Chris L Rucker was arrested for operating while intoxicated. He also damaged property with the vehicle and tried to flee the scene. The senior cornerback had a BAC of a .10. This is a big deal, under any circumstance. I do not condone driving while oever the limit, don't get me wrong, but an athlete blowing only a .10, nothing more than a slap on the wrist from Dantonio would be necessary.... Except theres one key issue here... Chris L Rucker was on PROBATION.
This is inexcusable. If you guys listen to 97.1, then you have heard Valenti's view on it and I couldn't agree more with him. He's already been given a second chance and he needs the hammer thrown down on him. He's violated his probation, he made a stupid decision, and now he needs to suffer the consequences.
Now what should those consequences be? Had he not violated his probation and not been in any other legal trouble prior to this, if he had a clean slate, I'd say you suspend him for a game or two. But this is not strike one for Rucker. He was already given a second chance.
Valenti and I both agree that he must be kicked off the team. You must take a stand and set an example. He's a senior, he should know better. He was involved in the incident last year, and was charged. He was sentenced to one year probation and community service. He violated said parole Sunday, and now must pay for his mistakes.
It will hurt the team losing their best guy in the secondary, it hurts a lot to lose a senior corner. But I feel that if Dantonio doesn't step up and make an example of him, it will look bad on him and the program. It hurts to lose a key man on a team that is a Big Ten title contender, but he made a dumb choice, and now must pay for his actions.
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Good article but go through and change all of the "parole's" to "probation" There's a huge difference. lol.
ReplyDeleteVery true. However, what about Jim Harbaugh, who has been arrested TWICE for duis, check me if i'm wrong. I am not disagreeing with your view on Rucker, but what about a coach who might someday take the Michigan job?
ReplyDeleteThanks Brian, that's what happens when you're tired... That's what we call a fatal in the business though...
ReplyDeleteAnd Sully, Harbaugh does indeed have at least one dui, which means that if he's hired at Michigan, he should have a short leash and be held accountable. I'm okay if Michigan wants to take that chance on him, but if starts getting in trouble they need to put the hammer down on him
my opinion on the matter
ReplyDeletehttp://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/18554/dantonio-must-learn-from-past-with-rucker