USNA player’s failed test causes ‘uproar’

While I might be grasping at straws for some decision to be made that will buttress the concept of USNA integrity, keep in mind that while he continues to be a student at the Academy, it is possible that a decision has not yet been made regarding his status as a football player. There is still an opportunity for Coach Ken and the Academy to do the right thing. The student could be given a second (or fourth or fifth) chance to rehabilitate himself within the USNA system as a student, but that does not mean that he will (or should) be granted the privilege of playing football. While one would think that his status as a football player is the only reason he is being permitted to remain at the school, an argument could be made that the best decision for him and the school is to give him a chance to show that he can walk the straight and narrow while NOT being a football player. If he stays out of trouble for the next two years as a football player, he will always be thought of as the guy who should have been removed and who got special treatment. But if he turns over a new leaf and rehabilitates himself as a student (without being a football player over the next two years), there could at least be some argument in May of 2012 that the Supe's decision might have been right. So while the decision was made to let him stay, there is still a chance that there could be some positive outcome.

Yes, I know, I'm grasping at straws.
 
While I might be grasping at straws for some decision to be made that will buttress the concept of USNA integrity, keep in mind that while he continues to be a student at the Academy, it is possible that a decision has not yet been made regarding his status as a football player.

But that would defeat the whole purpose in keeping him there! :wink:
 
While I might be grasping at straws for some decision to be made that will buttress the concept of USNA integrity, keep in mind that while he continues to be a student at the Academy, it is possible that a decision has not yet been made regarding his status as a football player. There is still an opportunity for Coach Ken and the Academy to do the right thing. The student could be given a second (or fourth or fifth) chance to rehabilitate himself within the USNA system as a student, but that does not mean that he will (or should) be granted the privilege of playing football. While one would think that his status as a football player is the only reason he is being permitted to remain at the school, an argument could be made that the best decision for him and the school is to give him a chance to show that he can walk the straight and narrow while NOT being a football player. If he stays out of trouble for the next two years as a football player, he will always be thought of as the guy who should have been removed and who got special treatment. But if he turns over a new leaf and rehabilitates himself as a student (without being a football player over the next two years), there could at least be some argument in May of 2012 that the Supe's decision might have been right. So while the decision was made to let him stay, there is still a chance that there could be some positive outcome.

Yes, I know, I'm grasping at straws.
You are right- you really are grasping at Straws. Not only is this guy caught smoking dope, but he's already had not one but three "re-do's" with honor issues . Giving multiple chances to grow up/shape up to a Seaman Apprentice is one thing- but this is someone you are training to be an officer?! He's dishonest and a dope smoker to boot . You can hope for change in any situation I suppose- but WHY would you do so? What redeeming value does this guy bring to the table that would say overlook things that any other junior officer or enlisted person would be discharged for AT A MINIMUM? How can you be an officer if there is always lurking some doubt about your fundamental honesty? He's not being re-habilitated to function in general society- he's supposed to be a leader whose integrity is unchallenged. (And lest you think that I am confusing an honor and conduct offense - he clearly has made this an honor violation with his defense- "I didn't know I was smoking weed"? I would be surprised if the Commandant didn't just come out with :"BS!" when he offered this whopper up because it is so clearly dishonest.) This isn't a 12 year old in a play ground scuffle- this is a grown man who has been given multiple chances in one of the most prestigious settings in the country. Now he has apparently been given yet one more chance while his peers and future subordinates would have been flushed away.

So the article (posted a few weeks ago) about USNA being different than UM after the Texas Bowl - is now called into question because this is exactly how most large universities and football programs would have reacted. Actually- Joe Paterno would have been more severe than Navy apparently since he wouldn't have stood around and hemmed and hawed about the guys status on the football team. There is no way that the Superintendant is right here- what he has done is impugn the integrity of the entire Academy because it is so clearly a case of situational ethics which is of course what the honor code/concept rejects. Apparently though at USNA under this Supe situational ethics is indeed the name of the game. The entire USNA community should be appalled by this travesty.
 
Interesting perspective from a Mid:
When I was growing up as a kid, I would hear, "don't always believe the news"...In this case, there are some pretty hefty assumptions made by the author of this article. As the person who knows FIRST HAND, I feel outraged, but I know that I cannot write to the Captial to shed light on what's really going on.

First of all, I do not have access to the number of demerits Mr. Curry has. AND, for goodness sakes, this is NOT AN HONOR OFFENSE. I repeat, Mr. Curry was NOT PROCESSED through the midshipman honor system, he was forwarded straight to the Commandant for separation (which he followed through on), and then onto the Superintendent after it was discovered that he popped positive on the urinalysis. Midshipmen do not deal with conduct cases.

