sportsline
Shalala: Players made horrible mistake; won't lose scholarships
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Shaking her fist for emphasis,
Miami president Donna Shalala said Tuesday that sanctions levied against 13 players for their role in a sideline-clearing brawl were fair, justified and strong enough to satisfy the university.
All that, though, came with one big caveat: Miami athletes simply can never fight again, she said.
"This university will be firm and punish people who do bad things," Shalala said. "But we will not throw any student under the bus for instant restoration of our image or our reputation. I will not hang them in a public square. I will not eliminate their participation at the university. I will not take away their scholarships."
Miami officials have enacted a new rule that any athlete who fights will be dismissed from that team, a "new standard ... zero tolerance" policy. That, along with 12 one-game suspensions, one indefinite suspension and orders that all players involved in Saturday night's brawl with
Florida International do community service, is sufficient punishment, Shalala said.
Miami prez Donna Shalala: 'We will not throw anybody under the bus.' (Getty Images)
"It's time for the feeding frenzy to stop," Shalala said. "These young men made a stupid, terrible, horrible mistake and they are being punished."
Two Miami players involved in the melee, sophomore Anthony Reddick and senior Brandon Meriweather, apologized Tuesday for their roles.
Shalala will meet with FIU president Mitch Maidique on Thursday to determine if next season's game between the teams will be played. An announcement will be made by the weekend, Shalala said.
"It doesn't matter. They can schedule whoever they want," Miami quarterback Kyle Wright said when asked about the possibility of facing FIU again next season.
The brawl started with nine minutes left in the third quarter of a game Miami went on to win 35-0. As the fighting started, two FIU players -- Chris Smith and Marshall McDuffie Jr. -- attacked Miami holder Matt Perrelli. Moments later, Reddick ran across the field, wielding his helmet as a weapon, and smashed it into at least one FIU player.
Smith and McDuffie were kicked off FIU's team on Monday; Reddick was given an indefinite suspension by the Hurricanes. All other 16 FIU players sanctioned for their roles in the brawl were suspended indefinitely, while 12 more Miami players will sit out this Saturday's game at Duke.
Reddick, speaking after practice Tuesday, apologized for behavior he called reckless and disgraceful.
"The person that everyone saw last Saturday was truly not me," Reddick said. "And that was not a good reflection of my character."
Meriweather issued a written statement of apology and said he did so without the urging of any university official. Meriweather stomped on FIU players during the melee.
"I was not part of the initial fight that broke out," Meriweather wrote. "However, I did see that my teammates and, more specifically, the placeholder were being attacked by the FIU players. At that point I went over the pile so that I could control my teammates and prevent the fight from becoming worse. When I arrived at the pile, I did not use my better judgment."
Echoing his university's president, Miami coach Larry Coker said he found the sanctions ordered by his school and the Atlantic Coast Conference to be fair.
"We are accountable and we need to take care of our athletes and do everything we can to make sure these things don't occur," Coker said. "When you have a terrible incident like this, it really brings home the consequences."
Suspended Miami players continue to practice with the team. Most wore green scout-team jerseys Tuesday.
All the suspended FIU players will have to complete 10 hours of anger management counseling and 50 hours of community service, as well as being on probation for the remainder of the academic year. All FIU players -- suspended or not -- and coaches will need to complete community service projects.
Shalala, though, insisted that the sum of the penalties handed out by Miami was strong enough.
"I believe that the young men we have recruited for our football team are young men of great character," Shalala said. "But they did a very bad thing."
