University of Outlaws

On a local level the University of Oregon has a code of ethics for students, but not for athletes, apparently. The fricking QB can't put together a sentence if his life depended on it.

Thomas said he was not with Harris in Portland the evening before the traffic stop in the early morning hours of June 12. Thomas called Harris for a ride back to Eugene but said Harris was not driving when Thomas fell asleep in the car.


“I woke up, the police was right at the window talking about it,” Thomas said. 
“That’s all the facts I know.


“I found out we was speeding when the police told us.”

Yea right! We was born yesterday!
So a football team player was driving 118 miles an hour with a suspended license.
And they were smoking pot.
And it was the 6th offense & the driver had over $6000 in fines.

Even the damned sheriff, said he smelled pot & asked the football players- said they smoked it all & had no more. Instead of checking it out, the Sheriff asked to see the college football players Championship ring! (The local paper got a FOIA request to have the traffic stop film/tape released)

Even the head coach, after this incident, fails to run drug tests, after the Sheriff Officer is mesmerized into wanting to see the shiny ring.

Quite the story.

QB Thomas don't know nothin'
The Sheriff forgets how to  investigate a speeding vehicle @ more than 2x the speed limit, that reeks of marijuana.
The coach drops the ball on any drug testing.
Harris gets a 1 game suspension.

Because it's all about the franchise.
The profits.
The stats.
The winning.

What if this Harris player fails to pay the fine he owes for a few years now & they issue a warrant for his arrest in the middle of a damned game?

That might make it on to ESPN.

So now we have editorials in the local paper like this:

I can’t watch much pro sports. I’ve always wondered how anyone could cheer for a baseball or football team of manufactured humans, pretending that those biceps were the result of a lot of weight reps and ignoring scandal after scandal. The current gangster mentality of the NBA is depressing.

So that left me to cheer for my alma mater, the Ducks.
But now, I have to follow both the sports section and the police log to keep up with the team.

It’s become hard to be a proud alum.

I’m starting to pine for the old days. I think I’d rather watch the Ducks lose a game than cheer for a team of spoiled criminals. I’m not sure what Phil Knight feels he’s getting out of this pathetic situation, but maybe it’s time he threw in the towel and moved his money 30 miles north for a do-over.

MARTIN KENNEDY

North Eugene High School 1976; University of Oregon 1981, 1986

Okotoks, Alberta, Canada

And:

I'll be taking a trip soon . I plan on driving on the I-5 freeway at 118 miles per hour & smoking pot. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about that, since those things are allowed in Oregon by law officials. 

Oh wait! I am not a Duck football player! I'm going to jail.

The Enabler:

Oregon Coach Chip Kelly has agreed to a six-year, $20.5-million contract extension that makes him the Pacific 10 Conference's second-highest-paid coach.

The new deal guarantees Kelly a minimum of $2.4 million this season and could be worth more if Oregon reaches certain performance incentives.


Personally, I don't care if the team wins or loses, I care if they are required to be decent neighbors in the greater community. 
Because if the Oregon Athletics department continues to turn a blind eye to criminal behavior, one wonders what it will take for them to realize the depth of the problem. 
Does Cliff Harris have to slam into a busload of prized athletes @ 118 MPH on the freeway, under the influence,  before the U of O (O is for outlaws) athletics department realizes it's irresponsibility?


A one game suspension is a slap on the hand. 
Why not just make a giant banner saying the Student Conduct Code does not apply to athletes?

Apparently, when they say the Oregon Ducks Football team is 'smokin'

they literally mean it.