FB: American Rivers Conference

[The Show]

+++K for coocoo for that tasty tidbit

While I'm catching up with the board...

Unless it's impalpable karma, you need a little more than 130 some posts to be handing out karma.

[BeaverFan3208]

It should not be okay with any classy or informed adult or fan in the conference.  You must never have been an athlete to speak of

dktkkh - I understand what you are saying about the Suckow situation but all the show was saying is i think for the most part everyone is sick of hearing about it. Also the show was a pretty good athlete and person from what i remember about him

[sportsknight]

Two last thoughts on Suckow before addressing the Yordi situation.  
1.  We've heard the "he never told anyone at Coe" whine before.  Put yourself in his shoes...do you think it'd be the easiest thing in the world to call up a former teammate and explain that you were transferring after playing with that guy for 3 years, regardless of where you're going to?  I really doubt it.  A former coworker of mine told me that he had a very tough time getting back in touch with former teammates when he transferred from UW-LaCrosse to Oshkosh for his senior year.  And he didn't even keep playing ball at UWO.  He just didn't think his teammates would understand.
2.  I'm also tired of all the "Koehler conned him into coming to Wartburg" talk.  I've known Coach Koehler for about five years now, and he's a stand-up guy.  Even if he wasn't, he's not dumb enough to put his program or his own career in the kind of jeopardy that would come from tampering with an athlete from another school.  Obviously Neil was unhappy enough at Coe that spending a summer in Waverly around Wartburg guys was enough convincing for him.  The summer before Brock Ita transferred to Wartburg, he worked on a construction crew with a couple Wartburg football players, but you never heard anyone b!tching about that.

[Charlie Kohawk]

Two last thoughts on Suckow before addressing the Yordi situation. 
1.  We've heard the "he never told anyone at Coe" whine before.  Put yourself in his shoes...do you think it'd be the easiest thing in the world to call up a former teammate and explain that you were transferring after playing with that guy for 3 years, regardless of where you're going to?
2.  I'm also tired of all the "Koehler conned him into coming to Wartburg" talk.  I've known Coach Koehler for about five years now, and he's a stand-up guy.  Even if he wasn't, he's not dumb enough to put his program or his own career in the kind of jeopardy that would come from tampering with an athlete from another school.

Re: 1. No one said it would be easy. Often times, the right thing to do isn't easy. That's what separates men from boys.
Re: 2. I agree.

[dktkkh]

You're absolutely right.  It is over and done with.  I am just so sad for the kids left behind that have no answers.  Hugh learning experience for them on how to be adults, how to raise their children.........  Sportmanship, team loyalty etc.  I am sure this will be something they never forget.

[sportsknight]

On to Yordi...

I became aware of the situation last weekend when I was in Waverly for Homecoming.  At that point, all I knew was that he'd been arrested for disorderly conduct for calling a gay student a homosexual slur that basically amounted to consecutive f-words (I'll let you figure them out on your own), and that he'd played in the two games since.

Since Saturday, I've tried to get to the bottom of what went down before I made a judgement on anything, but details are still fairly sketchy.  From what I know, the gay student in question was featured in a story in either the student newspaper of TV station about "Coming Out Week."  That was on Monday.  On Tuesday, some sort of incident occured between Yordi and the student.  Still not sure exactly what happened.  First I had heard that Yordi had said what he said to the student in passing.  However, since then it is sounding more and more like there was much more to it than that.  I know that whatever happened was enough that the gay student pressed charges and dropped a class that he had with Yordi.  Charges were filed, and Yordi was picked up on the Friday before the Loras game.  According to the story in the Wartburg newspaper this week, Yordi's attorney entered a not guilty plea last Friday.

First and foremost, what Yordi did was both stupid and reprehensible and he should be punished for it.  In this day and age, you can't just go around calling people whatever name, or slur in this case, that you see fit.  Moreover, as someone that is a represntative of Wartburg College, he should know that he ought to act more professionally.  All that being said, this is still a 20 year old kid, and 20 year olds make mistakes now and then.

