Stay Classy NIU. Player Suspended for lowering shoulder on band member.

• HitsRus

  

  Nobody else seemed to have difficulty avoiding band members...maybe this kid just needs glasses to see where he's going.
• enigmaax

  Drums of War;956707 wrote:1. A Privilege? Can you hear how arrogant that sounds? These kids put in 60 hour weeks, long before classes start, and then 15+ hours a week on top of classes for their RIGHT to be on that field at the request of the athletic department. Show me any stadium at any school where the home band works around the visiting team. If they would have simply run through with a little jostling I would call it rude, but no big deal here, but that was not the case.
  
  2. I have worn the pads, and the helmet, and I know if I laid a shoulder into someone's head, I would have known I did it. The suggestion of anything else simply makes you look foolish.

  It doesn't really matter how hard the band works. Simple fact is that the event is happening because of the football team and the band is along for the ride. Say that the home band doesn't work around the visiting team all you want, but if the band had planned their show a little better, we wouldn't be talking about this incident that happened on a football field.
  
  Don't confuse the fact that I said stay off the field for placing blame. The fact is that these things can happen when you have two large groups of people with different agendas. Protect your band - get them off the field before the teams come out.....or risk their safety. I don't give a shit, but the incident could have been prevented.
  
  Once the band was put in a bad position, the guy made a mistake. Maybe on purpose, maybe accidentally. I still maintain that if his school's administration believed that he bounced her with a malicious intent, the penalty would've been more harsh. Since they've apologized, accepted responsibility, and suspended the kid for a game, I'm satisfied that the situation has been handled adequately. Bad move on his part, but it's over now.
  
  If it was my daughter, yeah, I'd likely have a more biased opinion. Still, I'm not typically a person who thinks that every bad decision that affects me is the end of the world and someone should be hung.
• Mulva

  

  Drums of War;956695 wrote: Would your opinion be the same if this were your child being blasted by a 200# athelete for the only reason that she was on the field before the game started entertaining the crowd?

  Yes. I would say "I'm sorry you were truck-sticked, but maybe next time you'll show a little agility". Then we'd share a chuckle.
• THE4RINGZ

  

  I'll bet sales of those stupid fucking "Band...if it were any easier, they call it football" shirts comes to a grinding halt on that campus.
• DeyDurkie5

  

  Would it hurt to post the fucking video?
  
  /ernest
• Drums of War

  vball10set;956712 wrote:they're not, this is OC...that's how they roll
  
  edit: this just means they're messin' with ya', 'cause if it was anyone on here's gf, sister, etc., they'd be bitchin' to beat the band (pun intended)

  Nicely played.. Thank you for putting some perspective and humor on it for me.
  
  I have been both in a locker room and on the field during halftime in my life, and would not trade either experience for the other. One thing it gave me is respect for playing the game and playing FOR the game. This thread is going the way that I unfortunately have seen too much. I wish that everyone could share the experiences that I have had on both sides of the white line.
• superman

  If the band stays off the football field, it doesn't happen. Sim[SUB][/SUB]ple as that.
• LJ

  

  Once again, it is the home team's event, in their venue. The home venue and everything that goes with it does not have to change their agenda for the away team. It is up to the away team to respect the home venue's agenda either by staying out of the way or adjusting.
• Mulva

  

  LJ;956972 wrote:It is up to the away team to respect the home venue's agenda either by staying out of the way or adjusting.

  He adjusted right into the band member's jawline.
• superman

  No, its a football game on a football field. The band is window dressing, if they can't stay out of the football team's way, they need to be banned from the field.
• LJ

  

  superman;956992 wrote:No, its a football game on a football field. The band is window dressing, if they can't stay out of the football team's way, they need to be banned from the field.

  
  No it was the home band in their home venue performing thwir pregame ritual. There was no football game going on.
• superman

  It was on the football field. They were there for a football game. Who cares who is home or away? The band needs to stay out of the football team's way.
• LJ

  

  superman;957039 wrote:It was on the football field. They were there for a football game. Who cares who is home or away? The band needs to stay out of the football team's way.