A couple of mids definitely reported inaccurate information about Curry's record. Mr. Curry has had THREE OFFENSES ENTERED. He was found "Not in Violation" of the honor concept on two of the cases for which he was brought before the honor board. I was the investigative officer for Curry's first honor offense last year, and he was found guilty in that case. Technically, Mr. Curry has only ONE honor offense prior, and this was not considered an honor offense.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com...hy-being-mid-worthwhile-2.html#post1064016598
 
Re: Navy football player

What are the NCAA rules on students caught using drugs? Does the NCAA have any way of imposing sanctions on Navy or the Midshipman.
 
Well, I guess I'm just old fashioned...but if he was found "In Violation" of the honor code, unless there was a SUPERB reason for "discretion" (and being a good FB player is NOT a reason) then he should have been shown the hatch.

Am I harsh?

Yes.

Violating the honor code is a CHOICE, not an accident. And choices have consequences. I sat on enough honor boards in my cadet career, both as a board member, and as an observer, to know the difference and to have a good idea of when discretion should be recommended.

NOT knowing the issues of his violation, I can't say. But since nobody has said "he violated but...there were many extenuating circumstances, he self-reported, etc...etc..." I'm feeling a tendency to think he received special treatment.

I really REALLY hope I'm wrong.

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
Interesting perspective from a Mid:

Anyone who believes that he smoked the marijuana accidentally is a fool, including the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy if he believes this alibi.

#1. When you smoke a cigar, you do not pass it around.
#2. You do not inhale a cigar, especially as deeply as needed to show up positive on a marijuana test.
#3. He did both, so unless he's the most naive kid in the world, not only did he have a conduct offense by breaking the law, he lied about it as well, giving him another honor offense. Yet he's still there, ready to run the ball for Navy Football, Rah Rah! $$$ :rolleyes:

The USNA spokesperson, CDR Joe Carpenter, looks just as foolish when talking about a "zero tolerance" drug policy that actually isn't zero tolerance:

“The Navy and Naval Academy have a ‘zero tolerance policy’ in regards to drug use, which means that any service member who is suspected of drug use will be administratively processed for separation,” Carpenter said. “This does not mean that there is a policy of mandatory separation — only that the service member be processed for separation."​

Way to take a stand, Joe. :rolleyes: In other words, the policy is meaningless.
 
I want to apolgize for my overly Pollyanna, try making lemonade out of lemons, posting above. I must have not been thinking too clearly after returning to my office from our monthly Cigar Sharing Federation meeting. That Arturo Fuente Premium that we passed around must have been more potent than I realized at the time.
 
WashPost article 1/30/10

Pasted in from Washington Post Sports section article this AM. Lots of discussion at our house by sponsor mids, as well as husband's input as an alum. "Off with his head" was the general theme.

Slotback Marcus Curry remains at Navy after failing a drug test last month



By Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 30, 2010

A standout Navy football player failed a drug test last month but has been allowed to remain at the service academy, which has one of the toughest anti-drug policies in higher education.

Marcus Curry, a sophomore slotback for the Midshipmen, tested positive in a random drug test after he had smoked a cigar filled with a blend of tobacco and marijuana, according to sources familiar with the case. A recommendation for expulsion reached academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler. But the academy leader allowed Curry to remain at the Annapolis school.

Academy administrators declined comment, citing privacy restrictions, as did Curry.

The story, first publicized Tuesday on a widely read naval blog, has roiled the military community. Some see it as evidence of a double standard toward athletes, minorities or both. The academy comes under perennial fire from some alumni and military observers for appearing to favor minorities in a quest for institutional diversity. The academy calls diversity "our highest personnel priority" on its Web site.

"It just brings down the morale of the brigade to have certain people getting special favors and other people not," said one Midshipman, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Any Midshipman suspected of drug use is subject to "separation," or expulsion, under the academy's zero-tolerance policy toward drug use.

"This does not mean that there is a policy of mandatory separation," said Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, academy spokesman, in a statement. Expulsion hinges on several factors, including whether a student "knowingly consumed an illegal drug."

Curry told administrators he did not know the cigar was laced with marijuana and smoked it unwittingly, sources said.

Navy rules state that a failed urine test does not signal drug abuse in cases of "unknowing ingestion."

Fowler's decision was first disseminated on the naval blog CDR Salamander. It has been reported in the Navy Times and Annapolis Capital newspapers.

Many commentators -- although not all -- side with Capt. Matthew L. Klunder, the academy commandant, who ranks below Fowler. He recommended Curry be expelled. Hundreds of Facebook users have joined a page titled Zero Tolerance = Zero Exceptions, its content mostly critical of the decision to let Curry stay.


"I think Capt. Klunder made the right decision," said the parent of a Navy football player, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He thought he should have been separated. And there's a lot of other people who think that as well."

