If he wasn't a football player, He would be kicked out!!!

mAshmore2

5-Year Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
Messages
5
My 1st class MIDN brother sent me this.

He should be out of the academy...not just the football team. :unhappy:

Navy's top slotback dismissed from team
By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
Published 05/07/10

Standout slotback Marcus Curry, whose off-field behavior drew as much attention as his on-field exploits, has been dismissed from the Naval Academy football team.

Head coach Ken Niumatalolo booted Curry from the program for not complying with team rules, Navy athletics spokesman Scott Strasemeier said last night. Neither Strasemeier nor Niumatalolo would elaborate on the reasons for Curry's dismissal, but several sources told The Capital it resulted from a recent conduct offense.

Curry was a dynamic performer on the field for Navy, leading the team in receiving with 287 yards on 10 catches and ranking third in rushing with 585 yards on 80 carries. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound product of Hebron High in Carrollton, Texas, scored eight touchdowns. Curry was one of the stars of Navy's 35-13 upset of Missouri in the Texas Bowl, rushing for 109 yards and a touchdown while adding another 97 yards on five pass receptions.

"It's unfortunate, but it had to be done. We're a football team and the rules apply to everybody," Niumatalolo said yesterday when asked about Curry's removal from the roster.

The Capital has learned from numerous Naval Academy sources that Curry was charged with an unauthorized absence for failing to be in his dormitory room in Bancroft Hall when required. That alleged conduct offense would have added to a checkered behavior history for Curry at the academy.

The Capital reported in late January that Curry was allowed to remain at the Naval Academy despite testing positive for drug use and after recommendations he be dismissed. Curry failed a random drug test administered by the academy on Dec. 14, testing positive for marijuana use.

After receiving the results of the failed drug test on Jan. 4, the chain of command — from Curry's company office to Capt. Matthew Klunder, the commandant of midshipmen, recommended the sophomore be separated. However, Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, the academy superintendent, decided to retain Curry based on extenuating circumstances. Fowler believed the positive test was the result of accidental ingestion and instead punished Curry with 21 days of restriction and 100 demerits, according to information provided to The Capital.

The Capital also learned that Curry had been found guilty of one honor offense and accumulated 335 demerits during his initial three semesters at the Naval Academy.

Curry underwent surgery on his left knee in January and was limited during spring practice. He did not participate in Saturday intra-squad scrimmages or the annual Blue-Gold Game that concludes spring camp.

While Curry was still listed as a starter on the depth chart throughout spring drills, his absence from full-contact scrimmages gave other slotbacks a chance to shine. Current sophomores such as Aaron Santiago and Mike Stukel along with freshmen Gee Gee Greene, Bo Snelson and John Howell all performed well during spring practice and Niumatalolo was confident Navy would be fine at the position in 2010.

"The thing about the Naval Academy is that people always step up," Niumatalolo said yesterday. "Of course we will miss Marcus because he was a good player, but we have a bunch of young slotbacks that are very talented. I'm excited about all the slots we have coming back."

Sources close to the situation told The Capital that Curry intends to voluntary resign from the Naval Academy and transfer to another school in the wake of his dismissal from the football team. Curry did not take part in Monday's ceremony at the White House.
 
My 1st class MIDN brother sent me this.

He should be out of the academy...not just the football team. :unhappy:
Clearly Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler's standards are lower than those of the football coach.:thumbdown:
 
Given the fact that not a single person here knows what happened including details, we ought to reserve judgment IMO.
 
Given the fact that not a single person here knows what happened including details, we ought to reserve judgment IMO.

Many people here know much more than you think. :wink:

The USNA gained a little bit of their honor back with his dismissal.
 
If you read the article his dismissal from the team appears to be from a completely different incident. Apparently he was UA recently and that is why he was dismissed from the team.
 
If you read the article his dismissal from the team appears to be from a completely different incident. Apparently he was UA recently and that is why he was dismissed from the team.

You are right. After dodging a major bullet earlier this year, he still felt that he was above the rules. I was disappointed to see his name on the roster for the upcoming season. I know a couple of classmates that will be glad to see him go.
 
The USNA gained a little bit of their honor back with his dismissal.
I think the football coach may have demonstrated some honor by dismissing this Mid from the team for ANOTHER violation. Hopefully Admiral Fowler won't over-rule the coach and reinstate him. Interesting how Mid Curry will leave the USNA when HE decides and for HIS reasons. I have yet to see anything from the Academy that remotely resembles honor concerning this Mid.
 
