Athlete discipline varies team by team

By Jonathan McFadden
mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

When Eagles fall from grace, Winthrop’s Athletic Department as a unit has no “set” procedures for disciplining players, said Athletic Director Tom Hickman in an e-mail to The Johnsonian.

In answer to a question about what systematic course of action the athletic department takes when student athletes find themselves in trouble, Hickman said each team might have their own rules of conduct or expectations.

Such standards, he said, may range from behavioral problems to missing practices or meetings.

“Most [teams] have some type of guidelines that deal generally with not doing things to embarrass themselves or the team,” Hickman said. “Team rules, or expectations, are typically handled at the coaches level as far as any disciplinary proceedings.”

As the athletic director, Hickman said he would only get involved with a disciplinary situation if it involves violations of law or serious defiance of the student conduct code.

“There are no ‘set’ standards or penalties as I believe that each instance must be handled based upon the circumstances involved,” he said.

If Hickman does get involved, the resulting action will most likely involve “contest” suspension.

“Every effort is made to ‘tailor’ any suspensions to the circumstances and the known facts of that particular case,” Hickman said.

In the case involving Julius Francis and Robert Dreher, the two former men’s basketball players who were charged with criminal sexual conduct in April, the men’s basketball team and athletic department took action to suspend them indefinitely from the team, Hickman said.

After that, the athletic department was no longer a part of the discipline outcomes until the judicial proceedings were completed, Hickman said.

In August, Winthrop’s judicial council found Francis and Dreher guilty of sexual misconduct. Dreher was additionally found guilty of harassment.

Both players were expelled from Winthrop before classes began this semester.

In October, two men’s basketball players were charged with disorderly conduct after getting into a physical altercation with a man they say was harassing female customers at a Cherry Road McDonald’s.

Eagles Head Coach Randy Peele soon mandated a curfew for all his players, while both players told their side of the story to The [Rock Hill] Herald.

In a climate where disclosure of sexual abuse at universities, like the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State or the Bernie Fine revelation at Syracuse University, is gaining widespread attention, Hickman said those issues deal with “individual responsibilities.”

“Individuals who are made aware of these types of situations have both legal and moral responsibilities to follow through with the appropriate authorities,” Hickman said.

At Winthrop, the expectation is no different, he said.

“I can tell you that each person who is hired in the athletic department is subject to a background check before being hired,” he said.