COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders has been dismissed from the football team.
Athletics Director Eric Hyman announced the dismissal Wednesday.
"Weslye Saunders is no longer part of our football program," said Hyman. "Beyond that I will have no further comment."
Saunders, a 6-5, 270-pounder from Durham, N.C., had been suspended indefinitely since August 23 following a violation of team rules.
Last month, Saunders was questioned about possible improper contact with a sports agent.
According to a published report, the NCAA is also looking into the living arrangements of Saunders and some of his teammates who have rooms at the Whitney hotel.
An NCAA spokesperson said they’re working cooperatively with USC, but wouldn’t go into specifics about the investigation.
Surprised that it took this long. Saunders’ schtick had tired the folks in Columbia; and, we’ve been scratching our head at why Steve Spurrier would put up with him any longer. This entry/article should be read in tandem with today’s entry.
The perception will always be he did something wrong, yes. Because he did something(s) wrong. Outside of the NCAA stuff, he lied to his coach (more than once) and was also suspended in January.
Those are wrong things. As Steve Spurrier likes to say, we all have track records and we cannot escape the record of our actions. Even if Weslye didn’t take a thing from an agent, he’s created this perception for himself. He doesn’t need me, or anyone else, to “vilify†him. This is his own prison.
Great reward and responsibility go hand in hand. I’m held to a standard of behavior. So is Weslye. So is everyone. Just don’t be all shocked and appalled when you get called for doing silly things that include public reprimand by your authority (Spurrier, in this case).
Heck, I heard this week the players had to vote in January whether to keep Saunders, a senior, on the team. Track record. You’re allowed to slowly make up ground on your track record (see: Garcia, Stephen), but not when you pull stunts like Saunders did Saturday, lying on top of lying.
This link will take you to a lot more on the current breaking news related to Saunders. We’ve been following Saunders since the news of his NCAA problems first broke because of his ‘special’ links to NC State (Link) as well as Marvin Austin and one of the many prongs of the UNC-CH scandals/academic fraud/lack of institutional control issues.
One day…maybe…if you are lucky…UNC-CH will actually speak about their athletes. For example, when Carolina ‘cleared’ running back Shaun Draughn this week (surely after an appearance in front of the Honor Court), look at how much cooperating and transparency we got:
In making the announcement, UNC did not specify why Draughn was held out of the LSU game.
Coach Butch Davis said there was no update on the other 12 players who missed the opener, although everyone except defensive tackle Marvin Austin is expected to practice this week. Austin was suspended indefinately by Davis for violating unspecified team rules.
Draughn, who will not be available to the media until after Saturday’s game, was the Tar Heels’ starter for the first eight games of 2009 before a shoulder injury ended his season. He still finished as the team’s second-leading rusher with 567 yards and one touchdown and was expected to start against LSU before he was held out while the school worked with the NCAA to determine his eligibility status.
Shhhhh!! Don’t ask, don’t tell. Ju$t win, Baby. It’s the “Carolina Wayâ€
