Will there be an apology?

by RickTheBloggerMartel on Dec 13, 2009 4:53 PM CST

It really is too bad when one of the defining moments of the 2009 College Football season had to be an incident like the one above. In one short moment Lagarrette Blount became an internet sensation and a black eye for his program. It is obvious that Blount didn't consider the impact that his actions would have on his reputation as well as the school he represents.

Following the incident Blount issued the following:

"I just apologize to everybody that was watching this - ESPN, national TV - I just apologize to all of our fans, all the Boise fans,'' Blount said after he punched Boise State linebacker Byron Hout in the wake of Oregon's 19-8 loss in Boise on Thursday night. "It was just something that I shouldn't have done. I lost my head, and I shouldn't have taken it that far."

Everybody knows an apology doesn't make everything better, or erase the stupidity of your actions, but the one thing it does do is show ownership of your decisions and actions.

I always wondered why there was never a public apology from Glenn Winston during the AJ Sturges incident?

"Me and the other victims have not received any form of apology from
Glenn Winston. Nothing. He has not acknowledged to us in any way the
damage he caused. While this fact remains ignored, I cannot allow
myself to believe that his debts have been paid, or even understood."

Before Winston was reinstated to the team there should've been a public apology by Winston to Sturges and his family as well as the University he embarrassed by his actions.

Obviously it is too late for both Winston and Jenrette but I would like to see a formal apology from each one of the players present at Rather Hall. Will it erase the incident? Will it save the University from more public embarrassment? No....but at least it will show that the players are responsible for their actions and their conduct while they represent Michigan State University as a Student Athlete.

This is a FanPost, written by a member of the TOC community. It does not represent the official positions of The Only Colors, Inc.--largely because we have no official positions.

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Liability?

That was put forward after the Sturges thing as the excuse for not apologizing, but it doesn’t make much sense to me, especially after Winston was sentenced. He could make a somewhat vague apology and not put himself in a worse position than he was for a civil suit after having pleaded guilty to the crime, it seemed to me, but I’m not a lawyer.

If I had to guess, the real, underlying reason is that Mark Dantonio doesn’t do PR and Mark Hollis doesn’t see fit/have the power to force him to do so.

by witless chum on Dec 14, 2009 9:09 AM CST reply actions

I think it is a liability issue

It can be how the laws are in Oregon vs Michigan. Or in the Oregon case it being across State lines could shift it to Federal court where the laws are different again.

Apologizing can be treated as an admission of guilt, whereas just being convicted is not an admission.

by DrDetroit on Dec 15, 2009 1:17 PM CST up reply actions

I don't buy that for a second

If there’s enough evidence for you to be convicted, that’s plenty for a civil court to find against you too (especially since civil courts’ standards for burden of proof are substantially lower).

On top of that, if that is the actual reason I find it utterly detestable that anyone would defend a refusal to apologize on the basis of “I don’t want to have to pay for breaking his skull”. Actions have consequences. You don’t want to pay for a hospital bill and then some, maybe you should have considered that before you punched somebody.

by SpartanDan on Dec 16, 2009 12:42 AM CST up reply actions

But he plead guilty

In criminal cases in Michigan, if you plead guilty part of that is the judge saying “What did you do that makes you guilty?” You say, “I punched the hockey player.” And the judge finds that’s sufficient that committed the crime. So, wouldn’t that constitute an admission? Sometimes in criminal cases I’ve covered as a newspaper reporter, mostly car crashes causing injury, the prosecutor will include agreeing to a no contest plea as part of the plea bargain. The reason given for this is to avoid civil liability.

by witless chum on Dec 16, 2009 7:33 AM CST up reply actions