By Brian Murphy
bmurphy@idahostatesman.com
Crunching the numbers
The Idaho Statesman has done a preliminary Idaho courts study of the players on the 2010 Boise State roster and found similar results to Sports Illustrated. More than half of the charges were for minor in possession of alcohol. The vast majority occurred when players were enrolled at Boise State.
The Statesman is working to verify names and data.
From Boise State
Following is a response from Boise State University in regards to the Sports Illustrated article released today (March 2) on its web site titled “College Football and Crime”:
In the article Sports Illustrated states that Boise State players on the 2010 team were charged with 16 criminal offenses over the past five years.
Of those charges, three have been dismissed, six were traffic related, five were alcohol related, one was for trespassing and one was for battery.
“We were notified of these issues when they occurred,” Boise State Director of Athletics Gene Bleymaier stated. “Whenever a student-athlete is charged, it is immediately reported to our office and we follow our student-conduct policy. Discipline of the student-athlete is then handled by our student-conduct committee and the coaching staff.
“We take criminal charges against our student-athletes very seriously and we deal with each one on an individual basis. While we would prefer not to have any of these situations with our student-athletes, we have a very good record of dealing with these issues appropriately.”
None of the charges in the report were repeat offenses.
Original post
A comprehensive investigation by Sports Illustrated and CBS News has found that 16 Boise State football players on the 2010 roster were charged with a crime, ranking the Broncos tied for fourth among teams in Sports Illustrated's preseason Top 25.
The six-month investigation revealed that Pittsburgh led the schools with 22 players charged with a crime. Iowa and Arkansas (18) tied for second. Boise State was tied with Penn State. Virginia Tech (13) was sixth and the only other school with more than 10 players charged.
Read the full story here.
This story explains more about how SI/CBS collected the data.
Associated Press story
NEW YORK — An investigation of 25 top college football programs by Sports Illustrated and CBS News has revealed that Oklahoma and TCU were the only ones to do criminal background checks on recruits.
SI and CBS News did various criminal background checks on all the players on the rosters of the teams in Sports Illustrated's 2010 preseason top 25 as of Sept. 1.
According to the story posted Wednesday on SI.com, the study found about 7 percent of the 2,837 players — 204 total — "had been in trouble with the law either before or after entering college."
"Seven percent, that's way too high," NCAA President Mark Emmert told SI. "I think two percent is too high. You certainly don't want a large number of people with criminal backgrounds involved in activities that represent the NCAA."
There are no available correlating figures for the general student populations of those universities.
As for the nation's young people overall, in 2008 there were 6,318 arrests for every 100,000 youths ages 10 through 17 in the United States, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which is part of the Justice Department.
The SI-CBS News report also stated in the cases where an outcome was known, "players were guilty or paid some penalty in nearly 60 percent of the 277 total incidents."
The other universities that were studied were: Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Iowa, Boise State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Florida, Oregon, Southern California, Alabama, North Carolina, Cincinnati, Utah, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Oregon State, LSU, Texas and Stanford.
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and let
the flame war begin...
Yeah
The Vandals will go crazy focused as they are on BSU.
report indicates that 93% of players have no criminal background
why is this a story?
Who cares
the vanduls are just jealous. we could care less if the player gets nailed for murder as long as they stay elligble and can get us to a BCS game and eventually the national champuionship. This is not a fairytale we live in, it is reality and you have to get people who can play the game.period. We don't want an alterboy for a linebacker, we want an animal. Good job recruiting coaches and GO BRONCOS!!!!!!
bsu4ever - Great post
I just emailed the contents of your post to:
A. The authors of the referenced SI article,
B. Bronco Bob's office,
C. The SBOE office,
D. The Dan Patrick Show,
E. The Mike and Mike Show,
F. The Sports Center Show;
as an example of what a 'typical' member of Bronco Nation thinks about the SI article.
You have captured the very essence, I think, while using a minimum of words.
Waaay to represent.
VNDL
PS - Are you related to Charlie Sheen, by chance?
Not typical
and you know that, but it doesn't really matter to a Vandal. The article is about good football programs.
That's why
we are in the top 10 consistently, and the vanduls are perpetual bottom feeders. And if you can't see that then you (and Charlie) are the dilusional ones.
BSU4ever,
Here are my questions for you. Are you a troll? Which team to you support? because it isnt BSU. Have you ever played on a team in college? Dont you think honor and character matters? Dont you want better than the status quo, dont you hope that the flipside of this story is in 10 years many of these kids say "coach pete saved my life and taught me how to be a man?"
Dear Potato Head
Ask as many idiotic questions as you want, it all boils down to wins. Honor and character are secondary. Too bad if you don't like it, but that is the way it is. I'm not saying you can't have both, but if a coach, an A.D., a player wants to keep his job, you better do one thing. WIN. GO BRONCOS!!!!!
You are a sad sad fan
an embarassment on a public board that makes BSU and Idaho look bad, but I suppose that is what your goal is huh troll?
Really!
