Anytime a player runs afoul of the law multiple times, I think the outside scrutiny becomes much more fair game because it's not just a team or a school matter anymore. It's a matter of public record, and hurts the school's reputation.
The greater question in my mind is one of standards, and how much we are willing to bend them in the name of second (third?) chances and winning hockey games.
In short, I think that wearing a Sioux jersey should be one of the greatest privileges in all of sports. It is a jersey that carries a long and proud tradition with it, and I think the school should be be reserving it for those players who choose to live their lives in an appropriate manner.
Allowing Frattin back into the fold, I think, sends the wrong message around the country. It says essentially that 'boys will be boys', and as long as you're sorry for what you did (and can help us win), there is a jersey waiting for you, even when you are arrested multiple times and one of them is a very serious adult offense (DUI) that comes after a prior arrest. Frattin may have done wonderous things since his arrests, but I think mid-season is too soon for a return, given the gravity of what we all know he did. Hak should have waited until next year at a minimum. I am not knocking the Sioux here - there are a lot of schools that migth have let him back- I just think they missed an opportunity to hold the program to a higher standard.
As for Denver's dirty laundry, it's simply not comparable - Knock on wood, but no active Pioneer hockey player has been ever been arrested or convicted of a crime while enrolled at Denver in Gwozdecky's tenure since 1994. That's not to say the DU players are all choir boys (I am sure they are not) but so far, when an active DU player gets into serious off-ice trouble, even when the police are not involved, the evidence we have is that they no longer get to wear the DU uniform (See Trotter, Brock).