I have no problem with Wartburg waiting for the legal process to take its course before disciplining Yordi.  He has a right to defend himself, and if a judge deems that he was not in the wrong, then there is no reason to punish he and his teammates.  However, if he is found guilty, or this incident is part of a larger pattern of poor behavior, I would have no problem with him being suspended for any number of games, up to a full season.

Also, his punishment, if one is necessary, should fit the crime.  This is, after all, only a simple misdemeanor.  If a player would not be suspended or booted from the team for being convicted of public intox or OWI, then Yordi should not be punished either.

From a legal sense, this is a pretty strange case.  As we all know, not all speech is protected, and speech that is deemed to "cause a public disturbance" is not protected, right along with slander and obscenity.  Whether or not what one person says to another can be enough to "cause a public disturbance" is up to the courts to decide.  

I am continually amazed at how the culture has changed at Wartburg since I was a freshman back in the fall of 2001.  I heard over the weekend that the campus homosexuality advocacy group now has a larger membership, and more straight members, than ever before.  What Yordi did was wrong in any timeframe, but he picked an especially bad time to do what he did on the Wartburg campus.  I can already hear some of the college's more knee-jerk, bleeding-heart professors beginning to argue that football players can get away with whatever they want, and its time to put an end to this.  One kid's actions are going to turn a large portion of the campus community against the football team, and athletes in general, and that is just not right.  

I wish I was wrong, but part of me thinks there wouldn't be the same level of outrage if Yordi had called a someone the n-word, or if it was a gay student harassing the starting quarterback.  Guess that's just the world we live in these days.

[Charlie Kohawk]

It's going... it's going... it's gone! Sportsknight just hit it out of the park! Way to take it in stride, bud. You are a man of your word and a credit to your institution. I mean that sincerely.

[warthog]

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."   

[Pat Coleman]

Welcome to the board dktkkh. Your input is long overdue... and unfortunately a bit late.

And really redundant. Charlie covered it all multiple times in August.

[Pat Coleman]

(OK, so maybe it's in bad taste...

Dude, your whole post is in bad taste. Gimme a break.

[warthog]

dktkkh:

I doubt if the Coe Hall of Fame was going to be the defining moment in Neil's life.   

He is a college student who chose to transfer to another college.  I would guess you would be a little less indignant about his decision had he been a 4.0 point biology major or a section leader in the orchestra.

I would further assume that with your duties at Coe there have been donors who have changed their minds concerning the gifts they indicated they would be leaving the college.  You probably refrain from publicly attacking those persons on a public message board.  It would seem Neil Suckow deserves the same consideration.

[dktkkh]

what?

[Charlie Kohawk]

I doubt if the Coe Hall of Fame was going to be the defining moment in Neil's life.   

He is a college student who chose to transfer to another college.  I would guess you would be a little less indignant about his decision had he been a 4.0 point biology major or a section leader in the orchestra.

I would further assume that with your duties at Coe there have been donors who have changed their minds concerning the gifts they indicated they would be leaving the college.  You probably refrain from publicly attacking those persons on a public message board.  It would seem Neil Suckow deserves the same consideration.

In defense of my friend and the great parent of a great Kohawk:

Your first comment is a double negative. Deciphered it means you think the Coe HOF was going to be Neil's defining moment. I agree that it was a never a consideration, but I bet it's something that gnaws at him 20-30 years from now.

As for your second comment, how many IIAC schools would even allow a student to graduate after spending only their senior year at the institution? I don't know the answer, but I know Coe wouldn't allow it.

As for your third comment, that's really a stretch. Neil Suckow deserves absolutely nothing from Coe, and that's what he will get. Frankly, I'm impressed with the restraint Coe fans have shown over the whole matter. Were the roles reversed, it would be a different matter.

[Charlie Kohawk]

Your first comment is a double negative.

Except you correctly edited it before I could post. Good job!

[warthog]

CK:

Thanks, I try to please.