Any update on Mbakwe?

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howeda7

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Don't they have to decide whether to let him enroll soon? I am not a student, so I wasn't sure when classes started, but he needs to enroll for Fall Semester if he's going to play during the non-conference does he not?
 

I'm still really puzzled by Maturi's comments regarding enrollment. IN this country, you are innocent until proven guilty. He has not been proven guilty, so he is still at least technically innocent. On what basis can a public institution refuse to enroll an innocent person?

I do understand the logic under which he could be suspended from the team.
 

Jim V2 said:
I'm still really puzzled by Maturi's comments regarding enrollment. IN this country, you are innocent until proven guilty. He has not been proven guilty, so he is still at least technically innocent. On what basis can a public institution refuse to enroll an innocent person?

I do understand the logic under which he could be suspended from the team.
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I think the Enroll Or Not decision is based upon the academic results, not the alleged crime.
 

Actually, I know the accept or don't accept will consider the fact that he faces felony charges.

If he wasn't accused of a crime, there wouldn't be much to worry about here.
 

anonymous said:
Actually, I know the accept or don't accept will consider the fact that he faces felony charges.

If he wasn't accused of a crime, there wouldn't be much to worry about here.
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Maybe so but that will have more impact on his playing status than whether he can enroll as a student or not.
 


Friend Of Tubby said:
Maybe so but that will have more impact on his playing status than whether he can enroll as a student or not.
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How so? If he can't enroll, he can't play (period). He possibly could enroll but not play.
 

Trevor IS enrolled in school, according to Marcus:

Minnesota Gophers recruit Trevor Mbakwe enrolled at school
By Marcus R. Fuller
[email protected]
Updated: 09/04/2009 01:32:59 PM CDT


Highly rated junior college recruit Trevor Mbakwe is enrolled for the fall semester at the University of Minnesota, according to the Gophers.

Mbakwe, who was charged with felony battery after an incident April 3 in Miami that allegedly involved punching a woman, now faces a possible suspension from the team by Gophers athletics director Joel Maturi when school begins on Sept. 8.

Maturi responded by e-mail today to a question on whether he made a decision on Mbakwe saying, "I have not."

The charge against Mbakwe violates the school's student-athlete code of conduct, but Maturi said last month that he could possibly let Mbakwe play this season. Mbakwe's attorney Gregory Samms said he would try to delay his client's court date until after the 2009-10 basketball season.

"I might be able to say, you know what, we believe that's OK to keep practicing from Day One and play from Day One," Maturi told the Pioneer Press on August 21. "I don't know what the decision will be. My guess is I'll know that decision to some extent Sept. 8, if nothing is going to be solved legally until after the season."

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Mbakwe, who was an All-American at Miami Dade College last season, is projected as a starting power forward for the basketball team.

Go Gophers!!
 

Myron has an update. Sounds like he's enrolled and Maturi will decide if he can play during the interim by Tuesday. I have to think they'll let him play. Why bother letting him enroll if you're not going to let him play until the trial is over? It's not even scheduled until December and likely won't conclude much before 2nd semester begins. Given his academic past, asking him to enroll and attend class while having nothing to do with the team sounds like a bad mix?

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/57...EyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUgOy9cP3DieyckcUsI

Edit: Bleed beat me too it with the report from the other side of the river.
 

Howeda,

The thing about this situation is that the people who granted him admission and the people who will determine whether he can play are totally different groups.

The group that let him in are admission and student affairs people. In this group, Trevor is a potential student who is facing legal challenges. Just like non-athlete student who may have had a scrape with the law.

The group that will determine whether he can play will be Maturi and who knows who else. He will have to weigh whether it is worth it to lift the automatic suspension. I don't know whether that will happen or not.

My point is that just because he was allowed into school and can be a student doesn't mean that he automatically will be able to play. Two different groups.
 



anonymous said:
Howeda,

The thing about this situation is that the people who granted him admission and the people who will determine whether he can play are totally different groups.

The group that let him in are admission and student affairs people. In this group, Trevor is a potential student who is facing legal challenges. Just like non-athlete student who may have had a scrape with the law.

The group that will determine whether he can play will be Maturi and who knows who else. He will have to weigh whether it is worth it to lift the automatic suspension. I don't know whether that will happen or not.

