BRAWLUNTEERS
Derek Dooley is following the Phil Fulmer playbook
Wow. That was quick. Injured off-duty police officer getting kicked on the ground, bar stools swinging through the air, general pandemonium long after hours -- and Derek Dooley looks at it all and dismisses one player (Darren Myles) and suspends two others (Greg King and Marlon Walls) -- a suspension that lasts until practice begins.
Lou Holtz approves. Actually, that's not fair -- even Lou Holtz would have issued sterner discipline than that.
Dooley said Tuesday he's comfortable with the punishment Walls and King have served and said the pair have had a good attitude and shown remorse about the incident, which also led to defensive back Darren Myles' dismissal.
Precisely what punishment is that? They didn't have to go through some of the offseason conditioning? HOW AWFUL!!! And all the conflicting reports about who started the fight and who was involved? Well, Derek Dooley has a response to that as well.
Dooley says he doesn't expect to punish anyone else unless police uncover new information in their investigation.
Obviously, we can't know exactly what happened in Bar Knoxville and might not ever have the complete story. But unless reports from the bar were vastly exaggerated by law enforcement, this seems like less than a thunderous response from Derek Dooley. Save the Myles dismissal, it seems like not much of a response at all.
This is an interesting piece of the puzzle
The AP:
Defensive tackle Chase Nelson was declared academically ineligible at the end of the spring semester and is no longer on the team.
Nelson, you might recall, is one of several people accused (by the same man) of starting the fight.
Is John Adams playing to the Knoxville crowd?
Because he seems to get it right:
While I applaud Dooley's decision to dismiss Myles swiftly, I can't help but wonder about his decision to welcome back the entire Bar Knoxville gang without a half's worth of suspension for a single player. ...
Maybe it's because so many players were involved, and the policeman's injuries were so severe.
Yet only one player misses a game?
And then Adams says Dooley should be given the benefit of the doubt for no other reason, essentially, than "he's a lawyer." Of course, part of that comes with the apparent caveat that Dooley should be given that benefit "If the legal process proves him right." If only the legal process were that neat, it might be easier to do just that.
OTHER NEWS
We all knew Les Miles had trouble counting ...
The perils of oversigning include the possibility that everyone will qualify. (I am apparently worse at passing up obvious jokes than is Hooper.)
Well, the timing on this could have been better
Jamar Hornsby, signed by Houston "I don't recruit criminals" Nutt, pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge following an attack on a man at a McDonald's.