Kansas State QB accused of sexual assault...

[NeoV]

agreed....assault or no assault, he broke team curfew rules...which most teams take pretty seriously.....he may play, but I don't think he'll start...

 

[TC2181]

Surprise!

 

[hevnsnt]

K-State Alum.

I support Ell.

 

[Rogue]

Here's a letter from Bill Snyder regarding how this entire situation played out:

January 8, 2004
An open letter from Coach Bill Snyder

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill Snyder

An Open Letter from Kansas State Head Football Coach Bill Snyder

Snyder

I am extending a heartfelt and sincere apology to the people of Kansas State, our community of Manhattan, and the entire state of Kansas for the anguish and suffering endured by those who genuinely care about our football program and university. The incident which took place during our stay in Scottsdale has been a painful experience for our administration, our faculty, our student body, our community, and, certainly, for all of us closely associated with Kansas State football.

I extend the same apology to the administration of the Fiesta Bowl, its sponsors, the Scottsdale Plaza Resort and the people of "The Valley of the Sun" all of whom received us so very well and extended such gracious hospitality to our travel party and all visiting K-Staters.

Please understand that it has not been my intent to withhold information from the media, but to cooperate with the legal process.

As we now know, charges will not be filed and the Maricopa County Attorney has stated that no criminal incident occurred. It is unfortunate that this damaging information was released prior to a thorough and complete investigation, which ultimately concluded there was no validity to the allegation of sexual assault or sexual abuse. The fact that the initial charges were found to be erroneous in many cases will fall on deaf ears.

As most of the people in our local and regional media understand, over the past 15 years in our program the violation of team rules and the punishments for those violations were always kept in house (within the "family"). Because this violation of team rules by our starting quarterback, Ell Roberson, became a national news story, I have decided in this one instance to make the consequences of violating those team rules public.

In accordance with our policy of the past 15 years, I then decided that the consequences for Ell Roberson and those players who had violated team regulations would include :

1. The loss of scholarship aid (of approximately $8,481.00) for the spring semester.
2. Not receiving a Fiesta Bowl ring.
3. Volunteer public service addressing youth groups within the community.

In addition to these consequences, Ell Roberson has already paid a severe price for his indiscretiona price far greater than perhaps any other student in a similar situation would have paid.

I want all K-Staters to know that this incident has hit at the core of my value system. I do not condone any form of sexual abuse or, for that matter, sexual activity for young, unmarried males or females. I have three daughters and three granddaughters. Each of whom I pray to be safe and secure and to carry strong moral values that coincide with those of our family.

At the time of the incident, I made what was seemingly an easy decision: to suspend the young men from our program and send them home that evening. I was at peace with that decision and shared it with our coaching staff the next morning.
However, later in the day, I was provided with information from local authorities and an outside investigation which led us to the conclusion that, with complete assurance, no crime of any nature was committed by any player in our program. An indiscretion, yes; a violation of the law, no. At that time it became apparent that the decision to suspend players did not seem consistent with other decisions made within the program.

Timing, then, became an issue. I had one day in which to make what I could only pray and hope would be the appropriate decision. This proved to be the most agonizing and painful event in my entire professional career.

As I anguished over this decision I was well aware that I do not have the capacity to regulate the decisions that 22 year olds make regarding their moral and sexual behaviors which are within the limits of the law.

The question arose: would it be better not to start the young men? The idea of allowing them to play, but not start the game and sit out for a series or two seemed merely a token consequence. I believed the price of this irresponsibility should be far greater. All the while, I was well aware that any decision I made would be met with criticism.

I cannot adequately convey to you how badly I feel for those within the Wildcat family who, through their allegiance to our university and athletic program, are suffering immensely. A day has not gone by that I have not prayed that the Lord would ease the pain for our players, coaches, staff, the athletic department, the university faculty, student body, and administration, and the remarkable K-State fan base throughout the country. The accusation that was falsely made in this incident will live within each of us for a long time to come.

I am grateful for the outpouring of support and the continued faith that we are diligently attempting to advance the proper values to young people within our program and that we are teaching life's lessons in a manner which provides them with a venue to mature and grow toward a successful future.

I apologize from the depth of my soul that this situation ever took place.

Bill Snyder
Head Football Coach
Kansas State University

"This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be good again. Oh people will come Ray, People will most definitely come."

 

[vi edit]

Nice letter and all...but it still doesn't do anything about the fact that he was out 4 hours past the team curfew.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Huh? Did you even read the letter and see the punishment that was handed out?

