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COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Cook's arrest forces FSU to confront its perception; Punt, Pass & Pork
BY ANDY STAPLES
Posted: Sun Jul. 12, 2015 9:45PM
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Photo: Cal Sport Media via AP
Good Morning America spent two minutes, 28 seconds discussing Florida State football on Saturday morning. That may not sound like much, but it's an eternity in television news. The venue matters, too. This wasn't SportsCenter. This was GMA*, where those whose world doesn't revolve around sports—a far larger population—gather in the mornings.
It would be one thing if those 148 seconds were spent discussing the Seminoles' success on the field or their ability to prepare players for the NFL. But the story was about a second Florida State player in a month being charged with battery because he was accused of punching a woman. Freshman quarterback De’Andre Johnson was booted last week after video of him punching a fellow bar customer was released. On Friday, star tailback Dalvin Cook turned himself into the Leon County jail after being charged with a similar crime. A woman accused Cook of punching her the night before Johnson's incident took place, and state attorney Willie Meggs decided on Friday to charge Cook.
To those non-sports fans watching who don't care how many games the Seminoles have won, who don't know other schools have had players do the same thing—and some have stayed on the team, cough, cough Oklahoma—who don't know Tallahassee from Tallapoosa, all they see is FLORIDA STATE BAD. Combine that with continuing negative coverage from the rape accusation involving former quarterback Jameis Winston and fellow student Erica Kinsman, and that is a huge problem for Florida State president John Thrasher. Thrasher must deal with regents sick of seeing negative headlines. He must deal with parents of prospective students who might see this and fear the environment at his school. He must deal with legislators always looking for a reason to slash a budget. And because Thrasher is coach Jimbo Fisher's boss, this is now a huge problem for Fisher as well.
*Going forward, there will be more sports on GMA because of a Disney directive to cross-pollinate between properties ABC and ESPN, but unfortunately for Florida State, that fact doesn't mitigate the effect on a perception Thrasher and Fisher must work to change.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Branding in college football: Identity goes beyond uniforms, logos
by Andy Staples
It doesn't matter that most of Florida State's players behave. Thrasher and Fisher can scream that from the top of Florida's capitol building. Even though it's true, no one would listen. The perception isn't going away. Thrasher and Fisher seem to recognize that now. Their statements Friday evening after Cook was charged and indefinitely suspended suggested as much.
“I have asked Coach Fisher and Athletics Director Stan Wilcox to develop a plan to help our student-athletes understand the consequences of these kinds of actions,” Thrasher said in his statement. “This will include Coach Fisher meeting immediately with his team to reiterate, in no uncertain terms, our expectations of them. I also plan to meet with the team, and we will be asking professionals who deal with these matters, including State Attorney Willie Meggs, to speak with them.”
“Florida State is a great university,” Fisher said in his statement. “Our fans and supporters deserve better than to hear of actions that are not consistent with the school’s proud history and national stature.
“We will do better. I will not tolerate anything less.”
Fisher now has the chance to back up that statement by sending a message to his players. Dismissing Johnson was a no-brainer. The freshman from Jacksonville was caught on video, and he had the misfortune of being one of five scholarship quarterbacks. Simple probability suggests he was headed for a position change or transfer anyway. Cook, a sophomore from Miami, is another story entirely.
Without Cook, the Seminoles might not have won the ACC title in 2014. They almost certainly wouldn't have made the first College Football Playoff. Cook’s freshman numbers (170 carries, 1,008 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns) were excellent, but his value goes beyond that. When the Seminoles were most in danger of losing in the regular season, they leaned on Cook the most—and he bailed them out. When Florida State trailed in its first 13 games, Cook carried 36 times for 344 yards (9.6 per carry), ran for six touchdowns and had 13 runs of at least 10 yards and six runs of at least 20. For a program that has had 29 players drafted the past three seasons and an offense replacing its quarterback and four starting offensive linemen, Cook was one of a few sure things on the field for 2015.
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
But Cook is accused of the same thing Johnson did. It was Thrasher, after Johnson was dismissed, who said this in a statement: “I expect all students at Florida State University, including student-athletes, to adhere to the highest level of conduct. I have no tolerance for the kind of behavior exhibited in this case.” So the university president’s position on the subject is clear. If the accusation against Cook is proven true, Fisher can't hesitate to dispense the same justice, lest he make his boss a hypocrite. But there is no video. So there will be no instant uproar that follows the release of such a visual. In that case, a school or a pro sports league has no choice from a public relations standpoint. Fisher will have to think about this one. The decision might not get made for him.
And Fisher absolutely should give Cook the chance to prove the allegation untrue. The probable cause affidavit suggests Cook's attorney will have plenty with which to work. The lone witness who wasn't affiliated with either Cook or the woman couldn't identify Cook in a photo lineup, and the Tallahassee police officer on the scene reported that the accuser was difficult to understand because she was so intoxicated. An acquittal is not outside the realm of possibility. But if Cook accepts a plea deal or gets convicted, Fisher's choice should be obvious—especially considering Cook's past history.
