slickdawg
7/24/2006, 10:20 AM
At Miami, Controversy Remains the Constant
By Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 24, 2006; Page E04
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., July 23 -- The days of the University of Miami acting like a hellion football program, one worthy of the "Raising 'Canes" moniker it earned in the late 1980s and early '90s, have largely ended. The residue of that era, fair or not, remains.
So when reports surfaced Friday about a shootout involving Miami linebacker Willie Cooper and defensive back Brandon Meriweather, it might have seemed another instance of Miami acting like, well, Miami. It didn't help that linebacker Willie Williams, one of the most controversial recruits in team history, asked out of his scholarship, a request the school granted and announced July 11.
Players addressed those topics publicly for the first time yesterday at ACC football media day, standing up for Miami's reputation and expressing relief that Cooper was not seriously harmed.
A gunman shot Cooper in the rear end while trying to break into the home of Cooper and Meriweather early Friday morning, according to several reports. While the alleged burglar fled, Meriweather pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot at the man. Police said Meriweather acted legally, because he has a permit for the gun. Cooper was released from a hospital Friday afternoon.
"I knew that one was coming," junior quarterback Kyle Wright said with a smirk when asked about how the shooting fit into Miami's perception. "You can't help somebody waiting outside your house trying to rob you. You could go to Harvard, Harvard could start a bad-boy image off something like that. That [image] was a long time ago."
Miami has been trying to burnish its reputation on the field and in the classroom since Butch Davis arrived as coach in 1995. Aside from the recruitment of Williams, the school has endured few major off-field controversies during Coach Larry Coker's tenure, which enters its sixth season. Miami's football team has a graduation rate of 57 percent, according to a study done this December by Richard Lapchik of the University of Central Florida.
"My thing is, okay, a guy got shot," junior linebacker Jon Beason said. "How is that a bad reflection? Is it energy you don't want? Yeah. But you know what? No one's in trouble. You've got other schools with little misdemeanors. We don't have that. We got a squeaky clean track record. Who cares what people think? The fact is, we're saints.
"Even in Willie's case, he hasn't been in any trouble since he's been there."
That would be true. Williams, a ferocious high school linebacker who had been arrested 10 times before attending Miami, experienced no off-field troubles while at the university.
But after being allowed admission into the school amid controversy over the arrests and various recruiting exploits, Williams failed to deliver on the field. He made 17 tackles last season, mostly as a backup to Beason, a year after missing a season because of a torn ligament in his right knee. Those struggles made Williams decide to ask out of his scholarship.
Despite his prowess -- Beason said Williams may have had more potential than any player in the school's history -- Williams will not be welcomed back warmly on the off chance he tries to return.
"As far as gelling, guys coming together, playing for one another, the love, the family, it's not going to help us because it's going to be a big step back," Beason said. "There won't ever be a point where we say, 'Hey, Willie, it's okay, man. You're a part of the team now. We can chill.' "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/23/AR2006072300792.html
By Adam Kilgore
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 24, 2006; Page E04
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., July 23 -- The days of the University of Miami acting like a hellion football program, one worthy of the "Raising 'Canes" moniker it earned in the late 1980s and early '90s, have largely ended. The residue of that era, fair or not, remains.
So when reports surfaced Friday about a shootout involving Miami linebacker Willie Cooper and defensive back Brandon Meriweather, it might have seemed another instance of Miami acting like, well, Miami. It didn't help that linebacker Willie Williams, one of the most controversial recruits in team history, asked out of his scholarship, a request the school granted and announced July 11.
Players addressed those topics publicly for the first time yesterday at ACC football media day, standing up for Miami's reputation and expressing relief that Cooper was not seriously harmed.
A gunman shot Cooper in the rear end while trying to break into the home of Cooper and Meriweather early Friday morning, according to several reports. While the alleged burglar fled, Meriweather pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot at the man. Police said Meriweather acted legally, because he has a permit for the gun. Cooper was released from a hospital Friday afternoon.
"I knew that one was coming," junior quarterback Kyle Wright said with a smirk when asked about how the shooting fit into Miami's perception. "You can't help somebody waiting outside your house trying to rob you. You could go to Harvard, Harvard could start a bad-boy image off something like that. That [image] was a long time ago."
Miami has been trying to burnish its reputation on the field and in the classroom since Butch Davis arrived as coach in 1995. Aside from the recruitment of Williams, the school has endured few major off-field controversies during Coach Larry Coker's tenure, which enters its sixth season. Miami's football team has a graduation rate of 57 percent, according to a study done this December by Richard Lapchik of the University of Central Florida.
"My thing is, okay, a guy got shot," junior linebacker Jon Beason said. "How is that a bad reflection? Is it energy you don't want? Yeah. But you know what? No one's in trouble. You've got other schools with little misdemeanors. We don't have that. We got a squeaky clean track record. Who cares what people think? The fact is, we're saints.
"Even in Willie's case, he hasn't been in any trouble since he's been there."
That would be true. Williams, a ferocious high school linebacker who had been arrested 10 times before attending Miami, experienced no off-field troubles while at the university.
But after being allowed admission into the school amid controversy over the arrests and various recruiting exploits, Williams failed to deliver on the field. He made 17 tackles last season, mostly as a backup to Beason, a year after missing a season because of a torn ligament in his right knee. Those struggles made Williams decide to ask out of his scholarship.
Despite his prowess -- Beason said Williams may have had more potential than any player in the school's history -- Williams will not be welcomed back warmly on the off chance he tries to return.
"As far as gelling, guys coming together, playing for one another, the love, the family, it's not going to help us because it's going to be a big step back," Beason said. "There won't ever be a point where we say, 'Hey, Willie, it's okay, man. You're a part of the team now. We can chill.' "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/23/AR2006072300792.html