 

[BDawg]

Obviously, winning was the most important thing. He won't let Ell get the ring he earned, but he was happy to let him play so everyone else could get one.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Huh? Did you even read the letter and see the punishment that was handed out?

The way I read it the first time, it sounded like that was what he was going to do...then he got more info that there wasn't any evidence of sexual abuse and let it go because no law was broken.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Huh? Did you even read the letter and see the punishment that was handed out?

The way I read it the first time, it sounded like that was what he was going to do...then he got more info that there wasn't any evidence of sexual abuse and let it go because no law was broken.

You've lost me....are you complaining that the punsihment wasn't enough?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Was there the possibility of not so much of a coverup rather than a boys will be boys situation.

He should not have gotten himself into that situation to begin with.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Was there the possibility of not so much of a coverup rather than a boys will be boys situation.

He should not have gotten himself into that situation to begin with.

Agreed he shouldn't have been involved, but nothing will change that. It was NYE and he is a 23 yo man...

There was no coverup or any attempt at it. All involved were forthcoming with the police and the siutaion investigated by Maricopa Cty and KSU. After the legal issues were reviewed and resolved, the University made it's position known. The statements were released within 15 minutes of the DA making his announcement. The biggest regrets for the University and the men involved is that the police department and some media did not show any discretion in releasing his identity at such an early stage. The facts were not in yet, and here he was being treated as a pariah. ABC announced he was pulled off the field and arrested for rape. Nothing could be farther from the truth. But the truth doen't always matter, it's all about publicity and ratings.

 

[arod]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Was there the possibility of not so much of a coverup rather than a boys will be boys situation.

He should not have gotten himself into that situation to begin with.

Come on, like you wouldnt to if you were a big name quarterback, im sure he had all the laidies he could want. That said I think he got a pretty good punishment but he should have lost 2 semesters tuition.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: arod

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Was there the possibility of not so much of a coverup rather than a boys will be boys situation.

He should not have gotten himself into that situation to begin with.

Come on, like you wouldnt to if you were a big name quarterback, im sure he had all the laidies he could want. That said I think he got a pretty good punishment but he should have lost 2 semesters tuition.

He only has one semester left...

 

[arod]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: arod

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Was there the possibility of not so much of a coverup rather than a boys will be boys situation.

He should not have gotten himself into that situation to begin with.

Come on, like you wouldnt to if you were a big name quarterback, im sure he had all the laidies he could want. That said I think he got a pretty good punishment but he should have lost 2 semesters tuition.

He only has one semester left...

Well I thought there were others involved... still they could take away fall tuition if they wanted to (or charge a fee or something).

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: arod

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: arod

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Was there the possibility of not so much of a coverup rather than a boys will be boys situation.

He should not have gotten himself into that situation to begin with.

Come on, like you wouldnt to if you were a big name quarterback, im sure he had all the laidies he could want. That said I think he got a pretty good punishment but he should have lost 2 semesters tuition.

He only has one semester left...

Well I thought there were others involved... still they could take away fall tuition if they wanted to (or charge a fee or something).

Because an $8500 fine isn't enough? He wouldn't get that much $17,000 in the NFL!

 

[arod]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: arod

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats

Originally posted by: arod

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Was there the possibility of not so much of a coverup rather than a boys will be boys situation.

He should not have gotten himself into that situation to begin with.

Come on, like you wouldnt to if you were a big name quarterback, im sure he had all the laidies he could want. That said I think he got a pretty good punishment but he should have lost 2 semesters tuition.

He only has one semester left...

Well I thought there were others involved... still they could take away fall tuition if they wanted to (or charge a fee or something).

Because an $8500 fine isn't enough? He wouldn't get that much $17,000 in the NFL!

They throw out 10k fines for making fun of prople in the NFL, this would easily be 25k in the NFL.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Couldn't find an updated schedule, but in 2000, the NFL fine for missing curfew was a maximum of $610. Conduct detrimental to the team was one weeks salary.

Keep in mind thats for someone making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. For an unpaid athlete, shouldn't the fine be proportional??

 

[TC2181]

man...lets drop this. He is no longer plays football in the NCAA. Its embarassing enough as it is.

Meanwhile, i'm looking forward to K-States home schedule next year.

Nebraska cornholers
Okla-homo Sooners


bwah hah.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

OKLA!
*clap clap*
HOMO!