"Past history," for these purposes, does not refer to Cook’s juvenile record. Those cases look bad—a robbery charge and a firearm on school grounds charge—but they also were dropped. And for those who would criticize Florida State for taking Cook with those cases on his record, feel free to direct the same criticism at Florida, where Cook originally committed. Don’t forget Miami, with which Cook signed financial aid paperwork in the fall of 2013. Also send some to Arkansas and Texas, which welcomed Cook on official visits and certainly wanted to sign him.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Video
How much longer will coach Brian Kelly stay at Notre Dame? #DearAndy
by Andy Staples
This is Cook's third legal issue since arriving in Tallahassee last summer. He faced a criminal mischief charge last year resulting from a BB gun fight that left strangers’ car windows broken. That happened in June 2014, and Cook was charged in October after reporters from The New York Timeskept asking about the case. It is noted in the probable cause affidavit in the most recent case that Cook's involvement in the BB gun case eliminates him from consideration for any first-time offender programs.
Meanwhile, on July 25, 2014, Cook was cited for violating two aspects of Tallahassee's city ordinance involving animal care. According to a report attached to the citations, Cook had three pit bull puppies—the officer estimated one to be eight months old and two to be two months old—chained together. “The dogs were tethered directly around the neck by a heavy chain,” animal control officer Sheree Mifflin wrote. “The dogs were unable to move and the smaller puppies were choking.” (Read the full report here.) Mifflin wrote that Cook could not provide any identification, so she called a Tallahassee police officer to identify Cook. Cook was fined $275 for chaining the dogs in that manner and $275 for failing to provide shelter. According to Leon County's official records site, the cases for both citations remain open.
If Cook pleads out in the battery case or gets convicted, Fisher's choice should be easy. But it probably won't be because Cook is really, really good. Still, if Fisher and Thrasher are serious about sending a message to the other players and initiating a behavioral change that may help erase the prevailing perception, then Cook's ability can work for them. It's one thing to boot De'Andre Johnson, but every Seminoles player knows exactly how valuable Cook is to the team. Every player would think to himself, “If they'll drop him, they'll drop me."
That fear could be a far more valuable deterrent to bad behavior than a meeting with the state attorney or a ban from bars. It also might help keep the Seminoles strictly on SportsCenter and off Good Morning America.
A random ranking
My wife and I will have been married 14 years on Tuesday. Thanks to a shift in the college football calendar, we now have to celebrate a few days early because there is no way she would accompany me to the sportswriter convention/reunion that is SEC Media Days. Here are the top five traditional anniversary gifts between years one and 14.
Search
PhotosVideosMagazine
NFLNBAMLBNHLNCAAFNCAABGOLFFANTASYEDGE
MORE CATEGORIESPLANET FUTBOLSI WRITERS
© 2014 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Cook's arrest forces FSU to confront its perception; Punt, Pass & Pork
BY ANDY STAPLES
Posted: Sun Jul. 12, 2015 9:45PM
More
Photo: Cal Sport Media via AP
Good Morning America spent two minutes, 28 seconds discussing Florida State football on Saturday morning. That may not sound like much, but it's an eternity in television news. The venue matters, too. This wasn't SportsCenter. This was GMA*, where those whose world doesn't revolve around sports—a far larger population—gather in the mornings.
It would be one thing if those 148 seconds were spent discussing the Seminoles' success on the field or their ability to prepare players for the NFL. But the story was about a second Florida State player in a month being charged with battery because he was accused of punching a woman. Freshman quarterback De’Andre Johnson was booted last week after video of him punching a fellow bar customer was released. On Friday, star tailback Dalvin Cook turned himself into the Leon County jail after being charged with a similar crime. A woman accused Cook of punching her the night before Johnson's incident took place, and state attorney Willie Meggs decided on Friday to charge Cook.
To those non-sports fans watching who don't care how many games the Seminoles have won, who don't know other schools have had players do the same thing—and some have stayed on the team, cough, cough Oklahoma—who don't know Tallahassee from Tallapoosa, all they see is FLORIDA STATE BAD. Combine that with continuing negative coverage from the rape accusation involving former quarterback Jameis Winston and fellow student Erica Kinsman, and that is a huge problem for Florida State president John Thrasher. Thrasher must deal with regents sick of seeing negative headlines. He must deal with parents of prospective students who might see this and fear the environment at his school. He must deal with legislators always looking for a reason to slash a budget. And because Thrasher is coach Jimbo Fisher's boss, this is now a huge problem for Fisher as well.
*Going forward, there will be more sports on GMA because of a Disney directive to cross-pollinate between properties ABC and ESPN, but unfortunately for Florida State, that fact doesn't mitigate the effect on a perception Thrasher and Fisher must work to change.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Branding in college football: Identity goes beyond uniforms, logos
by Andy Staples
It doesn't matter that most of Florida State's players behave. Thrasher and Fisher can scream that from the top of Florida's capitol building. Even though it's true, no one would listen. The perception isn't going away. Thrasher and Fisher seem to recognize that now. Their statements Friday evening after Cook was charged and indefinitely suspended suggested as much.
