Bison Football - Not smart enough to understand

[JohnboyND7]

I don't think anyone here is upset or even care about the fine and community service (let's face it first offense for most = no jail time) its the fact that Ojuri gets 1 game and the others get no tv for a week. Do those other guys really understand what they did was wrong and was a severe injustice to the voters of North Dakota? What if those petitions were of public safety like a manditory helmet law for motorcycles, or reinstating the death penalty?

They took away our right to vote on issues that matter. What if those petitions were about Property tax reduction, or raising the minimum wage in ND, or reinstating the death penalty for murder or child molestation. That is what they took away. You may blow this off because medical pot, and clean water doesn't matter to you, but who says someone wouldn't be this stupid in the future to try this again. Remember NDSU football players aren't that bright.

Ah but they didn't take away your right to vote on those issues you listed. The judge sides with NDSU, get over it.

[darell1976]

Ah but they didn't take away your right to vote on those issues you listed. The judge sides with NDSU, get over it.

Of course they did, a forged petition gets thrown out. Thus prevents it from showing up on the ballot.

[UNDBIZ]

Ah but they didn't take away your right to vote on those issues you listed. The judge sides with NDSU, get over it.

Maybe I missed something, but what are you referring to here?

[jdub27]

Ah but they didn't take away your right to vote on those issues you listed.

Because of the actions of 15 people, of which 10 are current NDSU players and 3 are former players, no one gets to vote on the two issues they were hired to help gather signatures for.

The judge sides with NDSU, get over it.

I didn't see the judge siding with anyone. I saw 10 current NDSU players plead guilty to a Class A Misdemeanor of Election Offense.

[82SiouxGuy]

Ah but they didn't take away your right to vote on those issues you listed. The judge sides with NDSU, get over it.

The players plead GUILTY. The judge didn't side with them or with NDSU. As a matter of fact, NDSU wasn't a part of the criminal proceedings in any way. Maybe you didn't understand that part. The judge gave them a penalty that was in line with a first offense for that type of crime.

And they did take away the opportunity (or right) to vote on the 2 issues during this election. They did that by contaminating enough petitions so that the measures could not be put on the ballots. Your understanding of elections and legal matters is very poor, you really should take a class. Maybe I could suggest an online course from UND so that you might actually learn something useful.

[Siouxperfan7]

Ah but they didn't take away your right to vote on those issues you listed. The judge sides with NDSU, get over it.

I don’t think you are smart enough or grown up enough or sophisticated enough to understand!!

[petey23]

It's a fixation of sorts. I've seen it for decades.

A very clever ploy in this political season is to try and attribute your characteristics to your opponent....sorry, not going to work.

I live in Fargo and see it every day. Said it before and I will say it again since it has always rung true.

NDSU=Jan Brady

UND=Marcia Brady

[82SiouxGuy]

I don’t think you are smart enough or grown up enough or sophisticated enough to understand!!

It only seems right that NDSU fans take after the athletes they worship. It appears that he has achieved his dreams of being just like an NDSU football player.

[Wilbur]

A very clever ploy in this political season is to try and attribute your characteristics to your opponent....sorry, not going to work.

I live in Fargo and see it every day. Said it before and I will say it again since it has always rung true.

NDSU=Jan Brady

UND=Marcia Brady

Nope, he's seen that before too. Nice try though....

I will never understand going to an opposing fan base forum and trying to stir things up. I love opposing fans that come here and actually offer quality insight into whatever sport is the topic of discussion. To me, you must have very little going on in your life to take the time to get yourself all set up and fire your cannon at the castle in an attempt to start a war.....

[UNDColorado]

UND envy of Bison football is about hoping for failure of any kind. And when there's an opening, piling on as though you actually care.

None of you actually care about the program.

There's the common thread.

Okay genius, then how was it so different from when just months ago we were on the verge of getting kicked out of our new conference, and many bison trolls were on here openly spouting off about how they were happy to see UND struggle and were enjoying the show, getting their popcorn,etc? Also, I know this was mentioned above but you are openly trolling on an opponents board...only delusional superfans do that.

You take the holier than thou approach but in reality you are much, much worse!

[Goon]

From now on, they can add that tagline to every diploma issued by 'su.

I would add an * as well.

[sultan]

Apparently NDSU admininistration received some good news today. The rest of the home games this year are going to have a few less expenses than normal. There will be no need to hire a chain gang.

[nd1sufan]

NDSU's playbook

After seeing what the UND defense has done so far this year, maybe somebody should buy this book for Mr. Mannausau.......Seriously.......

[SiouxVolley]

“I don’t think they were smart enough or grown up enough or sophisticated enough to understand” -- Judge Douglas Herman describing NDSU Bison football players.

Ouch! That has got to sting.

Since its Homecoming week, what more appropriate warm welcome home to former bison players!

That would be an awesome sign near the Fargodome during recruiting season. Too bad the Best Buy symbol couldn't be used too!

