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According the WNDU, eight Notre Dame football players were among 43 students arrested Friday night after police were called with complaints about an off-campus party. It’s not clear if everyone was arrested for underage drinking, but at this time there aren’t any reports of arrests for anything else.
The WNDU report listed Nate Montana, Lorenzo Wood, Chris Watt, Roby Toma, Nick Tausch, TJ Jones, Steve Filer, and Tate Nichols as the football players who were arrested. Tim Abromaitis and Erick Atkins from the men’s hoops team and incoming freshman Steven Summerhays of the hockey team were also among the 43 arrested.
Head coach Brian Kelly issued a statement Saturday saying, “I am aware of the situation and am collecting more facts. If there is any team-related discipline to be issued it would be handled internally.”
As long as all of the players arrested were only charged for underage drinking and it was their first offense, precedence suggests that suspensions won’t be enforced by the University. How Kelly decides to handle the situation isn’t clear. He will no doubt be more than a little upset that he has to deal with a situation like this so close to the start of training camp though.
This isn’t the first time Notre Dame players have been arrested when the Indiana Excise police have been called to an off-campus party. Two years ago you may remember reports of the Excise police surrounding a house and arresting all of those attending the party. Will Yeatman and Mike Golic Jr were the two football players arrested during that incident. Yeatman ended up being suspended for the rest of the seasons and he subsequently transferred as a result. That, however, was Yeatman’s second offense.
We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out, but baring any new developments, it doesn’t look like this is something that will cause too much of an impact on the field.
I hate to see ND make headlines in this sort of manner.(underage drinking)
Thank God for USC.
Give that program a couple of days and they will do something….
(like Kiffin going behind Jeff Fisher’s back in stealling away his runningback’s coach)
….. That puts this drinking story on the back page!
The bigger issue here may be are these players really buying into what Kelly is talking about i.e being responsible on and off the field? Having some beers is one thing – letting it get out of control is another. Knowing this can be a natural progression when drinking is a no brainer….not a good start here with this avoidable off season distraction.
I hear ya. I really do. Although I’m not sure I’d compare the average military-trained 19 year old to the average 19 year old civilian- the levels and types of responsibilities are just so different. But I’m familiar with the argument…
I just wanted to hopefully provide some balance to the discussion. It seemed that some here were basically painting NDs players as “victims” of the police or victims of an unjust “system” etc. And I think that is BS, in this case anyway. These kids have phenomenal opporunities and need to have the situational awareness that will allow them to make good decisions. It’s part of the sacrifice. Did I drink and party in college sometimes? Sure. And I’m not saying that ND players/students shouldn’t have some fun in college and down some beers. But there was a line and I certainly wouldn’t have thought of myself as a “victim of fascism” if I got my peepee stepped on by the cops.
Also, I think we as ND faithful should try hard to avoid hypocrisy. I see these comments making excuses for these ND players etc., but I bet those excuses would not be forthcoming if they were USC players who were caught drinking! Then it would be to the tune of: “Typical USC cheating, pampered babies etc. Throw them in jail where they belong etc. etc.”
ND should hold itself to higher standards, period. And I abhor turning people into victims. These kids got caught and take their punishment like men. Then get back to work. Sometimes cops will cut you a break. Sometimes they won’t. But because you play for ND doesn’t make you above any law, no matter how stupid we may think that law is. My 2 cents anyway…
Hello Shazam! Good to be back. I think your observations about drinking laws are perfectly logical. And it’s a good argument. My point in my last post was, as it pertains to ND players getting caught for underage drinking, the argument is irrelevant. We can talk all day about what we think the law should be etc., but for now it is what it is. And the players know full well what the laws are and what their team rules are. So, for me, the discussion of “legal drinking age” vs. “ND players get arrested for underage drinking” are 2 separate discussions. Know what I’m sayin’?
Either way, I am just glad to be back on the boards and looking forward to September!
I hear what you are saying.
What I find bothersome is that it was just a couple of months ago these same players lost one of their own to an accedent related to underage drinking.
It’s obvious that no matter what lessons are out there to be learned from, alcohol related issues will always be a problem on our college campus’s.
My view was that if a 19yr old can be taught how to responcibily handle himself in the military. Which includes handling his weapons the enemy, and himself, while making life saving decisions on the battle field. Perhaps there is a chance that these same 19yr olds can be taught the dangers of drugs and alcohol before something terrible happends to them or their friends.
We all know what every recruit knows when he signs up at the University of ND
That more is exspected of you, and you are held to a higher standard. Yet the influence of drugs and alcohol still permeates our campus.
Do we say that it is just a fact of life. Or do we acknowledge that have we may have short-changed our youth in some way?
That as teachers and students of responciable behavior, we both can do better?
“The right wing of our society is out of control.” What in the hell are you talking about? And you are throwing around the word “fascist” alot, which cheapens the word greatly. That comparison is tired and stale.
Look, I am basically a conservative libertarian-leaning individual. I drank in college (as a D1 athlete) as much as the next kid. But to somehow spin this situation into: Right wing imposes draconian, zero-tolerance policy drinking laws, therefore we are experiencing fascism… well that is an absurd conclusion. It is Glenn Beckish behavior, making leaping jumps to a conclusion based upon emotion and ignorance.
I have no idea what the SB police dept. is like or what their motives are. But I can tell you this: When you are a college athlete you have to be “smarter” than the average student. Not in the classroom, but during your extracurriculars. These players know the rules and know the laws. It’s nobody’s fault but their own. When you wear the team jacket, what you do affects team, period. As my coach used to say: When in doubt, don’t.
In my opinion, that’s what this discussion is about.