Is that why Titus Young was suspended for all but a whole season (basically ending any long passing game that year). How about Bacon? again suspended most of a year (or do you think missing a 300 pounder in the middle wouldn't help win games).
If you actually think Coach Pete would sacrifice his principles to win a football game, you are pretty clueless.
Well, we beat Oregon again
Well, we beat Oregon again were #4, man that makes me proud.
This is the last thing I would think of when I think of the
Broncos. I sure would like to know what the charges were. I suppose
most were minor, I hope.
one positive right now
is that there aren't that many infractions once players get to school. (or not a lot that gets highly publicized.) And that hopefully the coaches are positive influences, ie., Young.
So yeah.
I guess we'll see how this comes out in the wash.
minor is a crime idiot
go back to school
Wow!
And I just posted about the character of the BSU athletes... I read the article and there is no specifics on what kind of charges/convictions BSU athletes have accrued. Having followed BSU athletics for the past 30 years, I have seen the (well, sort of) expected stuff from testosterone filled kids. Nothing I recall that can be considered violent dangerous crimes, at least while they were in school. Still this is disturbing and disappointing. BSU has always run clean programs and our coaches have always held athletes accountable. I hope BSU will respond to this with some explanation and context.
Clean?
Cam hall racing and involved in a wreck killing a family of 3
Dinwiddie GHB'ing himself and passing out in the intersection while driving a car
Jason Robinson getting in a bar fight last year
You didn't get in the top 4 from getting jaywalking tickets.
RB coach popped for DUI in
RB coach popped for DUI in 2010
Michael Atkinson (DL) popped for DUI in 2009
Jeron Johnson failing to appear and minor in consumption 2009
Those 6 are all I could find on the first 2 pages of google.
Wasn't Atkinson underage, too?
Just sayin'.
Wasn't Clayton Homme underage
when the Vandal was charged with DUI and for urinating in the drivethrough of a restaurant? Just sayin'.
Wasn't Atkinson suspended for three games for his DUI - two more games than the combined suspensions for Idaho's starting QB (zero games) and WR (one game) when both got DUI's? Just sayin'.
Of course, the Idaho coach (Denny the Drunk) at the time of the starting QB's arrest was a convicted DUI offender himself so I'm sure he was very empathetic.
You seem well versed...
...in Vandal infractions. Just sayin'.
A lot of Just Sayin' goin on, Y'ALL.
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You must be lucky to be in the state I was born in!
When Robinson threw a punch
he paid the price. When a certain star DB at Idaho did the same, it was swept under the carpet - which is what usually happens with Vandal athletes in Moscow. If Idaho could even see the Top 25 from where they are, and if their athletes were actually charged for their transgressions, I have no doubt they wouldn't have a stone to throw in this battle.
That's right, clean
BSU doesn't get NCAA violations. And this tempest in a tea pot consists of "...16 criminal offenses over the past five years. Of those charges, three have been dismissed, six were traffic related, five were alcohol related, one was for trespassing and one was for battery. Big deal! I just knew this was blown way out of proportion.
The Cam Hall incident was tragic, terribly so. So because of this the whole program is to be condemned? If the shoe was on the other foot, I certainly would not be calling for some other school's blood.
Cam Hall- victimized then- victimized now
I don't get into many discussions here, but I feel that an accurate response is warranted. toxicology reports revealed that tony perfect had methamphetamine and alcohol in his system at the time of the crash. The other driver- the one who actually crashed into the perfect family's vehicle- well he was impared as well-he had a blood alcohol level of .17 AND had 3 previous drunk-driving convictions. Cam was charged with 3 felony counts of vehicular manslaughter along with leaving the scene of an accident. but here's the kicker - due to the amount of meth and alcohol in tony perfect’s system and the blood alcohol level of the other driver, the prosecutors dropped ALL manslaughter charges against Cam. His involvemt should have ended there and he should have received apologies and had his name cleared, but the prosecution didn't want to look any more foolish than they already looked, so they stuck to their guns with the leaving the scene charges- which cam never admitted to. instead, he entered an alford plea. Cam under oath, denied he was speeding, denied he was racing- denied his involvement- other than contacting the police to give an eye witness statement. Cam all along maintained that he was well over the length of a football field away from the crash when it occurred. I believe him, and the fact that he removed himself from the team- on his own- and the way he handled the whole situation speaks volumes about the guys character- so shame on you and anyone else who feels the need to spread falsehoods about Cam Hall.
Just goes to show you once
Just goes to show you once again that no one is perfect,we are all human hopefully they can learn from there mistakes.Go Broncos!!
Yellow journalism at its best.
Nobody is perfect. In fact, to make this 7% number meaningful, we have to know what percent of the average student body at these institutions has criminal records. I'm betting its much higher than 7%. If the athletes percentages are significantly lower than the general college population, to be fair, shouldn't this article be written to praise the athletic systems for keeping these kids out of trouble?
one thing that appears odd
is that Florida only had seven players with arrests. but recently we heard a report about 30 arrests under Meyer's watch.
so either those are repeat offenders or they were removed from the team so they don't "count".