Last edited:
It's hard to tell if his supposed resignation was engineered by the administration because the Sup. didn't have the courage (politically) to dismiss him, or if the coach was was just showing more integrity for the "good order and discipline" of his team. Although, I agree with what the coach did, it shouldn't have been necessary. I'm very disappointed with the way that USNA has dealt with this!

PJ '82
 
My husband said from the very beginning of this mess that Curry would leave over the summer. He was right. All the speculation and grousing aside ... he'll be a better fit somewhere else ... The way it was explained to us when our son was accepted is that any student may leave before the start of their Junior year ... and owe nothing ... come back one day of Junior year and you are liable for many, many costs and/or service ...

Curry, from what I hear, is ending his youngster/sophomore year ...
 
This looks like a mid that wanted out, and his behavior proved it. He appears to have other priorities in his life that did not include serving the nation.
 
I say, "Adios My Friend"

or as they say...AMF! Too much tolerance, IMHO - political or otherwise.

Honor and Integrity are not something learned at this late station in life. Character is inculcated long before they arrive at USNA (or anyplace for that matter) and is something that perseveres even when 'no one is looking'.

Ship 'em out!
 
Given the fact that not a single person here knows what happened including details, we ought to reserve judgment IMO.

The former Commandant, Capt M. Klunder, did not reserve judgment after investigating. He recommended that the midshipman should be separated. That decision was overridden by the Superintendent, Vice Admiral Fowler.

In light of the continued infractions, it seems that Klunder's assessment of the individual's character was more accurate than Fowler's.
 
Folks,

I've let this thread go BUT the purpose of this board is to help USNA candidates, families, etc. This thread is doing neither. If you want to discuss the merits of this decision, please take it to the Military News board. I'm not willing to let this go much further here.

Fair warning.

Your friendly Mod.
 
This issue is a classic case study examining the notion of "honor," a central theme to the USNA experience.

Some have been quick to convict MID Curry. And we might agree, the circumstantial evidence pointing toward his guilt, perhaps in several situations, is compelling.

And some have applauded Dant Klunder's decision to recommend ex-communication from the order of the Brigade. He also obviously saw the situation as such. Guilty! And his primary responsibility is his Brigade.

Conversely, many have been quick to condemn Supe Fowler's decision to retain, perhaps based on a technicality.

In all 3 instances, the cry of "honor" has been used as the weapon of choice in undergirding the various opinions. Curry has none, Klunder has a pile, and Fowler fouled up.

I've no desire to perpetuate those personal opinions. Rather, I'd like to suggest that it may well be that Admiral Fowler was fully honorable in his consideration and decisions. He honored Curry's word, even IF we might scoff at that. Absent evidence, he had no real choice. He honored Curry's legal position. He honored Curry's privacy, a right that it surely must have been tempting to violate in this highly visible situation. He honored Capt. Klunder's decision, and possibly not even personally disagreeing with it. But he did determine that for the honor and best interest of the Academy, his primary responsibility, he must disagree w/ his Commandant. And the Commandant in turn, honored his Supe's decision by offering not one utterance further. In truth, we do not know what the Supe's personal opinion may be. He honored the USNA by taking full responsibility for an unpopular decision among his constituents.

So, my point is simply to suggest that the most challenging points of honor belonged to the man at the top, and he allowed the buck to stop with him. I'd offer that he did what was indeed honorable and in the best interests of USNA. Doing anything else would have been personal and dishonorable.

So, no matter where one may come down on the situation, absent both full knowledge of the situation AND lots of experience in grasping the USNA Honor Concept, we should be careful about proclaiming honor on one side and dishonor on the other. Especially when we don't really know which side was which.
 
And there have many many postings of his 300+ demerits and other offenses as well.

Yes anonymously, but believable nonetheless.

It was clear he was at USNA for one purpose - D1 football.

It was clear the the USNA wanted him there for one purpose - D1 football.

When it became apparent that he couldn't (or wouldn't) follow the rules, he was given chance after chance after chance (something no other non-D1 football playing mid who didn't average 7.3 yds per carry would have received) he finally knew that it was time to leave, to avoid yet another honor conduct hearing.

When the football coach told him he was off the team, HE decided to leave the USNA.

Nothing done by Adm Fowler at all - the Mid would still be the starting tailback (Go Navy! :rolleyes: ) after testing positive on a drug test.

His leaving will perhaps remove a deep stain on the USNA, but not on the current administration. I hear the "new honor concept" will allow the Mids to resolve a case such as this without the intervention of the Supe - we'll see how well that works, I have high hopes that the new Supe and the New honor concept will once again allow the USNA to avoid a two-tiered punishment system.
 
Back
Top