  
  Ugh, every venue in the country cares who is home or away. Since always. The away team needs to stay out of the way of the hosting venue's activities.
• Benny The Jet

  

  I have a feeling that some beliefs would change on this if it were a guy from Wisconsin shoulder blocking a chick on tOSU marching band at the shoe. With it being the MAC, I think some people are downplaying it.
  Personally I think the suspension was warrated. What I find most screwed up about this, is that this guy will get the same length of suspension as a guy who did something actually illegal.
  
• ts1227

  

  superman;957039 wrote:It was on the football field. They were there for a football game. Who cares who is home or away? The band needs to stay out of the football team's way.

  
  We get it, meathead. But LJ is still right.
• HitsRus

  

  It doesn't really matter how hard the band works. Simple fact is that the event is happening because of the football team and the band is along for the ride. Say that the home band doesn't work around the visiting team all you want, but if the band had planned their show a little better, we wouldn't be talking about this incident that happened on a football field.

  I call bullshit.
  From reading some of these posts, I think some of you still haven't outgrown your high school need to pick on the band geeks .
  While the football game may be the main event, there are several other side events that can and do go on and have the right to be there when the game is not in progress. These include homecoming events, honoring past teams and athletes, the marching band etc etc. So, at any given game on or around the football field when the clock is not ticking, there may be cheerleaders, mascots, visiting dignitaries, visiting recruits, members of the media, ball boys, security personnel, and others, none of which deserve to get plowed by a careless or out of control football player. It is one thing when a cameraman gets barrelled into by a player during the course of the game. It is another when a player barrels into the first thing he sees in opposition colors.
  There's no excuse for this. Why even attempt to justify it?
• karen lotz

  

  Stay off the tracks when the train is coming through.
• dwccrew

  

  Little Danny;956619 wrote:What you have to understand is that football is a very emotional game.

  Just because it is an emotional game doesn't excuse people from making bad decisions.
  
  That being said, I don't know if he meant to do that, as others have stated. He was jumping and she was in his path. It looked as if he turned to try and avoid her, however, she stopped in her path and they collided. IMO, she shouldn't have been walking directly in the path of a player.
• enigmaax

  HitsRus;957216 wrote:I call bull****.
  From reading some of these posts, I think some of you still haven't outgrown your high school need to pick on the band geeks .
  While the football game may be the main event, there are several other side events that can and do go on and have the right to be there when the game is not in progress. These include homecoming events, honoring past teams and athletes, the marching band etc etc. So, at any given game on or around the football field when the clock is not ticking, there may be cheerleaders, mascots, visiting dignitaries, visiting recruits, members of the media, ball boys, security personnel, and others, none of which deserve to get plowed by a careless or out of control football player. It is one thing when a cameraman gets barrelled into by a player during the course of the game. It is another when a player barrels into the first thing he sees in opposition colors.
  There's no excuse for this. Why even attempt to justify it?

  You are always so dramatic. For starters, I didn't pick on "band geeks" in high school. I'm not sure what is so difficult to understand about my opinion (that's all it is, just like yours). The entire situation could have been avoided had they planned the band's involvement a little better. That is a fact. The school has apologized and taken responsibility and the player is being punished. I never said I disagreed with any of those actions.
  
  I am still not convinced he was trying to hurt anyone or even specifically hit the person he did. I didn't say it was the gospel, I just don't see that in the short clip I viewed. That isn't justifying anything, it is simply interpreting a few seconds of a video. As a result of my interpretation, I find the "assault" charge by the OP to be ludicrous. Didn't say the kid shouldn't be punished - the school handled the situation adequately. I don't find it to be some dude out head-hunting band members. And that has nothing to do with a "need to pick on band geeks".
  
  So what do you want? The guy kicked out of school? Charged with a hate crime because it was a band member?
  

  Benny The Jet;957064 wrote:I have a feeling that some beliefs would change on this if it were a guy from Wisconsin shoulder blocking a chick on tOSU marching band at the shoe. With it being the MAC, I think some people are downplaying it.
  Personally I think the suspension was warrated. What I find most screwed up about this, is that this guy will get the same length of suspension as a guy who did something actually illegal.