JDH,
It’s great to have you back and your “down to earth” perspectives as well.
Under-age drinking has always been a double edge issue in this country(mainly among young males)
Our military is full of 19 and 20 yr olds whom are deemed responciable enough to utilize a full loaded M-16 semi-automatic weapon. Or carry hand grenades, or operate equipment worth hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars.
They accept the dangers of an enemy who does not engage by the rules. An enemy that uses suicide, woman and children, snipers and roadside bombs.
Our young men accept all these things and more, all in an attempt to keep our country safe and free. This is the same country that refuses to trust them with the consumption of alcohol.
Yes, these young men are extensivley taught and highly trained.
Maybe that’s whats missing when it comes to drugs and alcohol in this country?
Teaching our own about the responcibilities that comes with the freedom to consume alcohol.
Seems like now a days, when they turn 19, we just turn them loose and hope for the best.
I currently have 11 years of military service under my belt (only 9 more to go!) and I can tell you all one thing. I’d rather face an enemy that uses roadside bombs and suicide than walk into a bar of younger marines that have been drinking all night! lol
I couldn’t even describe how terrifying these kids are when they realize that there aren’t any girls left to talk to… they go absolutely crazy. If they can’t find anyone to fight…they’ll fight each other! lol
Sure not all of them are like that but it’s certainly one of the reason’s the brass try’s to keep these kids from drinking themselves into a feeding frenzy.
Granted they’re warriors and I don’t expect them to be angles. However, like the Notre Dame Student Athletes, I, expect them to present themselves as professionals and not bring shame to their service by breaking laws. They have every right to enjoy their free time how they choose to do so, but if ya get caught breaking the law expect to get punished SEVERELY!
what college kids drinking underage.what has this country come to.lol. give me a break.Where I came from the cops would just tell us to find somebody to drive us home and leave.Maybe the cops are trying to set a precident. Sounded like a pretty good party wish I was invited.lol.
Same thing happened last year.
We lost two tight ends. One was suspended for a second offence, and the other transfred.
Seems the police in South Bend like to come down hard on any college student for just about anything.
This is getting to be common knowledge.
We started our year with one of our top recruits falling off a balcony to his death.
Then Mike Ragone, now this.
It’s time to wake up fella’s.
This team has a chance to have a special year.
Lets knock off the foolishness and get down to business!
I agree with a lot of what Tom S. said. What happened to telling everyone to clear out “immediately” or else…… That is what should be happening at these college parties, especially for first time offenders. No need for a college party, in the summertime mind you, to make national headlines.
This is horrible news! I hate to hear of young men getting arrested for underage drinking. However, these young men are in South Bend to get a world class education and they have the God given talent to be able to play football for the most storied program in history. They, along with every other member of the team, need to understand the impact that the off-field activities can and will impact game day. Chris Watt and Nick Tausch are the guys from the list that upsets me the most (Filer and Wood to some degree). These guys will be needed every game starting with PU.
I have to wonder what has happened to our country and my hometown in particular. There is no doubt that underage drinking can be a problem, but so can legal age drinking. What’s the real added value in arresting everyone at an underage drinking party? What abominable things were going on in this party? Are the neighbors now saved from those horrible college kids? Are these students really better off now? What lessons do you think these kids have learned. (They may say all the things that they think those in charge want to hear, especially the athletes, but I guarantee that most of them are privately thinking ‘bunch of fascists!’.)
The right wing of our society is out of control. The zero tolerance rules currently prevalent in the USA, sound like a good idea to a frightened populous. It’s a dangerous world and people are scared: “We need to scare some sense into these people! We need to control them.”
The reality is that it’s hard to scare sense into people, especially when they think that the punishment is a totally unreasonable response to their actions. Worse than that, using inflexible rules to subjugate the more free spirited members in our community IS fascist. The USA has by far the highest % of their population in prison, (for a developed country). No other developed country even comes close. Does anyone really think we are rehabilitating more than a small percentage of the prisoners? especially the thousands of non-dealing pot smokers? Is our society really better off? Prisons are mostly crime schools. To disable potentially productive members of society with a criminal label for petty offenses is the real crime here. Hopefully, the kids involved here won’t have any long term repercussion from this fiasco, but I bet some do.
I got my MBA at ND, but I also grew up in South Bend and I know it very well. I’ve lived in NYC recently and I can tell you that NYC overall feels safer; (& crime statistics back that up completely). I love South Bend, but it has a great deal of problems and underage drinking by ND students really shouldn’t be very high on that list.
Can’t the cops just give warnings anymore? Tell everyone to clear out in 15 minutes or go to jail. That seems more in line with the world I want to live in.
Tom,
I’m sorry but I have to disagree, according to the report, the reason the cops responded was because a fight had broken lose. Maybe you enjoy loud parites and people losing there God given ability to reason, and then start fights, but the families with children who are around these families do what’s right to protect themselves by calling the cops. Everyone says underage drinking isn’t a big deal, why do we think these teenagers are so capable to handle themselves while drinking, cause they show time and time again they can’t. This life isn’t just about fun, its also about responsibility and we all have a responsibility to provide a good life for ourselves and those around us, because every decision we make affects the people around us. Just my two cents.
Didn’t we just recently and tragically lose a young, promising recruit to under-age drinking?
This definitely isn’t something we need right now right before the season. I hope there aren’t any suspensions. On one hand I fault the players for putting themselves in a position to get caught. On the other hand, college kids will be college kids and drinking underage is very common when you go to college. I’m not saying it is right, but I hope the University doesn’t crack down on them too hard where it will make them want to transfer to another college where they can have their “fun” without such strict punishments.