It took a while for the readers to realized what Oregon State football coach Mike Riley is doing this week with his suspended players. Once they did the Internet has been ablaze on blog comments and message boards.
Starting DT Castro Masaniai, backup TE Connor Hamlett and reserver DT Joe Lopez will be in uniform Saturday against Sacramento State. Masaniai and Hamlett are expected to play.
TE Tyler Perry (knee) is out at least two games and DB Will Storey (redshirt) is not scheduled to play this season. So they are sitting out.
Riley delayed the suspensions of the others because the Beavers are so thin at those two positions. He’s thinking about the team first and doesn’t want those suspensions to hurt the greater group.
If all those who are hurt, redshirting and suspended don’t play there is only one available TE and four DTs — two of them walk-ons — for two spots.
My thoughts are I hope Riley changes his mind. I think it’s not right for a suspended player to play and wait for a better time under any circumstances.
Suspensions should be done immediately, ethically and morally. I’m not even saying what Masaniai did pulling his girlfriend to ground may be considered really bad. Charges were lessened anyway, and we weren’t there to know all the circumstances.
If the suspensions hurt the team, oh well. That’s the point of suspension. They punish the players who made mistakes. If that punishes the others, that’s part of being a team.
Peer pressure can be used positively here, and Riley can show everyone the consequences of dumb choices.
If you think strategically, the Beavers will beat Sac State anyway. Just sit them and give yourself a better chance against Wisconsin.
If Riley thinks there’s no way to beat Wisconsin he can suspend the players then. The Sac State game is a must-win because it is a game that OSU is expected to win.
After that when do you suspend them? When TE Joe Halahuni (shoulder) and DT Kevin Frahm (knee) return? That would be against UCLA. So suspensions will be against a Pac-12 team?
So I implore Riley to change his mind and suspend the players now, and move on.
16 comments
Max says:
Sep 1, 2011
This is crazy. Are Masaniai and Hamlett definitely going to sit out the Wisconsin game? If they do, why are the Beavers making the trip to Madison if the HEAD COACH doesn’t think they can win? What a slap in the face to all the fans who paid good money to travel out to Wisconsin to support the team.
This is SACRAMENTO STATE we’re talking about. I say Riley should have to play Sac St. shorthanded. If they lose, well then the athletic department and the fans would be able to accurately reevaluate Riley and this team. At the moment it seems that fans and Riley may have different expectations for this program.
This ends one of two ways. Either the fan base dwindles to pre-Erickson levels, or Riley pulls a Newhouse and “moves on”.
ChrisOSUgrad says:
Sep 1, 2011
I think you are right on in your analysis of the suspensions. Punishment needs to be administered quickly or the message is lost. Riley’s justification for playing them now to avoid punishing the team makes no sense to me; isn’t that the point of the suspension, punishment? I realize that individuals are accountable, but I find that one of the best disciplinarians is peer pressure. ie, if you are disruptive, the whole team runs laps, works for me as a coach.
This situation calls into question the coaches character, previously one of his greatest assets. Not sure anymore.
JackBeav says:
Sep 1, 2011
I agree with Cliff. Do what you said you would originally do, or don’t tell us you’re going to do something ever again. I personally think suspensions should be uniformly enacted in conference games, not against the Sac States of the world. But that’s not the point.
Oh, and I saw Wisconsin play, and they are very beatable.
DL says:
Sep 2, 2011
i’ve thought for some time that suspensions should be for games that matter. i’m not impressed with punishments vs cupcake colleges.
midwest beav fan says:
Sep 2, 2011
This is a really tough call. My immediate reaction was to suspend the players for the first game. But I understand not wanting to punish the other players for something that they were not part of. I also understand the team concept that Cliff mentioned above, which is easier to implement when your team consists of 10 or 12 guys versus 80. Peer pressure works well in social group gatherings, but is much harder to apply when it comes to personnal family issues.
Based upon Rileys’ logic and reasoning, my best guess for when the DT and others sit, would be the next non-conference game against BYU. Glovers academic situation should HOPEFULLY be cleared up by then and Frahm should be healthier.
R. Williams says:
Sep 2, 2011
This is the funniest SH%# I’ve ever heard, Riley, the Mr. Excitement of OSU football who is supposed to be the man of great honor and class is going to play his players who should be suspended for the first game against the powerhouse Sac.ST. for the greater good of the team because they are thin at those positions, LOL, LOL,LOL !!!!!!!!!!
GO DUCKS!!!!!
Chris says:
Sep 2, 2011
You simply cannot un-suspend a player. That’s the first thing you learn as a parent with your child. If you cancel discipline it won’t solve the underlying issues. Consequences should be adhered to.
