notsofarawaydawg
07-12-2016, 02:08 PM
Mullen needs to step up today
Posted on July 12, 2016 by John L. Pitts in SEC Media Days, Sports
Dan Mullen has a chance to do the right thing today, on the biggest possible stage.
The Mississippi State football coach will be in the spotlight this morning at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama, and a thousand media members will be all ears.
At the start, Mullen needs to say that freshman defensive player Jeffery Simmons, a five-star prospect from Noxubee County, will not play for the Bulldogs this fall under any circumstances.
Simmons, who?s 6-foot-4 and 275 pounds, was arrested and charged in March after repeatedly hitting a woman during a family fracas. There?s a video if you want to see it ? I don?t really recommend it, but if there wasn?t a video there might not have been any charges.
As it is, Simmons is facing a court date ? twice delayed ? on charges of simple assault and disturbing the peace.
There?s nothing simple, however, about Mississippi State?s response to those charges.
As it stands, Simmons will be suspended only for the first game of his first college season ? unless he?s redshirted, that would be the Bulldogs? opener against South Alabama ? and must undergo counseling.
That?s not enough.
Simmons has the opportunity to prove himself by being a good citizen on the Starkville campus, and that should be his sole focus for the next year. Let him work out with the team like any ordinary redshirt freshman and establish that he isn?t a bigger problem waiting to happen.
Zero tolerance for further problems? Absolutely.
Take ownership
Most of all, it?s time for Mullen to own his handling of the Simmons affair. Athletics director Scott Stricklin was left to defend the decision to enroll the player when reporters saw him at the SEC?s spring meetings in May down in Florida.
Stricklin?s defense included this cringeworthy quote: ?Does five seconds of a bad decision that happened to be caught on videotape when you?re 16 or 17, does that change the trajectory of your life??
Actually, I imagine that describes quite a few people in prison right now.
These are difficult times in sports, as pro leagues and college conferences wrestle with how to handle issues such as domestic violence and sexual assaults. The firing of head coach Art Briles at Baylor over his handling of sexual abuse allegations underscores that this is the real toxic issue infecting college athletics right now.
Briles wanted to win, so he looked the other way.
If Simmons had been a transfer from another college, new SEC rules would have likely prevented him from enrolling. He?s at Mississippi State largely due to a loophole for incoming freshmen.
Today, Dan Mullen stands before the media ? and by extension, the public ? with the obligation to explain himself. The first step is to assure all of us that Jeffery Simmons never sees the playing field until his case is settled and proves himself to be worthy of the privilege of playing college football.
John L. Pitts (john.pitts@journalinc.com) is sports editor of the Journal. Follow him on Twitter @JohnLPitts
Posted on July 12, 2016 by John L. Pitts in SEC Media Days, Sports
Dan Mullen has a chance to do the right thing today, on the biggest possible stage.
The Mississippi State football coach will be in the spotlight this morning at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama, and a thousand media members will be all ears.
At the start, Mullen needs to say that freshman defensive player Jeffery Simmons, a five-star prospect from Noxubee County, will not play for the Bulldogs this fall under any circumstances.
Simmons, who?s 6-foot-4 and 275 pounds, was arrested and charged in March after repeatedly hitting a woman during a family fracas. There?s a video if you want to see it ? I don?t really recommend it, but if there wasn?t a video there might not have been any charges.
As it is, Simmons is facing a court date ? twice delayed ? on charges of simple assault and disturbing the peace.
There?s nothing simple, however, about Mississippi State?s response to those charges.
As it stands, Simmons will be suspended only for the first game of his first college season ? unless he?s redshirted, that would be the Bulldogs? opener against South Alabama ? and must undergo counseling.
That?s not enough.
Simmons has the opportunity to prove himself by being a good citizen on the Starkville campus, and that should be his sole focus for the next year. Let him work out with the team like any ordinary redshirt freshman and establish that he isn?t a bigger problem waiting to happen.
Zero tolerance for further problems? Absolutely.
Take ownership
Most of all, it?s time for Mullen to own his handling of the Simmons affair. Athletics director Scott Stricklin was left to defend the decision to enroll the player when reporters saw him at the SEC?s spring meetings in May down in Florida.
Stricklin?s defense included this cringeworthy quote: ?Does five seconds of a bad decision that happened to be caught on videotape when you?re 16 or 17, does that change the trajectory of your life??
Actually, I imagine that describes quite a few people in prison right now.
These are difficult times in sports, as pro leagues and college conferences wrestle with how to handle issues such as domestic violence and sexual assaults. The firing of head coach Art Briles at Baylor over his handling of sexual abuse allegations underscores that this is the real toxic issue infecting college athletics right now.
Briles wanted to win, so he looked the other way.
If Simmons had been a transfer from another college, new SEC rules would have likely prevented him from enrolling. He?s at Mississippi State largely due to a loophole for incoming freshmen.
Today, Dan Mullen stands before the media ? and by extension, the public ? with the obligation to explain himself. The first step is to assure all of us that Jeffery Simmons never sees the playing field until his case is settled and proves himself to be worthy of the privilege of playing college football.
John L. Pitts (john.pitts@journalinc.com) is sports editor of the Journal. Follow him on Twitter @JohnLPitts