  I would absolutely feel the same way regardless of the team involved. As for your comparison, according to the OP, this incident was an assault. That is illegal.
  

  LJ;957046 wrote:Ugh, every venue in the country cares who is home or away. Since always. The away team needs to stay out of the way of the hosting venue's activities.

  A little courtesy from the home team for their guests would go a long way. "Hey, come on over and play a football game with us. But stay the fuck out the way of all this other shit we've got going on." No, simple planning can avoid this situation every single time.
• LJ

  

  enigmaax;957308 wrote: A little courtesy from the home team for their guests would go a long way. "Hey, come on over and play a football game with us. But stay the fuck out the way of all this other shit we've got going on." No, simple planning can avoid this situation every single time.

  Yes, simple planning by the away team to avoid the home team's pregame activities and traditions. That's how it works.
• LJ

  

  dwccrew;957257 wrote: IMO, she shouldn't have been walking directly in the path of a player.

  So the band member who was marching in formation during their pregame tradition that they perform every home game without a problem, needs to watch out for an idiot on the other team to come plowing into her? :thumbdown:
• enigmaax

  LJ;957310 wrote:Yes, simple planning by the away team to avoid the home team's pregame activities and traditions. That's how it works.

  Yes because I'm sure visiting teams everywhere study pre-game film for road trips so they know when they have to sit around and wait on the extra-curriculars to be finished. You there to play football or not?
  

  LJ;957311 wrote:So the band member who was marching in formation during their pregame tradition that they perform every home game without a problem, needs to watch out for an idiot on the other team to come plowing into her? :thumbdown:

  Might not have been a bad idea. I mean, you can boast about having the right of way in a crosswalk but if you walk out in the road blindly and get plowed it is probably going to hurt. Doesn't mean you are at fault, but fault doesn't really matter when you're dead. There is a difference between assigning blame and identifying precautions.
• LJ

  

  enigmaax;957318 wrote:Yes because I'm sure visiting teams everywhere study pre-game film for road trips so they know when they have to sit around and wait on the extra-curriculars to be finished. You there to play football or not?

  That's their problem then. There are there at the invitation of the home school. The visiting team is there to play football, but that point is moot, because there was no football game going on when the player ran over the band member. The host school puts on a whole event, the football game is just one part of that event.
  
  
  

  Might not have been a bad idea. I mean, you can boast about having the right of way in a crosswalk but if you walk out in the road blindly and get plowed it is probably going to hurt. Doesn't mean you are at fault, but fault doesn't really matter when you're dead. There is a difference between assigning blame and identifying precautions.

  Ah yes, the band member should just drop out of line and run away when a bunch of idiots come running out and running through them when they aren't supposed to. Makes perfect sense :rolleyes:
• enigmaax

  LJ;957320 wrote:That's their problem then. There are there at the invitation of the home school. The visiting team is there to play football, but that point is moot, because there was no football game going on when the player ran over the band member. The host school puts on a whole event, the football game is just one part of that event.

  The football game is THE event. It is nice they do other things around that, but if there was no football going on, nobody else would be there.
  

  Ah yes, the band member should just drop out of line and run away when a bunch of idiots come running out and running through them when they aren't supposed to. Makes perfect sense :rolleyes:

  Well, if you don't want to end up on your ass it makes perfect sense.
• HitsRus

  

  The entire situation could have been avoided had they planned the band's involvement a little better. That is a fact

  enigmaxx...my post wasn't directed specifically at you, although what I quoted(in my previous post) seems to attempt to justify the football player's carelessness. Mainly, what I disagree with is in the above quote. There are a lot of reasons why the band might be late getting off the field....maybe NIU was "late" getting off the field with pregame warmups? In any case, there is absolutely NO WAY any blame for the incident should be attached to the band member which is implied by several posters.
  If there is any 'blame' to be assigned to anyone other than #6, it is on the NIU coach who charged his team out on the field while the band was finishing up their show.
  
  As for the suspension, One game is probably enough provided the kid doesn't have any other history. I would consider that lenient, but fair.