My point is that just because he was allowed into school and can be a student doesn't mean that he automatically will be able to play. Two different groups.
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Good point. And I'm sure the U has the same issue most do about one hand not talking to the other. But I would think that in reality Maturi has made his mind up about what he's going to do (nothing has changed in the last 3-4 weeks and nothing will change between now and Tuesday.)

If he's decided he's not going to let him play, I would think he would have quietly told him so, so that he doesn't even bother enrolling if he doesn't want to simply be a student. Best-case scenario he wouldn't be eligbile until the winter semester anyway and would probably prefer to wait to enroll? If his lawyer does delay this completely until after the season and Maturi's not going to let him play, then he probably wouldn't want to enroll at all. I guess nothing is official until Tuesday anyway, but if Maturi really is sitting there saying 'I don't know yet' that is kind of ridiculous.
 

howeda7 said:
Myron has an update. Sounds like he's enrolled and Maturi will decide if he can play during the interim by Tuesday. I have to think they'll let him play. Why bother letting him enroll if you're not going to let him play until the trial is over? It's not even scheduled until December and likely won't conclude much before 2nd semester begins. Given his academic past, asking him to enroll and attend class while having nothing to do with the team sounds like a bad mix?

http://www.startribune.com/blogs/57...EyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUgOy9cP3DieyckcUsI

Edit: Bleed beat me too it with the report from the other side of the river.
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I have no idea what they'll do but allowing him to enroll allows him to do workouts and practice (October 15).
 

Normally, the player is suspended while serious charges like this are unfolding. It usually involves the player working out the best deal he/she can with the prosecutor. However, in this case, there seems to be very real doubt about the charges including but not limited to the veracity of the accuser (among other things, her initial description closely following the incident doesn't describe Mbakwe closely at all). Also, rather than working out a deal, guilt has been totally denied by the athlete.

Given these circumstances, I believe the AD should not presume guilt unless he knows something we don't.
 

In cases like this, it's pretty widely accepted that the longer you push back the court date, the better for the defendant.

Memories tend to get fuzzier, people lose interest or are harder to track down, etc.

Long as Trevor keeps track of the people supplying him with an alibi and can get them into court when the time comes, from a legal perspective, he's in better shape.

Hopefully that doesn't interfere too much with his basketball
 



Tubby believes Trevor is innocent and he should be allowed to play until somebody provides any kind of evidence that it looks like Trevor may have done this, so far it's just the shaky identification. I truly believe that if Tubby thought Trevor might be guilty, he would just suspend Trevor himself or cut him loose. Maturi will have to take that under consideration in his decision and the possible implications of really upsetting Tubby if he suspends him and nothing comes of the case. Part of an AD's job is dealing with high profile coaches and maturi better be careful how he handles this.
 

JohnnyGopher said:
Tubby believes Trevor is innocent and he should be allowed to play until somebody provides any kind of evidence that it looks like Trevor may have done this, so far it's just the shaky identification. I truly believe that if Tubby thought Trevor might be guilty, he would just suspend Trevor himself or cut him loose. Maturi will have to take that under consideration in his decision and the possible implications of really upsetting Tubby if he suspends him and nothing comes of the case. Part of an AD's job is dealing with high profile coaches and maturi better be careful how he handles this.
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Johnny, I said the same thing while back and got blasted on here. And Tubby is not like most college coaches who are just sleeze balls and will play a murderer if it means a win. Tubby holds his reputation high and his players are typically A+ guys. If Tubby thinks Trevor is okay and thinks he should play, Maturi would be advised to let him play. If he crosses Tubby on this one, and that is his right as an AD, he may have to deal with the repercussions at the end of the season and he'll have to see if that's really worth it. But Maturi is a smart man, so I think he'll let Trevor play.
 

KyGopherfan said:
Johnny, I said the same thing while back and got blasted on here. And Tubby is not like most college coaches who are just sleeze balls and will play a murderer if it means a win. Tubby holds his reputation high and his players are typically A+ guys. If Tubby thinks Trevor is okay and thinks he should play, Maturi would be advised to let him play. If he crosses Tubby on this one, and that is his right as an AD, he may have to deal with the repercussions at the end of the season and he'll have to see if that's really worth it. But Maturi is a smart man, so I think he'll let Trevor play.
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I think Tubby and Joel are cut from the same cloth and on the same page on this.

I don't KNOW but I think that.
 


I think he plays

At this point, all there is, is an alleged victim with a questionable case...Seems to me he will practice with the team and the charges will be delayed until after the season is over if not dropped.
 

