A cheesesteak for a felony? Yeah I'm in.This blog, by the simple nature of what I do, and the simple fact I am not a professional journalist, has mostly been and will always mostly be a reactionary space. This means that there is more commentating, editorializing, and analysis that strict reporting. We rarely break news because that is not the business we are in. This gives me the luxury to reflect and provide several storylines that are deeper than your average recap or point of interest. I’d like to think that the reason you read this blog is you appreciate the insight it gives you, maybe illuminates you to another point of view, or even that you just like my writing. That being said, I am very pleased that Scoop Jardine is not being investigated in a sexual assault, but rather the simple theft of food items. I was glad my sources got it wrong. I am glad that when I wrote my opinion on the subject that I was sure to say that this was by no means the accurate truth of the matter. Now we can move on and discuss what this means for all parties involved.
Now you know the story. Scoop’s cousin, Mr. Robert Washington, bought $115.65 worth of food from the Goldstein Student Center (delicious cheesesteaks there). Yes he knew about it, but he did not really participate in the act. While District Attorney William Fitzpatrick’s office (an office I have actually interned when I was an undergrad) has declined to prosecute Jardine, the university’s Judicial Board will be taking up the cause and filing discipline action sometime in the near future. This could be anything from game suspensions, repayment of the money, community service, or a combination therein.
While the process works, this allows comment on the bigger issue of athletes and the scrutiny therein. As you may have read in my analysis of the latest UConn incident here, I state the basic premise that any crime, no matter how minor, committed by an athlete is too much. Athletes are the face of any university, especially in Division I. As sad as it is, most people rate the worth of a schools name, save a Harvard or a Yale, on the success or notoriety of their sports programs. Syracuse has one of the best political science departments in the country, yet if the football team blows, my BA does not sound as good as it would if they were winning bowl games. The education is the same and top notch, yet it is somewhat diminished.
Athletes are under some of the most intense of public scrutiny. Much like celebrities though, I feel no sympathy towards this. In Axeman’s column here, he states that we should take it easy on Scoop because he is an 18 year old freshman who does not have life figured out yet. That is all well and good, but I have to disagree with Axe slightly here. The educational system expects high schoolers, ages 14-18, to act mature and sit in a class room without interruption for 40-80 minutes at a time. When you get to college, in exchange for more freedom you get more responsibility. Syracuse, much like other universities, expect you to conduct yourself like an adult. I, as a citizen living in that environment, also had this exact expectation. While I am not saying that Scoop had the obligation to, to use the term made popular by a certain video by Carmelo, “snitch”, it was still the right and just thing to do. Regardless of the practicality of the situation, it was still the right thing to do. The right thing was to speak up and say that that is not your ID, we should turn it into public safety or what not. Scoop chose to let the cousin order the food and eat it, thus he was implicated in the whole thing.
That being said, Scoop should feel very luck the District Attorney is declining to charge him with a crime. The Judicial Board process will take its course, and that should allow ample chance for Scoop to put this behind him in the future. Compared to some of the incidents that UConn players have been implicated in, this seems like jaywalking. I’m sure there will be a short suspension, community service, and probably restitution.
Moral of the story, right or wrong, athletes have more responsibility than the average college student. It is the way it works. You are treated like an adult once you get to college so you have to deliver. But there are far worse ways to not deliver. So for now we wait and watch a team struggle with seven players. After a scrappy win at DePaul and a nice win with Providence it will be interesting to see where this team can go from here. Your complete DePaul Postgame Reactions will be released tomorrow, including some Orangewomen news. Until next time, as always, thanks for reading.
Now you know the story. Scoop’s cousin, Mr. Robert Washington, bought $115.65 worth of food from the Goldstein Student Center (delicious cheesesteaks there). Yes he knew about it, but he did not really participate in the act. While District Attorney William Fitzpatrick’s office (an office I have actually interned when I was an undergrad) has declined to prosecute Jardine, the university’s Judicial Board will be taking up the cause and filing discipline action sometime in the near future. This could be anything from game suspensions, repayment of the money, community service, or a combination therein.
While the process works, this allows comment on the bigger issue of athletes and the scrutiny therein. As you may have read in my analysis of the latest UConn incident here, I state the basic premise that any crime, no matter how minor, committed by an athlete is too much. Athletes are the face of any university, especially in Division I. As sad as it is, most people rate the worth of a schools name, save a Harvard or a Yale, on the success or notoriety of their sports programs. Syracuse has one of the best political science departments in the country, yet if the football team blows, my BA does not sound as good as it would if they were winning bowl games. The education is the same and top notch, yet it is somewhat diminished.