[Hayduke]

Only that these players are not from the state of North Dakota and probably don't give two craps about it. Here he is proudly showing off a North Dakota State flag and yet he isn't ashamed to throw it under the bus to defend a bunch of "dummies" who just stole from the people and the state of North Dakota. I guess I wouldn't expect you to understand this situation.

I was wondering if any of these NDSU football plays convicted of voter fraud were from North Dakota. That also makes me wonder about how petitioning works in the state. Can people from out of state come in and do petition drives? I'm sure they can legally. But, wouldn't you rather have a system where a petition drive for a ballot initiative, especially initiatives so flexible as to allow changes in the state constitution, not be influenced by forces and people from outside the state of North Dakota? The whole system seems screwed up.

[Matt]

I don't think anyone here is upset or even care about the fine and community service (let's face it first offense for most = no jail time) its the fact that Ojuri gets 1 game and the others get no tv for a week. Do those other guys really understand what they did was wrong and was a severe injustice to the voters of North Dakota? What if those petitions were of public safety like a manditory helmet law for motorcycles, or reinstating the death penalty?

Isn't your real gripe here, judging from the penalties in court, in the eyes of the law these crimes are literally next to nothing since in a year the records' of the guilty will be clear?

Clearly you feel strongly about these crimes. However, it is unreasonable to expect the AC to treat this as a more serious matter than the law. The AC doesn't have the power to put more teeth into this fraud statute. The legislature does though. You may want to start there.

[darell1976]

Isn't your real gripe here, judging from the penalties in court, in the eyes of the law these crimes are literally next to nothing since in a year the records' of the guilty will be clear?

Clearly you feel strongly about these crimes. However, it is unreasonable to expect the AC to treat this as a more serious matter than the law. The AC doesn't have the power to put more teeth into this fraud statute. The legislature does though. You may want to start there.

My gripe is the other players getting no suspensions because they (Bohl, Brescini, and Taylor) think this type of crime is "not like an alcohol, or sex crime". Its not like these players were caught jaywalking they commited a crime that could affect the citizens of the state of ND. That is my gripe. Its not what the judge gave them (I expected no jail time), its what the NDSU athletic department gave them. So was it no tv or a 2 minute timeout in the naughty corner.

[Matt]

My gripe is the other players getting no suspensions because they (Bohl, Brescini, and Taylor) think this type of crime is "not like an alcohol, or sex crime". Its not like these players were caught jaywalking they commited a crime that could affect the citizens of the state of ND. That is my gripe. Its not what the judge gave them (I expected no jail time), its what the NDSU athletic department gave them. So was it no tv or a 2 minute timeout in the naughty corner.

Why would you expect the AC to treat this infraction more severely than the law? Jaywalking at least carries a fine with it. This had no fine, and won't even be on their record in a year. It appears only Ojuri is suspended due to his prior record rather than the seriousness of this charge.

Perhaps I'm alone here, but if this is a nothing infraction to the legal system, I hardly expect a 3rd party like the AC to treat it with more reverence.

[UNDBIZ]

Why would you expect the AC to treat this infraction more severely than the law? Jaywalking at least carries a fine with it. This had no fine, and won't even be on their record in a year. It appears only Ojuri is suspended due to his prior record rather than the seriousness of this charge.

Perhaps I'm alone here, but if this is a nothing infraction to the legal system, I hardly expect a 3rd party like the AC to treat it with more reverence.

Do you believe UND should've suspended any of the hockey players for their party? Just curious.

[82SiouxGuy]

Why would you expect the AC to treat this infraction more severely than the law? Jaywalking at least carries a fine with it. This had no fine, and won't even be on their record in a year. It appears only Ojuri is suspended due to his prior record rather than the seriousness of this charge.

Perhaps I'm alone here, but if this is a nothing infraction to the legal system, I hardly expect a 3rd party like the AC to treat it with more reverence.

This isn't a nothing infraction to the legal system. This was a class A misdemeanor. The potential penalties include up to a year in jail and a $2,000(?) fine. First offenders rarely get anything close to the max penalty. No one expected them to actually get the max. The prosecution worked out a plea deal. One of the many reasons to work out a plea deal is to save the courts time and money. The fact that 11 people agreed to the plea probably helped keep the penalties low, they saved 11 trials. The judge seemed to think that the penalties were a little light, but he allowed them. But it would be wrong to assess the importance or severity of a crime by the sentence the person actually receives because other things go into that sentence.

The state is already working on increasing the crime to a class C felony during the next legislative session. The current law has been on the books for a while. North Dakota hasn't seen a large number of cases, so looking at the penalties for the crime probably hasn't been a priority. But after this incident the Attorney General and the Secretary of State realize that the penalty doesn't currently fit the crime. There is a good chance that it will get changed next session, in large part thanks to NDSU.

