A Few More Thoughts on Michael Floyd and Res Life

Many of you will find these points redundant after a weekend of thinking, reading and talking about this issue, but bear with me.

1)      The first misconception that needs to be addressed is that Michael Floyd's fate for this upcoming football season is now decided.  ResLife simply stated that he was not suspended for the fall semester, a punishment in line with what du Lac says should be the result for a DUI offense and the same one given to Will Yeatman (before his second offense while on academic probation).  Floyd must still deal with all legal proceedings, and after that, meet all of the goals set up by Brian Kelly.  Not getting kicked out for the semester was a great first step, but anyone who assumes that Floyd will automatically be suited up for South Florida is mistaken.

2)      I think there is a key difference between a relaxation of standards and simply reevaluating how you want to deal with student offenses.  Res Life under Bill Kirk was an abomination, a council with no regards for handing out fair punishments or treating students like people.  Starting with the Mike Ragone weed possession last summer (and Kirk being replaced), Res Life has been a kinder, gentler and more sane place.  And again, if you go to the handbook (page 114) and look at what a student is supposed to get for their first DUI offense, Floyd's punishment isn't lax at all: It's exactly what you're supposed to receive.

3)      I don't like the lumping of Floyd's two prior alcohol-related incidents, both underage drinking, in with a DUI.  Driving under the influence is an incredibly dangerous, stupid and potentially deadly thing.  Underage drinking is roughly the opposite of that, an offense that many of us have committed literally hundreds of times before turning out no worse for wear.  If you want to say it's an established pattern of behavior for Floyd, I'm not sure I buy that, either, as it seems like he was a college student who drank (for shame!) and got caught, then did something incredibly stupid that he needs punished for (DUI).  I'm sure by the time this reaches rival message boards, this will be Floyd's third DUI, which is just another reason to ignore them because...

4)      However you feel Michael Floyd should be punished, I hope you are not factoring in what other people will think of Notre Dame when you make that assessment.  The goal posts will always be moving.  If you think that suspending Floyd for the whole season in an attempt to be some shining city on a hill will work, the response across rival fan bases will be as follows: "Oh, of course they'll suspend Floyd, but it's only to make up for the fact that they let rapists on their team and have a racist, alcoholic coach who has never shown remorse for killing a student manager.  I used to respect Notre Dame, but no longer."  Never mind that there are at least a half dozen lies in statements, that's what is going to be written.  It's annoying, but it is what it is.  Screw everyone else.  As long as you feel like Notre Dame is doing the right thing for Notre Dame and the Irish family, who cares what anyone else thinks.  Haters gonna hate.

5)      The South Bend Tribune's Tom Noies could not stop referencing Kyle McAlarney over the last few days, as if Floyd should have been kicked out of school because of a terrible decision made by Kirk's Res Life in 2007.  This seems unnecessary, because I thought we all were in agreement that K-Mac got totally and completely screwed over, and that he showed a lot more class than most of us would have by coming back to the school that kicked him to the curb for a very minor offense.  Brian Hamilton actually got in touch with K-Mac, who was very supportive of Floyd. 

6)      No one from Res Life is going to come out and say "Hey former students who got screwed over by the people who used to run things here: We're really sorry.  They were dicks and we're going to handle things in a much fairer way now.  You got raw deals and we'd like to publicly apologize for them."  Sorry, administration changes don't usually work like that.

7)      I think Floyd needs a one-game suspension.  I don't buy that him missing spring practice is a big deal, and would certainly scoff if Lane Kiffin tried to sell me that as a fair punishment for an equal crime in Troy.  But one game, plus the spring practice, the loss of captaincy, the public shaming, the counseling programs, the community service, loss of license, a semester of probation and the court fees?  That seems more than fair to me, and it would be equal to or greater than the penalties assessed by most schools over the last few years.   

8)      I tweeted this over the weekend, but I really liked Eric Hansen's story on this.  Definitely worth reading.

9)      There is little doubt in my mind that if Floyd looks the wrong way at a police horse between now and the end of next season, he will be gone.  I'm sure he understands this, and that would be the right thing to do considering the very fine line he is hanging by.  I also have little doubt that as long as Floyd is the model citizen a whole bunch of people are expecting him to be, he'll be back in an Irish uniform dominating midget defensive backs this fall.  This is all on him, but he is in an ideal support system to get him through these next few months without misstep.