Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/75050
"B Time For A Firm Hand From Brian Kelly UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE But what junior quarter- back Tommy Rees did on the night of May 3 blew up any conventional definition of bad choices, and now Rees and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly find them- selves in a very difficult situ- ation. oys will be boys" is an old say- ing heard often when good young men make bad life decisions. The charges levied against Rees have been all over the news since his arrest. His misdemeanor under- age drinking charge can be forgiven. College students sneaking a couple of beers at a party before they turn 21 is certainly nothing new. But numerous and seri- ous Class A misdemeanor charges alleging Rees re- sisted arrest, kneed a police officer in the chest and needed to be pepper sprayed to be restrained can't be casually dismissed by Kelly just for the sake of help- ing his quarterback situation. So far, not much has come from the head coach regarding Rees, other than a couple of general statements released by the univer- sity media relations department on Kelly's behalf. Kelly is rightfully reserving public comment and potential punishment until the legal process and a disciplinary hearing for Rees with Residence Life run their course. But be sure, this troubling pattern of boys being boys has to be dealt with seri- ously. Three alcohol-related arrests within the football program in the last month are just the latest additions to a pattern of Irish football players having legal run-ins since Kelly's arrival. Kelly needs to send a message that the troubling pattern of alcohol-related arrests will no longer be tolerated within his program. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND dent-athletes routinely suffered suspensions for even a first-time offense. wide receiver Michael Floyd picked up a drunk driving arrest on campus — his third alcohol-related arrest — Floyd's lack of punish- ment fueled the Kelly critics because the decision kept Notre Dame's best player on the field when other stu- Just last season, when star Floyd's story and Kelly's decision to start his playmaker in every game last year had a happy ending. Floyd set receiving records on the field, he pulled a 3.2 GPA in the class- room, he graduated on time and he became a first-round NFL Draft choice of the Arizona JUNE/JULY 2012 5