Tuesday was another rough day in Pullman for the Washington State Cougar football program. Two more players were dropped from the team roster—for two very different reasons.
The first to fall was senior Dan Rowlands. He started all 12 games for the Cougs last season at right guard. Over his football career at WSU, Rowlands started 21 games and was a solid contributor season in, season out.
Why is Rowlands gone?
Glad you asked. He has been plagued by chronic shoulder pain throughout spring and fall practice—so much pain that Rowlands couldn't play up to his personal standards. It was clear to him that he wasn't going to do either the Cougs or himself much good by trying to ignore the problem.
The other player dropped from the roster yesterday was a former offensive lineman who switched to the defensive line this fall, Andy Roof.
Why is Roof gone?
Though I'm glad you asked, his situation is entirely different from that of Rowlands.
Roof has had his share of scrapes with the law over the past couple of years. Not to condone any of his actions, but the trouble he found himself in was typical of a wild guy in college. Responsible student and wild guy in college are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum. Roof was guilty of immature behavior. No question there.
Last spring Roof was involved in an incident that was reported in the media to be nothing short of a drunken brawl that had him dishing out devastation like some sort of comic book character. Not an unusual take by media stories. After all, sensational stories get a lot more attention than "feel good" stories.
It seemed as though a thorough investigation process of the matter allowed cooler heads to prevail.
Initially Roof was suspended from both the school and the team. After university review, he gained full support of both the WSU president and head football coach. He was reinstated. In essence, Roof was offered the opportunity to grow up. Yes, he was given another chance.
In the infinite wisdom of the WSU student conduct board, no second chance should be given to Roof. The board issued a decision to dismiss/expel Andy Roof from both the football team and school.
This decision smacks of a public relations move rather than a university move. Rather than continue to mold Roof into a college graduate, the WSU student conduct board threw up their self-righteous arms and firmly said, "Enough!"
Who's the loser here?
Our common community is the loser in this situation—not WSU football, but the fabric of our community. With the exception of the student conduct board, virtually everyone associated with Andy Roof over the past six months complimented the young man on the efforts he was making to build himself into a mature person. Hopefully that process won't stop with this unilateral move by the board. Chances are Roof will stay on the right path.
Sensational is good for getting the attention of an audience. When pushed to the extreme, it can have a negative impact on the development of the very people spotlighted.
It was a pretty rough day in Pullman, WA. Pretty rough day...
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