I have seen fans rush onto the field to celebrate at least 25 times in my life and this is the only time a coach blasted a fan for it.
And what of the defenseless coaches box and lockeroom? Did they have an asswhipping coming to them too?
I agree, this was indeed a rare occurance. I don't think any of us are naive enough to believe students and fans don't storm the field/tear down the goalposts after big victories regularly. Heck, I'd say it happens an average of around once a week at some Division I-A Football Stadium, somewhere in the country.
Bottom line though, the fan who was injured made an error in judgment in running his mouth to the wrong person at the conclusion of the game on Tuesday Night. That does not excuse the coach's actions in the least bit, not at all, but sometimes people do snap, as I'm sure each one of us has on one occasion or another sometime in our lives that we regret, just as the Miami Coach does his actions I'm sure.
I think a good question is, what is a reasonable punishment for this Coach?
<!--EDIT|MylesKnight|Nov 14 2002, 07:38 PM-->
I'd add to that: What is a reasonable punishment for the fan?
I'd STILL charge him with trespassing.
<!--EDIT|RochesterFalcon|Nov 14 2002, 02:37 PM-->
What is a reasonable punishment for the coach?
A self-respecting athletic program would fire him. I would expect Miami to do just that. Maybe quietly. After the storm dies down. After the season. No big press releases. There is no conceivable circumstance here that justifies his actions. I'd be very disappointed in Miami if they slap him on the wrist and excuse it as "being in the heat of the battle." It would mean to me that Miami had turned the corner and joined the great mass of athletic programs for whom winning becomes the end-all and be-all.
What is a reasonable punishment for the fan?
Same punishment given to every fan who runs on the field after the game.
I wouldn't single him out for any legal recourse because he got knocked out. If he had a weapon or attacked the coach first, that's a different matter. There's a crime.
As long as fans think it's OK to jump out on the field or court and the universities condone it, this is what you have.
I agree Axeme, solid comments. If you charge that fan with anything then you also would need to go ahead and charge any other MU fan whom you could identify being on the field after the game.
Regardless of which University you are an Alum or Fan of, we all have some fans who talk a lot of smack at games toward the opponent, some worse than others. This fan was guilty of nothing more than doing a silly thing (egging on a rather large, extremely pissed off individual) and doing it at the wrong place and at the wrong time.
<!--EDIT|MylesKnight|Nov 14 2002, 08:22 PM-->
Quote:What is a reasonable punishment for the fan?
Same punishment given to every fan who runs on the field after the game.
I wouldn't single him out for any legal recourse because he got knocked out. If he had a weapon or attacked the coach first, that's a different matter. There's a crime.
As long as fans think it's OK to jump out on the field or court and the universities condone it, this is what you have.
Well, getting knocked out was punishment. :D Maybe that's enough. That's a good point.
I wouldn't have a problem, though, with Marshall selectively enforcing a rule barring fans from the field. Most fans were celebrating. This fan would seem to have been up to no good.
A little contrition from the fan or the Marshall AD would go a long way with me, though. If he would just say something like "we plan to review stadium security procedures" -- even if he doesn't foresee much change -- that would really make a difference with me.
You see RF, you miss the entire point.
They do selectively enfore the rule about keeping off the field.
I saw with my own eyes three guys getting hauled off in 1992 when the fans rushed the field after winning the 1-AA national title, when there was at least ten thousand people on the field.
I saw it again in 1995.
I have seen people carted off at Marshall stadium for rushing the field, numerous times, when the fans rush.
Usually the first one to the cops around the posts, goes, cuffed, to the cruiser.
But nobody cares about that.
axeme Wrote:What is a reasonable punishment for the coach?
A self-respecting athletic program would fire him. I would expect Miami to do just that. Maybe quietly. After the storm dies down. After the season. No big press releases. There is no conceivable circumstance here that justifies his actions. I'd be very disappointed in Miami if they slap him on the wrist and excuse it as "being in the heat of the battle." It would mean to me that Miami had turned the corner and joined the great mass of athletic programs for whom winning becomes the end-all and be-all.
What is a reasonable punishment for the fan?
Same punishment given to every fan who runs on the field after the game.
I wouldn't single him out for any legal recourse because he got knocked out. If he had a weapon or attacked the coach first, that's a different matter. There's a crime.
As long as fans think it's OK to jump out on the field or court and the universities condone it, this is what you have.
I'll give it a shot. (this is assuming the information we know now is all there is, and no major changes will emerge)
What is a reasonable punishment for the coach?
Suspension the rest of the season without pay. The only reason I stop short of full termination is the involuntary part of the
extent of the injury. I believe that by his pushing the fan (as wrong as that may be), that all one reasonable person would expect is to be pushed back, or at most, trip and bounce right back up. As far as I can tell from the not-so-close footage, it's not like he swung a fist or kicked 'em. Things like that, more often than not, cause sufficient bodily harm.
What is a reasonable punishment for the fan?
Given what we know at this point... nothing. Smack-talk and non-threatening taunting (i.e. just being a plain ol' jerk) is not grounds enough to be charged with anything. But I certainly hope this guy doesn't take that familiar road of hiring a lawyer, and asking for $1 million dollars for a night in the hospital and a hangover headache.
I'd dock the coach responsible for the press box pay to take care of the damage.
I'd suspend the other coach for three days to a week without pay.
Got to fire him. Sorry.
If you don't, everywhere you go as long as he is a coach will be a reminder: "Oh, yeah Miami's the team that has the coaches that go whacko. There's the guy who decked that guy." Miami will have that albatross around their neck as long as he is there. It's unfortunate, but it's true.
Unfair? Probably. No blood no foul where I came from. ( Coaching, I once kicked a folding chair onto the court in the last minute of a basketball game--time was out-- and all I got was some laughs from the AD in our post-incident meeting.) But this is also about PR and image now, not some purest sense of human justice.
Hoeppner needs to quietly find this guy a job in some other football program where he can rebuild his rep.
If this were a BCS school, they'd sweep it under the rug with a lot of explanations and excuses and nobody would care. But it isn't. It's Miami of Ohio. I think they still want to set themselves apart from the, uh, herd.
Am I right, Dodo, or am I right?