“I have asked Coach Fisher and Athletics Director Stan Wilcox to develop a plan to help our student-athletes understand the consequences of these kinds of actions,” Thrasher said in his statement. “This will include Coach Fisher meeting immediately with his team to reiterate, in no uncertain terms, our expectations of them. I also plan to meet with the team, and we will be asking professionals who deal with these matters, including State Attorney Willie Meggs, to speak with them.”
“Florida State is a great university,” Fisher said in his statement. “Our fans and supporters deserve better than to hear of actions that are not consistent with the school’s proud history and national stature.
“We will do better. I will not tolerate anything less.”
Fisher now has the chance to back up that statement by sending a message to his players. Dismissing Johnson was a no-brainer. The freshman from Jacksonville was caught on video, and he had the misfortune of being one of five scholarship quarterbacks. Simple probability suggests he was headed for a position change or transfer anyway. Cook, a sophomore from Miami, is another story entirely.
Without Cook, the Seminoles might not have won the ACC title in 2014. They almost certainly wouldn't have made the first College Football Playoff. Cook’s freshman numbers (170 carries, 1,008 rushing yards, eight rushing touchdowns) were excellent, but his value goes beyond that. When the Seminoles were most in danger of losing in the regular season, they leaned on Cook the most—and he bailed them out. When Florida State trailed in its first 13 games, Cook carried 36 times for 344 yards (9.6 per carry), ran for six touchdowns and had 13 runs of at least 10 yards and six runs of at least 20. For a program that has had 29 players drafted the past three seasons and an offense replacing its quarterback and four starting offensive linemen, Cook was one of a few sure things on the field for 2015.
Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
But Cook is accused of the same thing Johnson did. It was Thrasher, after Johnson was dismissed, who said this in a statement: “I expect all students at Florida State University, including student-athletes, to adhere to the highest level of conduct. I have no tolerance for the kind of behavior exhibited in this case.” So the university president’s position on the subject is clear. If the accusation against Cook is proven true, Fisher can't hesitate to dispense the same justice, lest he make his boss a hypocrite. But there is no video. So there will be no instant uproar that follows the release of such a visual. In that case, a school or a pro sports league has no choice from a public relations standpoint. Fisher will have to think about this one. The decision might not get made for him.
And Fisher absolutely should give Cook the chance to prove the allegation untrue. The probable cause affidavit suggests Cook's attorney will have plenty with which to work. The lone witness who wasn't affiliated with either Cook or the woman couldn't identify Cook in a photo lineup, and the Tallahassee police officer on the scene reported that the accuser was difficult to understand because she was so intoxicated. An acquittal is not outside the realm of possibility. But if Cook accepts a plea deal or gets convicted, Fisher's choice should be obvious—especially considering Cook's past history.
"Past history," for these purposes, does not refer to Cook’s juvenile record. Those cases look bad—a robbery charge and a firearm on school grounds charge—but they also were dropped. And for those who would criticize Florida State for taking Cook with those cases on his record, feel free to direct the same criticism at Florida, where Cook originally committed. Don’t forget Miami, with which Cook signed financial aid paperwork in the fall of 2013. Also send some to Arkansas and Texas, which welcomed Cook on official visits and certainly wanted to sign him.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Video
How much longer will coach Brian Kelly stay at Notre Dame? #DearAndy
by Andy Staples
This is Cook's third legal issue since arriving in Tallahassee last summer. He faced a criminal mischief charge last year resulting from a BB gun fight that left strangers’ car windows broken. That happened in June 2014, and Cook was charged in October after reporters from The New York Timeskept asking about the case. It is noted in the probable cause affidavit in the most recent case that Cook's involvement in the BB gun case eliminates him from consideration for any first-time offender programs.
Meanwhile, on July 25, 2014, Cook was cited for violating two aspects of Tallahassee's city ordinance involving animal care. According to a report attached to the citations, Cook had three pit bull puppies—the officer estimated one to be eight months old and two to be two months old—chained together. “The dogs were tethered directly around the neck by a heavy chain,” animal control officer Sheree Mifflin wrote. “The dogs were unable to move and the smaller puppies were choking.” (Read the full report here.) Mifflin wrote that Cook could not provide any identification, so she called a Tallahassee police officer to identify Cook. Cook was fined $275 for chaining the dogs in that manner and $275 for failing to provide shelter. According to Leon County's official records site, the cases for both citations remain open.
If Cook pleads out in the battery case or gets convicted, Fisher's choice should be easy. But it probably won't be because Cook is really, really good. Still, if Fisher and Thrasher are serious about sending a message to the other players and initiating a behavioral change that may help erase the prevailing perception, then Cook's ability can work for them. It's one thing to boot De'Andre Johnson, but every Seminoles player knows exactly how valuable Cook is to the team. Every player would think to himself, “If they'll drop him, they'll drop me."
That fear could be a far more valuable deterrent to bad behavior than a meeting with the state attorney or a ban from bars. It also might help keep the Seminoles strictly on SportsCenter and off Good Morning America.
A random ranking
My wife and I will have been married 14 years on Tuesday. Thanks to a shift in the college football calendar, we now have to celebrate a few days early because there is no way she would accompany me to the sportswriter convention/reunion that is SEC Media Days. Here are the top five traditional anniversary gifts between years one and 14.