Orange says:
Sep 2, 2011
You guys need a life! The media reporting on this is just stupid! Riley is the golden boy now! You can cry and bitch all you want. But the dude can COACH! So sit down, shut-up and worry about your own house not Riley’s house!!!!
SnohoBeav says:
Sep 2, 2011
It’s a fallacy to think that “selectively suspending” players is going to make them think “oh, I can get away with xyz offenses because I won’t be suspended for the NEXT game.”
Isn’t it a more severe punishment to sit a player for a “big” game, like at Wisconsin or a conference game, rather than vs. a IAA? A 1-game suspension is a 1-game suspension whether it’s the next game, or 3 games down the road.
Those questioning the honor and moral fiber of Riley based on this one decision are myopic.
Bret says:
Sep 2, 2011
I think we have no business suspending anyone for any off the field transgression unless there is jail time involved. I always love hearing all these idiots talking about kids getting MIP’s etc and needing to get the book thrown at them. So tell me Cliff if you got a DUII would your employer know about it? Would you have to sit out a week without pay? No you wouldn’t. You would have to deal with it because it is a private matter. Did Mike Parker get suspended? No. These are kids playing football not role models. They go through growing pains just like the rest of us did growing up. Young people do stupid stuff and they learn from it. Hacks reporting on every off the field little or big crap is what got us to where we are today. You never use to hear about this stuff it would be handled internally. If Riley wants to suspend them for a game against a tougher team then so be it. That is his choice not some liberal arts major or middle aged arm chair white guy’s decision. Give it a fricking rest already.
SanDiegoBeav says:
Sep 2, 2011
“If you think strategically, the Beavers will beat Sac State anyway. Just sit them and give yourself a better chance against Wisconsin.”
Right on. He is sending a message that we might lose this one without them and he can sit them for a game that he expects to lose.
casual observer says:
Sep 2, 2011
No player has been unsuspended. I never heard anyone say the suspension was for Sac St. They will still serve their 1 game suspension. Riley just doesn’t want to burn a red shirt or cause an injury by playing someone out of position should one or two of our regular DT’s or TE’s go down.
To say Riley or anyone on the coaching staff believes the Wisconsin game is unwinnable is laughable. There’s no way a person can say that and make any sense.
Lastly this situation is being so overblown, itsactually kind of funny. Beaver nation hasn’t had any controversy this summer so their trying to get it all out of their system before the first game. Even Cliff is getting in on the action. I like it!
Chuck says:
Sep 2, 2011
Riley said yesterday on 1080 that he was probably going to suspend players AFTER the bye week. So all of you saying “It’s a bigger deal to miss the Wisconsin game!” might be right, but doesn’t sound like players are going to be suspended there either.
Riley is a great man and a decent coach, but he’s in the wrong here. There’s no way to spin this; the fact is he’s holding off on suspensions because it gives the Beavers a better chance to win. End of story.
But as others have pointed out, this is one decision, and the measure of a man cannot, in my opinion, be judged by one point in a timeline.
bbbeav says:
Sep 2, 2011
what riley doesnt get is that that shame of letting down the team is part of the punishment. its actually the number one driving force to make people never want to screw up again. these guys let down their teammates by getting in trouble. if they dont make their teammates suffer, they dont suffer the burdon of their teammates looking down on them (as they should). this is the biggest soup sandwich riley has handed us since the WSU game last year. lack of leadership lost that game and now i see why. leadership starts at the top.
BeavsBelieve says:
Sep 2, 2011
I think you’re way off on this one, Cliff. Just because YOUR expectations aren’t met, doesn’t mean it’s the wrong decision.
Riley never stated a game for the suspension, he simply said they will serve a one game suspension. Just because it isn’t the first one of the season, that doesn’t make it the wrong one. As an ex-football player, I would be more upset about missing a game I felt my team really needed me in, then a team I knew we were going to blow out. I see this situation as a harsher punishment, and I’ll bet the guys being suspended do as well.
What Riley is doing makes sense, both from a punishment standpoint, and as far as what’s best for the team. I think you have let the fact that this is best for the team cloud your judgement to the severity of the punishment.
chris says:
Sep 3, 2011
Cliff is right on. Everyone, including Castro himself, understood this to be the game. If that’s not the expectation then that is poor communication by Coach Riley.
If your team really needed you then your conduct should reflect that of a gentleman, not a thug and woman beating, out of control, lunatic. Being part of a team is staying out of trouble for your teammates. Peer pressure can work well to for other players to keep their teammates clean.
Cliff is right on this one.