Thursday, October 11, 2007

More on the Austin Scott case

Demetrius Jones and Jim Harbaugh aren't the only ones creating drama in college football these days. College football has found a new drama queen in Penn State tailback Austin Scott.

Scott, the hot-tempered, butter-fingered running back, was reportedly kicked off the team just prior to the Penn State-Iowa game in Happy Valley ... or was he? Rumors swirled at tailgates the morning of the game. Many, including a few media outlets, said Scott was booted by Joe Paterno, but I find that hard to believe if Paterno's giving us game-by-game status reports on if Scott will be playing or not. Scott is actually still on the roster, officially listed as the third-string running back. But all we know right now is that Austin Scott broke a team rule and is now paying the price ... somehow.

Rumors also ran rampant about what rule Scott broke. The Daily Collegian, Penn State's campus newspaper, ran the Scott suspension story concurrently with a story about a reported rape in the vicinity of on-campus apartments. Discerning tailgaters put two and two together and bam -- Austin Scott raped somebody at the apartments. At least, that was the talk. One of the program vendors even went so far to announce that Scott was being arraigned that Saturday afternoon on statutory rape charges. However, since the Iowa game, there been no charges nor any arraignment.

So what happened? Well, let's consult this article in the Daily Collegian for more details. Scott is apparently scouting out some attorneys.

Attorney Joseph Amendola said he has not been officially retained as Scott's lawyer. Though, he added, after speaking with Scott's family friends, he also spoke with the player himself, but only to "say hello and introduce myself."

Say hello and introduce himself? Isn't that what new neighbors do? Did he bring a jello mold? I find it hard to believe this guy won't be Austin Scott's attorney. But I digress. The point of this whole dissertation is listed later in the article.
Amendola said he was told by family friends that the team's coaching staff says the 22-year-old broke team policy by visiting a bar last Thursday night, fewer than 48 hours before the Iowa game. Instead, they argue Scott only went to the bar briefly to pick up a female friend, he said.

So, okay, maybe he didn't rape anybody. But hey, he broke a rule and JoePa rules with an iron fist. Now if only Lloyd Carr would implement some discipline at Michigan, maybe they wouldn't have lost to App State. (Either that, or implement a defense that can handle the spread, but I'm digressing again.)

Even more confusing is the following...
The family friends were concerned about Scott's suspension from the team, Amendola said, but he did not elaborate on why Scott would contact a criminal attorney for team curfew violations.

"As anyone that's potentially a suspect in a criminal case, they talk to attorneys," he said. "At this point, I have not been retained."

Scott is not facing criminal charges. Amendola said he spoke with the Centre County District Attorney's office yesterday and was told that no plans have been made to take action against Scott.

It is slightly curious as to why he's calling up a criminal attorney when all he did was "go to a bar after curfew."

Methinks, much like the Demetrius Jones saga, we'll hear much more about this in the coming days and weeks.

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