It wasn't about arrests...
The story was about convictions.
Um no hardcase.
Try again.
You're right
I didn't get it from the article, but I see that they were talking about arrests, which makes me scratch my head.
but the table
and the ensuing reference to BSU being #4 is "charged". not necessarily convictions. so for all we know they were minor consumptions (don't take that as being an apologist, but there is a difference between a kid being caught with a beer and distributing cocaine).
unless those thirty arrests weren't even charged?
Street Cred?
there will be 100 comments by the end of today, hilarious! BSU must have a great PR department because there is never anything in the media.
You may be right about the PR department.
but they can't proactively keep stuff like breaking the law out of the papers, can they? Jason Robinson wasn't even a starter (mostly special teams) and he got all sorts of publicity about assaulting another guy.
Michael Atkinson got suspended indefinitely for "undisclosed infractions". People alluded to alcohol. which could be true, but didn't hear about any specific laws broken considering the Statesman didn't break particular news.
so i guess it's stuff done before entering the program.
Atkinson
The Ada County Sheriff arrest page and the Idaho Repository listed the charges. The Athletic Dept checks the arrest report daily to check up on their athletes.
for his DUI in 2009?
or the most recent suspension? if it was for the most recent suspension, the reasoning behind it would have been more clear. as it stands it's an internal thing.
The problem is...
The problem with this investigation is that it does not show if these are kids that are still breaking the law or if they are kids that have had their life’s turned around because football has given them a chance to go to college and make something of themselves.
In a way this could be a positive investigation as these schools are willing to give kids with a bad past a second chance.
Who cares
Many of these players didn't come from Mayberry. For some, a football scholarship presented an opportunity to escape rough neighborhoods, earn a college degree, and make something of themselves. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, that many of them have pre-college criminal histories.
More importantly, who cares? This ranking counts "criminal charges," but not convictions. Remember the whole "presumption of innocence" thing we have going in the American justice system? Being "charged" simply means an arresting officer recommended charges to a prosecutor, but the prosecutor may have (1) declined to pursue the charges, (2) pursued the charges, but lost or had the case dismissed, or (3) agreed to a plea agreement and/or lesser charges. Less than 50% of charged offenses end up in convictions or guilty pleas. This article is complete trash written by a $#%{}-for-brains, second-rate journalist.
Beyond that, even if some of the players have past offenses, if they're not in jail, not on probation, and have conducted themselves honorably since joining the team, why should we continue to hold their past lives against them?
Here Here!!
I am getting tired of the world being so quick to judge and dismiss. People change, especially when they are transitioning from teen to adult.
So what? I think they count faux-pas like f@rting, honestly.
It must be the Utah edition sold near the Temple.
I don't know about that really because
a) Pretty much all Mormons are Jack anyway :)
b) I've dated them all but one
c) I don't exactly fear being XC'd from the United Methodists I don't go to much.
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You must be lucky to be in the state I was born in!
Accuracy of report?
Interesting that they show 0 for TCU. I had recently read this article on ESPN site about a law suit regarding criminality of TCU players:
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncf/news/story?id=6155166
Statisticians can make any
Statisticians can make any numbers look as good or as bad as they want. The next report will have BSU athletes as wifebeaters and pedophiles. Another report will have the same bunch attending Mass and manning the Salvation Army Bucket.
These reports are designed and manipulated to show the results CBS/SI wants to show.
BroncoNation knows that Coach Pete runs a tight ship and those that do not play by the team rules, which includes the law, are punished swiftly and fairly. Forget any report that is generated nationally.
Kind of like how you can
Kind of like how you can disregard any report that shows the broncos in a bad light? Forget any report that speaks ill of the donkeys. Must be wrong because they can do no wrong.
Haha. No kidding!
Watch all the BSU-faithful make excuses. Funny stuff.
You'd better watch out, Statesman. This story is likely to make Uncle Pete very angry. He might block your media access to the team!
Nah
but Sports Illus-trated may have a tough time getting BSU on another cover.
Bwahahaha, the delusion knows no bounds...
Yeah, I'm sure BSU is going to turn down an SI cover... Bwahaha. Quit smoking meth, Donkey Nation!
do you really laugh like that?
sound it out.... Bwahaha..... sounds like you might need some social therapy, or just learn to grow up and articulate a thought without a juvanile catch phrase. I know right?.....
Maybe they are a nicely tailored evil Prof. w/Imperial beard
The kind of movie Elvira would dig. Human sacrifices and some arcane mystery in Columbia.
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You must be lucky to be in the state I was born in!
jokes
for Some_Guy who thinks he's got a lot of them, sure doesn't know when he's reading one.
Huh?
Let me guess, you took your stats c.l.a.s.s.e.s at the bozo state truck driving certification course. Seriously, Statesman I can't use the word to describe where student go to learn a particular subject?
You can get there from the bikinis at cnn si com, no?
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You must be lucky to be in the state I was born in!