My opinion is that Joel's biggest dilemma is going to be about what the fallout inside the department will be if he lifts the suspension on Trevor.

Will he have other coaches mad because Joel wouldn't do the same for their players? Will it then set a precedent for when the next time an athlete on another team gets charged that they can play?

I don't have any idea what he is going to do, but there are several layers to consider with this.
 

anonymous said:
My opinion is that Joel's biggest dilemma is going to be about what the fallout inside the department will be if he lifts the suspension on Trevor.

Will he have other coaches mad because Joel wouldn't do the same for their players? Will it then set a precedent for when the next time an athlete on another team gets charged that they can play?

I don't have any idea what he is going to do, but there are several layers to consider with this.
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If Gophers thought he was guilty, he'd be gone by now.
 

Actually, I don't think Tubby and Joel are cut from the same cloth. Tubby has much more strength of character while Joel attempts to have his finger to the winds, yet usually fails. Therefore, who knows how this will play out.
 

Moonlight said:
Actually, I don't think Tubby and Joel are cut from the same cloth. Tubby has much more strength of character while Joel attempts to have his finger to the winds, yet usually fails. Therefore, who knows how this will play out.
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Your assessment seems a bit harsh. I think it is fair game to question Joel's management skills, etc. But, when it comes to character and integrity, I'd stack his up against anyone's, including Tubby's. And, I'm a huge Tubby fan.
 

Moonlight said:
Actually, I don't think Tubby and Joel are cut from the same cloth. Tubby has much more strength of character while Joel attempts to have his finger to the winds, yet usually fails. Therefore, who knows how this will play out.
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Well, how about this? I think TS and JM are On The Same Page in their thinking on Mbakwe.

I think Joel Maturi has great strength of character, just like Tubby.
 

"My opinion is that Joel's biggest dilemma is going to be about what the fallout inside the department will be if he lifts the suspension on Trevor.

Will he have other coaches mad because Joel wouldn't do the same for their players? Will it then set a precedent for when the next time an athlete on another team gets charged that they can play?

I don't have any idea what he is going to do, but there are several layers to consider with this."


I don't think lifting the automatic suspension in this case is likely to create a difficult precendent. The evidence of likely innocence is unusally strong, which makes it easily distinguishable from most. If Maturi is reasonably confident of his innocence, after due inquiry, I think it would be a miscarriage of justice not to let him play.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
If Gophers thought he was guilty, he'd be gone by now.
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Which has nothing to do with his true guilt or not. I take no more assurance of his guilt in the end by what Tubby and Maturi think than what most of you think. I don't know either party, so I'll be 50-50 until he's convicted or found innocent.
 

..."convicted or found innocent"

...innocent or found guilty.
 

I echo what some others here have said. Our our main concern should be that Joel and Tubby -- in my opinion both men of high character -- are on the same page on this issue. If they're not, then we should be a lot more concerned about losing Tubby in the near future.

However, I also believe this. ... the absolute worst scenario for the Gopher basketball program would be that Trevor is allowed to play this season, then he's convicted (or admits guilt to a lesser charge) after the season is over. That's the kind of a stain we don't need, especially in light of our past transgressions.
 


SelectionSunday said:
I echo what some others here have said. Our our main concern should be that Joel and Tubby -- in my opinion both men of high character -- are on the same page on this issue. If they're not, then we should be a lot more concerned about losing Tubby in the near future.

However, I also believe this. ... the absolute worst scenario for the Gopher basketball program would be that Trevor is allowed to play this season, then he's convicted (or admits guilt to a lesser charge) after the season is over. That's the kind of a stain we don't need, especially in light of our past transgressions.
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No, the worst case scenario is the U forcing Mbakwe to sit out the year and then finding that he was not guilty. The issue of Due Process in collegiate athletics has been percolating for a long time. For many years, courts found that athletes have little or no right in that regard, but the tide seems to be changing.

In a case like this, how can you force a guy to sit out the year, possibly irreversibly damaging his future employment prospects, when no court has found him guilty, there is evidence that he's not guilty, and he says he's not guilty?

To me, there's little "stain" in allowing him to play while the legal process plays out. Now if he's found guilty and then appeals, that's another story.
 

Wandering,

I get your point, but my sticking point is that no student has the right to play college sports. It is a privilege.
 

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