2014 College Football Chatter...

[Deuce]

Nigel Bethel II has been reinstated by Texas Tech, less than three weeks after he was dismissed for punching Red Raiders women's basketball player Amber Battle.
The freshman cornerback from Miami will return to Lubbock, Texas, and rejoin the program but will be suspended for Texas Tech's first three games, the school announced Wednesday.

"This is an unfortunate situation with a unique set of circumstances and there are no winners," Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said in a statement. "Every decision related to this case has been the right one at that particular time based upon our principles, student-athlete code of conduct and team rules.


"As I continued to work with Coach (Kliff) Kingsbury and Coach (Candi) Whitaker, we looked at the totality of the situation and have arrived at this decision. Two talented young people made a mistake, have shown remorse and learned some very valuable life lessons."

Bethel's suspension for 25 percent of the season is equal to the one-month suspension Battle previously received for all TTU games in the month of November.
"I am thankful for the opportunity to come back to Texas Tech," Bethel said in a statement released by the school. "I take full responsibility for my actions and I would like to let everyone know that this won't happen again. It's not who I am and I am sorry for the embarrassment this has caused.

"I want to thank Amber Battle for accepting my apology and for coming forward to say that I deserved a second chance. I would like to thank everyone at Texas Tech, including the coaches, for believing in me and giving me a second chance to show my ability and to receive an education from Texas Tech."

Bethel will not face assault charges for the incident after a grand jury cleared him on Tuesday. The grand jury also submitted a letter to Hocutt expressing a "desire to see Mr. Bethel's scholarship reinstated."

During an on-campus pickup basketball game on June 28, Bethel hit Battle, the Red Raiders' leading scorer last season, in the face in retaliation after she hit him following a foul.

Bethel was dismissed from the program the next day. Texas Tech released security video of the fight on Wednesday.

"I'm relieved that Nigel is receiving a second chance because I believe in second chances," Battle said in a statement. "We were both at fault in this situation and I believe our punishment should be equal. This is a good opportunity for us to learn from our mistakes and I think we both have. Hopefully now we can move forward and focus on helping our teams compete at the highest level."

Lubbock attorney Tray Payne, who represented Bethel, said he was satisfied by the school's decision.

"I believe in second chances," Payne said. "I don't necessarily believe in third and fourth chances, but I believe in second chances and Texas Tech does too."
Bethel was the Red Raiders' highest-rated recruit in their 2014 class and had joined the program in June.

"I'm really excited," Bethel told ESPN.com about his reinstatement. "I feel like Texas Tech is my only home."

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Apparently Kliff when to Garrett's seminar on Team Discipline at Coaching Summer Camp this year.

 

[Cotton]

I think part of the reason was she hit him in the face first. So, it was either kick them both off their relative teams or bring his discipline back to equal hers.

 

[Deuce]

I think part of the reason was she hit him in the face first. So, it was either kick them both off their relative teams or bring his discipline back to equal hers.

I think that's a bogus way to get away with giving him a minimal penalty. Percentage wise, it's equal. But its 3 games against Central Arkansas, UTEP and Arkansas. Whoa, watch out now. Hate to not have him for those powerhouses.

 

[Cotton]

I think that's a bogus way to get away with giving him a minimal penalty. Percentage wise, it's equal. But its 3 games against Central Arkansas, UTEP and Arkansas. Whoa, watch out now. Hate to not have him for those powerhouses.

Would you have them create a complicated formula based on average winning percentages the last 5 years to make it exactly equal?

 

[Deuce]

Would you have them create a complicated formula based on average winning percentages the last 5 years to make it exactly equal?

No, I would have simply laid the smackdown on a kid who thinks he can hit women. Kids have gotten 3 game suspensions in college football for stupid stuff over the years and I think this was an opportunity for TT to say that this is more serious than those were and we're treating it as such. They could have backtracked on kicking him off the team, though I still consider that weak. They should have never done it in the first place if they wanted him there. But only to give him 3 games in the end is lame.

 

[Rev]

Depends on the situation but if a woman hits a man than I'm not for going easy on her just because she is a woman. You want to act like a man then take the consequences.

 

[Cotton]

No, I would have simply laid the smackdown on a kid who thinks he can hit women. Kids have gotten 3 game suspensions in college football for stupid stuff over the years and I think this was an opportunity for TT to say that this is more serious than those were and we're treating it as such. They could have backtracked on kicking him off the team, though I still consider that weak. They should have never done it in the first place if they wanted him there. But only to give him 3 games in the end is lame.

