The questions regarding a night of off-campus violence that included several members of the SIU football team have not all been answered, but two things are already evident: the incident should have never happened, and the Saluki players better take this as a lesson not to be forgotten.
The trouble started two weekends ago at a party thrown by a group of rugby players. Accounts of what took place at that party vary, but the main antagonists appear to have been one football player who attended the party and rugby player Michael Leahy. The real drama did not unfold until later in the night, though, when Leahy was nailed in the face with a rock by an unknown person and an estimated 40 people returned to the scene of the party and allegedly kicked, punched and shoved the mixed crowd of men and women who remained until police arrived.
No arrests were made because police could not pinpoint the individuals who were involved, and while numerous rugby players contend that many of the people who returned were football players, they have offered no concrete evidence to suggest how many SIU players contributed to the melee.
The Daily Egyptian recognizes that alcohol was flowing freely that night, and that it might be mission impossible to make a precise assessment of where the fault belongs. But that does not preclude a firm condemnation of everyone who participated in what has to be one of the most disturbing incidents of the semester.
Football coach Jerry Kill has made a strong early impression on SIU, and he has vowed to make his players better both on and off the field. While the incident is not sufficient reason to suddenly doubt Kill, it is something of a disappointment that a portion of his players apparently did not know better than to muddy the program's reputation with such thoughtless behavior.
Some have questioned why so much of the focus has been directed at the football players involved in the incident, when there were other parties who contributed to the mayhem. But athletes who are having their educations paid for by SIU - and especially in a high-profile program such as the football team - need to be mindful that they are always visible representatives of the University.
The football team's win-loss record probably should not play into this, but the fact is: it does. The Salukis have not had a winning season in the past 10 years, making it hard enough for them to drum up any support on campus without an added ingredient of being viewed as a bunch of bullies. The bottom line: if you want your fellow students to go to games and be enthusiastic about Saluki football, don't give them another reason not to.
Other students who conducted themselves in a disgraceful way that night also need to realize that fighting with fellow students is juvenile and dangerous. Just because rugby players or other students are not affiliated with the Athletic Department provides no excuse for them to behave like hooligans on weekends.
Come the fall, the Saluki football team will be back in the public eye for their performances on the field. People in Southern Illinois want to be able to pull for the guys wearing Saluki helmets. However, another incident or two like what happened at that party might make community members decide they have better ways to spend their Saturday afternoons than to root for players who seem to have forgotten their real opponents do not reside in Carbondale.
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
