Re: Notre Dame hockey off-season...beware the "I'ds" of March and other ponderings
Re: Notre Dame hockey off-season...beware the "I'ds" of March and other ponderings
I'm sure by now everyone has heard some of the additional details about the arrests of dozens of Notre Dame students and student/athletes. I'm sure initially some people thought that this was simply a case of over-zealous South Bend and Indiana Excise police looking to make a bunch of easy arrests.
In light of what has now been released to the press, perhaps we should look at this differently. What does one expect the South Bend Police Department to do when a call is received after 1:00 a.m. of a large fight on the corner of a fairly busy intersection? They responded to a scene of more than a little chaos. And when they arrived, people got scared and began acting even more chaotic. In what world does anyone expect the police to simply stand by the curbs and on the sidewalk and just let folks scatter, without any real indication of just what was going on? Right or wrong, fair or foul, what idiot doesn't know that arrests are coming in this kind of a scenario. Why continually put yourselves in these kinds of situations? So is it a surprise that under the situation dozens of arrests followed? After what has already happened in the football and hockey programs in the last few months is it asking too much for a little common sense to prevail for a while?
Yes, college students will behave inappropriately. Yes they will behave immaturely. But is it asking too much for one who IS 21 to know that perhaps he shouldn't be hosting a party full of underage drinkers? Especially when a number of them are his own freshman teammates? It isn't like he didn't know for sure a good number of those drinking were not yet 21. Having a good time, even a good time that goes a little beyond the limits of the law, doesn't necessarily mean an arrest. But use your frigging heads. If it is too much to ask of a bunch of freshman (some of course who are probably almost old enough to drink, these are hockey players after all) to know when they are crossing a little too far over the line, it probably isn't too much to ask a 21 year old Junior to know better. Especially one who likely was going to be carrying some of the burden of leadership for this team in the upcoming season.
After what happened with Kyle Palmieri and Riley sheahan, and Mike Ragone, and especially Matt James, these hockey players (and the other athletes as well) behaved in a stupid and immature fashion. But what's worse, they behaved selfishly. Their own fun on a Friday night was more important to them than perhaps their own welfare. Fine, you want to drink and as a result deal with the consequences that may arise from that decision, go ahead. But what about your teammates who AREN'T getting arrested? Who aren't doing anything that moves the team backward?
I'm sure my daughter drank a little before she turned 21. I suspect its possible she may have even had "too much" once or twice. I understand kids will do things we may wish they wouldn't do. Yet she was able to do it without ever running afoul of the law, without ever really running afoul of her parents -- both of whom were fairly strict in terms of discipline, without putting her own safety or the safety of others in any real jeopardy, and without risking a promising future in her military career. All this while turning 18, 19, 20, 21.... While the father in me knows without a doubt his girl is the greatest thing in the world, is she really that much smarter than a whole bunch of Notre Dame students? It's looking more and more likely she is...