In that case, she should be kicked off the team as well.

 

[Deuce]

In that case, she should be kicked off the team as well.

They can handle her situation however they want. But like it or not, there is a double standard when it comes to assault on the alternate gender and he should be treated more severely than she. I'm not saying either of them should be kicked off completely, I just think when they looked at the schedule to see when they were to bring him back, Ok State's passing attack looming in week 4 had too much of an impact on their decision making.

 

[Cotton]

They can handle her situation however they want. But like it or not, there is a double standard when it comes to assault on the alternate gender and he should be treated more severely than she. I'm not saying either of them should be kicked off completely, I just think when they looked at the schedule to see when they were to bring him back, Ok State's passing attack looming in week 4 had too much of an impact on their decision making.

I don't agree. They should be treated the exact same since they both did the same thing. She should probably be treated worse because she instigated the whole thing.

 

[Deuce]

I don't agree. They should be treated the exact same since they both did the same thing. She should probably be treated worse because she instigated the whole thing.

Sure, she instigated it so her penalty should be worse than she would've gotten, but what exactly did she do? Do we know all the facts? Did she simply slapped him cause he made some rude comments? Did she ball up a fist and punch him in the nose? Those are different situations.

He, on the other hand, can't afford to hit her at all.

 

[Cotton]

Sure, she instigated it so her penalty should be worse than she would've gotten, but what exactly did she do? Do we know all the facts? Did she simply slapped him cause he made some rude comments? Did she ball up a fist and punch him in the nose? Those are different situations.

He, on the other hand, can't afford to hit her at all.

He was guarding her and fouled her, she turned an punched him in the face/head and he hit her back.

You can see the video here.

 

[Rev]

She didnt call foul so no foul.

 

[Cotton]

She didnt call foul so no foul.

 

[Clay_Allison]

Deuce is acting like this was a six year old girl he beat up. They are damn near the same size and she's a college level athlete. No, there doesn't need to be a double standard to protect her. She was the aggressor and she struck first.

 

[Deuce]

Deuce is acting like this was a six year old girl he beat up. They are damn near the same size and she's a college level athlete. No, there doesn't need to be a double standard to protect her. She was the aggressor and she struck first.

There are girls that look similar in stature to me, but if they hit me they aren't hurting me like I would them if we both swing. To say otherwise is ridiculous.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

There are girls that look similar in stature to me, but if they hit me they aren't hurting me like I would them if we both swing. To say otherwise is ridiculous.

I think a man has a right to defend themselves even if it is against a woman. Personally though in the situation in that video, I'd never swing back.

 

[skidadl]

Not defending the situation or anything but I'd like to explain what happened. She is known for being extremely aggressive with anyone and everyone at the rec center. Basically has been known to shove guys down, foul hard, talk crap and generally play overly aggressive against men. She swung at him and connected and he sort of slightly jabbed her in the jaw immediately regretting it. Obviously he was wrong and it is terrible to do that.

Now, framing the "crime" properly is in order. Tech has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to violence against women. That is understandable and a good rule IMO. That is why he was initially kicked off the team, out of school and sent away without a dollar in his pocket and nowhere to go. The question to me is if this is the same as violence against women in the traditional sense. I'd say it is clearly a punishable offense but kicked off the team permanently is a little harsh. He didn't attack a women or beat up his girlfriend. I am in favor of 4 weeks - 1 year suspension with an opportunity to work his way back.

We've had other football players swing at guys at the rec and get minor suspensions for that. A few years ago Mackey knocked a guy cold at the rec and received a one game suspension for it.

 

[skidadl]

They can handle her situation however they want. But like it or not, there is a double standard when it comes to assault on the alternate gender and he should be treated more severely than she. I'm not saying either of them should be kicked off completely, I just think when they looked at the schedule to see when they were to bring him back, Ok State's passing attack looming in week 4 had too much of an impact on their decision making.

Btw administration is who made the call on suspension time here. Not the HC.

 

[Rev]

Btw administration is who made the call on suspension time here. Not the HC.

Excuse me while I drop this grenade.....


Kent Hance?

 

[skidadl]

Excuse me while I drop this grenade.....


Kent Hance?

Let's do this!