Fowler determined that Curry was not in violation of the academy's anti-drug policy, sources said.

Curry, from Carrollton, Tex., averaged 7.3 yards per carry this past season. He ran 80 times for 585 yards with five touchdowns and also caught 10 passes for 287 yards with three touchdowns.
 
OMG, I just realized something. You think you're embarrassed now? Just wait till we have to sit there and watch those spirit spots from Army during next year's A-N game. And if you think you are going to cringe, think how the Mids are going to be feeling during that. But we'll all be knowing that it will all be well deserved. Are we really going to celebrate after that win?
 
CaptMJ - can you possible speculate or shed some light on why an Admiral who is responsible for the education and career development of 4,000 midshipmen would have in making such a decision - assuming the rumors associated with this case are true?

Certainly, Admiral Fallon would realize that he possibly could be laying his own career on the line by playing favorites with a football player? Ditto with the football coach - if it turns out that he had exerted undue influence.

Also, is it possible that the bad press surrounding this case will cause it to be moved up the chain to the CNO for investigation?
 
I too am appalled by what is reported. If true, I don't understand why he is still there. The one caution: while the newspapers, blogs, etc. can report "three honor violations", etc., the administration is restricted by student privacy laws from rebutting factual assertions or explaining mitigating circumstances. All they can do is sit there and take the heat. It may be a sports-and dollar-motivated decision, or (for those grasping at straws) there may be other factors playing into it that cannot be made public. If so, kudos to the brass for doing the right but unpopular thing.
 
Question:

CaptMJ - can you possible speculate or shed some light on why an Admiral who is responsible for the education and career development of 4,000 midshipmen would have in making such a decision - assuming the rumors associated with this case are true?

Answer:

Curry, from Carrollton, Tex., averaged 7.3 yards per carry this past season. He ran 80 times for 585 yards with five touchdowns and also caught 10 passes for 287 yards with three touchdowns.
 
^best answer ever Luigi :thumb::yllol:

But seriously, I joined the Facebook group Zero Tolerance = Zero Exceptions...people are angry about this. And I am too, this is not high school. This favoritism towards football players and star athletes is disgusting. If he has had 3 honor offenses in the less than two years he has been at USNA...he should not be allowed to be at the Academy any longer much less become a US Naval Officer.
 
I think the federal government should be involved in this. Allowing such an unqualified and morally failing student to remain a student and graduate is a matter of national security. Am I exaggerating? No. Its people like Curry who will either help ruin America's reputation abroad by committing embarrassing/illegal acts or God forbid, engage in treason. Its people EXACTLY like him who could be involved in selling military secrets to hostile nations or compromising Navy missions for personal gain. People with black hearts and black minds are the last kinds of people our military needs.

I feel sorry for all the rule-abiding and morally righteous midshipmen at USNA. If Curry is ultimately allowed to stay, it only means that in the future, the academy will continue to turn a blind eye over such offenses over and over again. I hate to say it, but the future of the USNA looks bleak.

And the football culture in America is disgusting and sick. This incident only reflects how highly we regard professional football players (the salaries they earn are mind-blowing) in our society and how far we're willing to disregard all morals and ethics to protect them. If this can also be a reflection of the majority of American society as a whole, then the nation's future looks bleak as well.

That superintendent should be fired and discharged dishonorably from the military. If our nation's leaders themselves can't pull away from this outrageous culture, it tells a lot about ordinary citizens too. People follow by example - we always have and always will, and this will be another disastrous blow to American ethical standards. I am sorely disappointed by this and disappointed yet again by people who should be better leaders.
 
Y'know, I'll probablyl take heat for this, BUT ... all the bloggers in the world don't know what goes on behind the scenes, what really is in the reports and what really did or did not happen. On the surface ... it looks bad, very very bad ... many of the posts herer include phrases like "assuming the reports are true" Well, that's a huge assumption ... in the long run, if it is true he will pay the price ...

remember those boys from Duke who were accused of rape? Nearly everyone assumed it was true ... their lives will never be the same ...

This whole thing sounds like a lynch mob ... maybe he's guilty. He will eventually hang. If he's not, wow, how will he ever go on?
 
Even if some of the assumptions are false, and by some crazy chance he didn't know he smoked pot, he still should be responsible for putting himself in a situation where this happened. I mean, why is a Naval Academy Midshipman hanging out with somebody who would lace a cigar with pot? But I just dont see how you wouldn't know if you were smoking a regular cigar or one with pot. To me this is a very thin excuse. Even if we don't consider the other honor violations that may or may not be true, this one violation in my opinion is enough for separation from the Academy. Then again I am not there yet so I don't know the true way in which these violations are handled, whether loosely or strictly. Just my two cents.

~RascalFlatts5858
 
Back
Top