Since charges against suspended wide receiver Marcus Sales have been dropped, does he have any chance of playing football for Syracuse again?
The answer to that question is a resounding “who the hell knows?” Doug Marrone might have an inkling, but he’s not going to divulge anything.
“It’s good for Marcus to have this legal process behind him. As you know, the university has a student judicial process. Until that is complete, I cannot discuss any details. I made the team aware of this.”
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Recent examples include Eric Devendorf, who was suspended by the board for hitting a female student, and Jonny Flynn, Scoop Jardine, and Rick Jackson, who received probation but were cleared of sexual assault charges.
Devendorf’s case is the one that should make ‘Cuse fans, or least those who want Sales back in uniform, anxious. Devo never faced any actual legal consequences for his actions, yet the SU Judicial Board still found it necessary to punish him.
So while it makes sense that Sales could now go back to living a normal student life on the Hill, the board may decide otherwise.
But how exactly is that fair? In this instance, it doesn‚Äôt make sense for the school’s judicial system to take liberties the actual legal system didn‚Äôt. Sales was involved in a shady situation over the summer, and he‚Äôs lucky that all of the charges against him were dropped. You could easily make the argument he deserves to be punished significantly for his actions. But the fact is, a grand jury decided there wasn‚Äôt enough evidence to indict him. The SU Judicial Board needs to respect the grand jury‚Äôs decision, and respect the rights of Sales.
If he does get cleared by the board, the wideout would likely be allowed to rejoin the football team. He’s already missed more than half the season – it’s probably¬†even Marrone, the strict disciplinarian, would think Sales has served enough time.
The passing attack looked damn good against West Virginia, though, and the addition of Sales would make it downright scary. Now the Syracuse Judicial Board just has to cooperate.
Posted: Andrew Kanell
10 responses to “Should SU Judicial Board Be Allowed to Prevent Marcus Sales From Returning?”
As much as I would like to see this guy on the field, HCDM set a standard for the type of players he wants and to take him back mid-season (if he is able to) would make Marrones words mean nothing. If he wants to come back next season (if he can) then sure, but hes out for this year.
I wouldnt agree with bringing him back at all. We all make mistakes, but this mistake was pretty big. He knowingly knew what consequences he could have with being in that car, with those drugs and alcohol. He disregarded what that could do to his football team, education and family if caught. You cannot mix yourself up with that, especially when you are a name in the community.
Marcus got lucky with not having any legal trouble.
I’d like to see him back playing for Syracuse. Everyone screws up and I don’t think he’ll do it again. Besides, you have to think about what’s better for the kid, getting kicked off the team indefinitely and destroying him for one mistake, thus ruining his career and possibly his life, or bringing him back into the fold and having a chance to work hard and prove to himself and his fans that he’s grateful to have a second chance. My thought is if you give someone a chance who you shouldn’t, they are extra thankful and work that much harder. Besides, he seems like a kid who could use what Marrone offers as a coach, molding not just players but good, upstanding citizens.
Oh, and he would be a dangerous target on the field for Nassib!
Of course the board should allow Marcus back If the law is saying no deal on charges then its a no harm no fouls issue. Not to mention the all important addition of assistance from Sales on making moor dollars for the school in driving to a big bowl opportunity and his affect on recruiting.Anything else and the school opens itself to litigation from Marcus’ attorneys.
I couldn’t disagree more. Obviously liked watching him play, tremendous talent, but he was caught by police with illegal drugs, scales, alcohol, etc. So whats that say about him? Now what college kid doesn’t use, buy, sell drugs, but the difference is that he is a public figure and representing the university from a media standpoint.
If the university wants to let him finish his degree, that’s fine, your giving him a second chance there. But playing sports is a privilege at the D1 level.
The kid is not dumb, he knowingly put himself in that situation and luckily got off from a legal standpoint.
One word “CARTER”. He played under so called HCDM strict conditions so this kid should get the same chance. If not then you have to question HCDM ideals or system. Carter’s issue was total violence. Marcus was stupidity. There is a difference. So if the kangaroo court sees fit for him to play he should. I feel he should wait until next year. If he can practice with team and still play next year put him against our sore spot Scott at practice. Scott needs the reps against good talent. He sure in hell can’t cover any thing at game time!!
It would seem to a layman that someday one of these athletes will sue the students who make up the Judicial Board and their faculty advisor for violating his or her Constitutional rights…..The standards used to deny the athlete to right to continue his or her education and possibly interfere with a future career in professional sports for failure to gain enough experience at the college level seem to be”iffy” at best based on the broad spectrum of results…Are they a “jury”?….nonsense ! Are they a “governing board”?…nonsense…..Are they a group of students with a faculty advisor from the law school pretending to be a court? Yup! In these days of multi-million dollar salaries for professional athletes this seems to be risky business…..I don’t know the law in this area and am not a practicing lawyer but assume the university has given this thought and decided it is o.k. Here, charges against an individual have been dropped..What will the Board do? Hear evidence and make an arbitrary decision whether they disapprove of his alleged conduct without any proof other than hearsay and what they read in the papers? Will the arresting officers be witnesses? Will the D.A. be questioned why he dropped the charges? Will the attorney for the athlete make an oral argument? Will there be Rules of Evidence? Only asking !
Student review boards is a case of too much power to the too young to make a quality decision and disrupt a life with at power. Marcus clearly made a mistake getting into thecae with his brother who was breaking the law with possession of an illegal substance. Whether Marcus knew and what he knew was not enough for the law to charge him and continue the investigation. As far as I am concerned,I would sit down with him and explain that he nearly ruined his life and that a second chance is given and requires a realistic awareness of the situation by him or he is going to trash a n opportunity few people in life ever get. A free college education and a path to pro football if he has and displays the talent on the field.
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Quite comfortably set.