Athletes are under some of the most intense of public scrutiny. Much like celebrities though, I feel no sympathy towards this. In Axeman’s column here, he states that we should take it easy on Scoop because he is an 18 year old freshman who does not have life figured out yet. That is all well and good, but I have to disagree with Axe slightly here. The educational system expects high schoolers, ages 14-18, to act mature and sit in a class room without interruption for 40-80 minutes at a time. When you get to college, in exchange for more freedom you get more responsibility. Syracuse, much like other universities, expect you to conduct yourself like an adult. I, as a citizen living in that environment, also had this exact expectation. While I am not saying that Scoop had the obligation to, to use the term made popular by a certain video by Carmelo, “snitch”, it was still the right and just thing to do. Regardless of the practicality of the situation, it was still the right thing to do. The right thing was to speak up and say that that is not your ID, we should turn it into public safety or what not. Scoop chose to let the cousin order the food and eat it, thus he was implicated in the whole thing.
That being said, Scoop should feel very luck the District Attorney is declining to charge him with a crime. The Judicial Board process will take its course, and that should allow ample chance for Scoop to put this behind him in the future. Compared to some of the incidents that UConn players have been implicated in, this seems like jaywalking. I’m sure there will be a short suspension, community service, and probably restitution.
Moral of the story, right or wrong, athletes have more responsibility than the average college student. It is the way it works. You are treated like an adult once you get to college so you have to deliver. But there are far worse ways to not deliver. So for now we wait and watch a team struggle with seven players. After a scrappy win at DePaul and a nice win with Providence it will be interesting to see where this team can go from here. Your complete DePaul Postgame Reactions will be released tomorrow, including some Orangewomen news. Until next time, as always, thanks for reading.
Labels: Basketball, Breaking The Law
Brian,
While I agree with the basic premise of your article -- that athletes shouldn't get a free pass with stuff like this and should even be held to a higher standard than the normal student -- I think you're still being a bit harsh with Scoop. Legally, I think the connection between his behavior and a crime is pretty tenuous. This is why the DA rightly chose not to prosecute him. So it's not criminal, but is his behavior shameful? Absolutely. And for that student whose SUID was used, I'm sure s/he feels greatly victimized.
How should the school punish him? Probation, maybe some community service in cleaning Golstein after hours or something. And of course, he's already been punished quite a bit by sitting out a couple games, not practicing with the team, and not traveling to Chicago. If we're gonna hold him to a higher standard because he's a student-athlete, then his punishment should fit in line with being an athlete (i.e. the couple games of suspension). I'm assuming restitution will be part of his cousin's criminal case.
I'll save my gripes about the Judicial Review Board for another time...
So you really didn't disagree with me. Nice.
Oh yes, and I feel you in the gripes about the Judicial Board at SU.
Ok, this is my response to the above "John". In college my ID was stolen and used to buy food at Schine, right before they started checking them to make sure they were actually being used by the owners. I went to the Registrar's Office and pitched a bitch; they refunded the money back to me and issued me a new ID. I didn't feel "victimized". That's the wrong word; I feel Herron was careless to have his ID stolen in the first place. Guard that bitch with your life -- especially if it's your lifeline on campus.
And now to comment on the situation. Scoop is a dumb ass. Apparently, he didn't learn ANYTHING in high school, or even middle school. Why would you HELP your cousin steal food!? Listen Scoop, we all know that the University gives each scholarship althete a ridiculous amount of money to purchase food. Why do you think Craig Forth was so generous? JUST LET HIM USE YOUR OWN DAMN CARD!!
Athletes ARE the face of their respective schools; everyone suffers when they make poor decisions, however small they are. You were given a scholarship to do what you do; so do it. Don't do something petty and ridiculous to fuck up our already slim chances of actually getting somewhere this year in the tournament[s].
Seriously, this shit has got to stop. Very few things in life get me riled up more than someone taking their potential and free opportunities and throwing them away from $115 worth of cheesesteaks, no matter how fantastic they really are [I'm salivating at the thought].
One of my friends already told me about this place and I do not regret that I found this article.