ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 18, 1996 TAG: 9612180027
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
In the past 21 games, Virginia Tech has the best record in big-time college football.
It's very imposing. In that 15-month span, the Hokies have 22 arrests, 20 victories, six convictions, four charges dropped and one loss.
Clearly, the 52-21 mess left at Syracuse on the Carrier Dome carpet this autumn didn't provide the most depressing numbers of the season. Tech's program screams for respect, and when it finally earns some, it repeatedly shoots itself in the foot.
Well, maybe that's a little harsh. None of the Hokies' felonies or misdemeanors has included the use of a firearm.
And the rap sheet doesn't include a suspended Hokie Bird, a mascot who will return to action at the Orange Bowl on Dec.31.
The Hokies' year has become more embarrassing than a 2-8-1 record in 1992. They're just richer and have more notoriety now.
The arrests of fullback Brian Edmonds and wide receiver James Crawford on Monday - not their first appearances on Tech's list of the charged in recent months - left most Hokies bewildered about what might happen next. The answer came Tuesday, when the players filed a countersuit against their female accuser and were suspended from the team.
As Tech fans gobble up tickets for their second Bowl Alliance date in two years, they also wonder where coach Frank Beamer's program ultimately is headed. If they don't, they should. It's a legitimate question, one that more than the coach must continue to address, and one to which no one at Tech obviously has come up with an answer.
In the latest sordid situation, there will be one sure loser, and it may not be any of the involved parties, one of which is lying. Tech was correct to suspend the pair. In a strongly worded and bold statement, athletic director Dave Braine called the alleged criminal activity ``tragic.`` The fact it keeps occurring is worse.
Whatever develops in the case, one thing won't change. Whether Edmonds and Crawford are innocent or guilty, whether or not those indicted from an August brawl still facing court dates are convicted, the charges will stick in one place - to Tech's program.
That's a crime, too.
How often does a 10-1 team find itself in a rebuilding situation during the season?
If this were a situation in which NCAA rules had been violated, Tech likely would do what it has in such instances in the past: bring in outside investigators. Maybe it's time for Gov. George Allen to ask someone to uncover something as the list of Hokies arrests grows.
The theories and rumors no longer are whispered. Do Tech players pay off other accusers after charges are filed, or pay to keep from being accused? Is there a vendetta in the Blacksburg or Montgomery County law enforcement system against Tech athletes? Can Hokies football players get away with actions players on other Tech teams can't?
If the shenanigans are no more than a few spoiled jocks being jerks, then the Hokies could stop it. Perhaps the players are given too much freedom to embarrass more than themselves.
At practices before last season's Sugar Bowl, Hokies star Cornell Brown taped over the ``VT'' logos on his helmet, writing on the tape the numbers of two suspended teammates, including Crawford. For CBS' Bowl Alliance telecast 10 days ago at which the gathered Hokies sat behind a beaming Beamer, Brown, the school's All-America candidate, showed up wearing a ski mask - indoors.
Nice images there.
Beamer used to give his charged players the benefit of the doubt, holding off on disciplinary action until after court dates. He has changed that in recent cases, for good reason. His reputation is at stake.
Beamer is a likeable guy, a solid coach and a perfect fit for a place he loves, a place that returns that affection. Beamer, his staff and team leaders should be admired for holding a conference championship team together through the distractions and a difficult late-season schedule.
He has taken the Hokies to four consecutive bowls, but this latest trip has been the worst roller-coaster ride of his career.
It also has reached the point where Tech players who have been or are convicted of serious crimes shouldn't simply be suspended. They shouldn't be dismissed for the rest of the season. They should be told they aren't welcome in the program forever. The university should demand nothing less, considering the negative image.
Beamer says that when he recruits players, he promises to help them as people, as they, as players, help him. That's an admirable notion, but he's a football coach and a teacher, not a professional rehabilitator. It's obvious some of his players are beyond his level of help, even his kid-gloved discipline that has toughened this season.
Of course, a disclaimer in the various arresting developments from some Blacksburg outposts is that ``it'' isn't just happening in the Hokies' program. That's true. Orange Bowl foe Nebraska saw another starter arrested and suspended Monday.
The Hokies have talked about getting to Nebraska's level. They're there, with 10 victories, a shared bowl destination and more, playing in Miami, the longtime jailhouse of college football. Is that a harmonic convergence?
Maybe, for the Orange Bowl, Pro Player Stadium should be surrounded by yellow police tape.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 linesby CNB