rest of the guys showing up and standing back. Still a ridiculously stupid move, but not deserving of the same punishment as the one with fists of fury.

The one thing that irks me in all this is actually the fraternity's handling of the situation. Dantonio and Hollis have both expressed that they're not going to comment on the specifics of the fight, as it might hinder the investigation by the police. The MSU police have thanked them for this on several occasions. However, members of the fraternity haven't exactly followed that path. One member present at the fight said to a reporter that one of the MSU players was wearing a ski mask. Turns out, that was completely wrong. The media has gone so far as to interview the national president of the fraternity, who is out in California, on his opinion. He pretty much stated all of the football players present should be thrown in jail. Sorry dude, but if people within the athletic department and the police don't know what happened, you don't have a damn clue.

I'm not trying to justify what happened. I think if any one of the players was promoting this fight in any way, they need to be dismissed. But I'd like people to remember that the law in this country believes every person is innocent until proven guilty. The media is freaking out about this and it doesn't help anyone if the rest of us freak out too.