Like all teams, UMass has some injuries. Coach Charley Molnar has a low tolerance for infractions. This lead to four players being suspended for the Western Michigan game and one is no longer with the team.
Quote:Defensive back Mike Lee, who had already been suspended for the Minutemen's opener against Connecticut and had been serving as the fifth man in their nickel package, is no longer a member of the team, Molnar said after practice.
“Mike crossed the line one too many times, and it got to the point where he wasn’t being a good team member. It just wasn’t right,” Molnar said. “It would really be a series of small infractions, but a continuous series of small infractions. He just got to overload, and that was it.”
“The vast majority of our guys attend their classes, attend their tutors, go to study table, get their work done on time – all that stuff that’s just part of being a normal college student. I’m not saying that’s what these guys did, I’m just giving you the broad picture of what we expect our guys to do,” Molnar said. “Some of these guys just didn’t do those things, so they paid the consequences, and they’ll continue to pay until they prove to me over the next several days that they’re in line with what I want.
"The way I explain it is, it’s their job to please me, it’s not my job to please them. And they’re not pleasing me when they don’t take care of the academic end of things.”
Injuries and suspension article by Harry Plumer
Nice job to lay down the law, especially when it's still fresh in the news of the QB from OSU bitching about going to class and seemingly nothing being done about it.
(10-08-2012 08:20 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote: [ -> ]Nice job to lay down the law, especially when it's still fresh in the news of the QB from OSU bitching about going to class and seemingly nothing being done about it.
What do you mean nothing was done about it? They took away his twitter account so that the public can't hear about him not wanting an education.
IMO he can ***** all he wants but if he gets the grades he's fine. Not exactly an ideal student but what the heck.
(10-10-2012 10:21 AM)NIU007 Wrote: [ -> ]IMO he can ***** all he wants but if he gets the grades he's fine. Not exactly an ideal student but what the heck.
Not sure on the specific issue but other than Freshmen if a student athlete is getting good grades, B's and higher, there is no need to hold them to a higher standard and force attendance or study hall requirements on them. But I do understand why there are team rules in place to give the athletes more structure.
For many college classes as long as a student either goes to class and pays attention or does the required reading and studies they can do very well. The problem is when students go to class and don't pay attention then think that is all they have to do....
I am very happy to see Coach Molnar lay down the law so to speak and put his money where is mouth is when it comes to his rules. It is going to be a struggle on the field but he seems to be doing it right and that can go a long way in building a program. Might be especially useful when trying to get a good recruit's parents on board with them trusting their son to play for him and ensure he gets an education on the off chance he doesn't make the NFL.
SM and NIU07, I could not disagree more. They are a TEAM. The TEAM has rules. Every member of the TEAM is expected to follow those rules. I don't give a rip if it's the smartest kid in the entire student population, the first string QB, or the mediocre student/benchwarmer. They are in it together. This ain't the pros, and they're barely "adults". They're kids who need discipline, and that includes going to class and study table.