NDSU is in the business of education. People expected NDSU to teach the players a lesson, and set an example with this situation. It doesn't appear like they did a good job of either. NDSU now has a public policy of punishing people for some alcohol violations, for anything having to do with sex or nudity, and for violent crimes. But the example they set in this case is that the election laws of North Dakota are not as important as alcohol, sex or violent crimes. That is a poor example to set.

[iramurphy]

I realize that this makes some of you feel better about UND. But envy is at the root of your emotions.

Doesn't have anything to do with UND sparky. This has to do with NDSU. .Great comeback though. The other common comeback that usually makes its way onto these blogs is something like "everyone does it or in UND's case "what about your hockey party". If at some point in your life there is something occuring at UND that you are envious of, you have a shallow existence. Same goes here. There is nothing going on at NDSU anyone at UND would be envious of. You have a great FB team good for you. I am more concerned about shoring up our defense, improving LB play, and getting consistent play from our QB and running game than anything that occurs in Fargo.

Having said that, the quote from the judge: "I don't think they were smart enough, or grown up enough,or sophisticated enough to understand" is a classic. It applies to the arrogant president and AD down there just as well as the FB players. Can't blame Bohl. He is just being a FB coach. The fact that none of those three have an understanding of public ipinion or leadership abilities to have dealt with this quickly and decisively speaks volumes. I had stated previously Bresciani was a smart guy. He isn't has smart as I thought. He is almost as arrogant as Chapman and Taylor though. Had they suspended these kids for a game 1st game of the year, it would not have created the public stir or outcry. How damn dumb are these 3 guys? Wouldn't have hurt them on the field and would have gained a lot of good PR. Would have sent a message to the players and should have been followed up by standing by them as they dealt with the legal issues. The kids would have understood they have to obey the law and that despite making a mistake, the coaches and admin support them. Instead these three stooges have been good enough to provide entertainment and poster material for the rest of the conference and your friends from UND.

[Matt]

Do you believe UND should've suspended any of the hockey players for their party? Just curious.

I don't have the facts of the case that they do to tell them what should or shouldn't have been done. I can tell you as a coach I'd probably suspend those minors that admit to me they were drinking, whether they were charged or not. But then, every program has rules for alcohol offenses, not so with this petition thing. If i'm the prez or AD I may take my cue from the legal process as well to figure out what punishment is fitting. I certainly wouldn't argue with the AC for suspending everyone, or anyone else that thinks they should be. I just don't carry the expectation that they should have been suspended. My problem with the punishment not fitting the crime lies mainly with the statue and the deferred imposition of sentence. Anyone that feels strongly about the injustice of the petitions not getting on the ballot should focus their energy with changing the law and the penalties first. Railing against the AC seems a waste of time and energy if you genuinely care about the issue.

[Matt]

This isn't a nothing infraction to the legal system. This was a class A misdemeanor. The potential penalties include up to a year in jail and a $2,000(?) fine. First offenders rarely get anything close to the max penalty. No one expected them to actually get the max. The prosecution worked out a plea deal. One of the many reasons to work out a plea deal is to save the courts time and money. The fact that 11 people agreed to the plea probably helped keep the penalties low, they saved 11 trials. The judge seemed to think that the penalties were a little light, but he allowed them. But it would be wrong to assess the importance or severity of a crime by the sentence the person actually receives because other things go into that sentence.

The state is already working on increasing the crime to a class C felony during the next legislative session. The current law has been on the books for a while. North Dakota hasn't seen a large number of cases, so looking at the penalties for the crime probably hasn't been a priority. But after this incident the Attorney General and the Secretary of State realize that the penalty doesn't currently fit the crime. There is a good chance that it will get changed next session, in large part thanks to NDSU.

NDSU is in the business of education. People expected NDSU to teach the players a lesson, and set an example with this situation. It doesn't appear like they did a good job of either. NDSU now has a public policy of punishing people for some alcohol violations, for anything having to do with sex or nudity, and for violent crimes. But the example they set in this case is that the election laws of North Dakota are not as important as alcohol, sex or violent crimes. That is a poor example to set.

That sounds good, but is nothing but talk if penalties have no teeth. Let's hope things change.

[krangodance]

It's a fixation of sorts. I've seen it for decades

What you're saying then is that for decades you've been posting on a board designed for Sioux fans to tell them that they are all envious of your team? That sounds a lot more like fixation then questioning the inexplicable and unprecendented decision by a coaching staff to not punish players who break the law.

Let's see. You come on here and essentially accuse everybody of secretly loving your team and only pretending to love their own team; an idea that makes no sense whatsoever. When you're called out for such a ridiculous claim your defense is to basically repeat your ridiculous and unsubstantiated claim?

There's a word for what you are: troll

There's also a word for what everybody should do to trolls such as yourself: ignore

Have fun wasting your days away trying to rile up a bunch of strangers on random message boards with odd and nonsensical accusations then bragging about it to all your troll buddies. Sounds like a wonderful and enlightening existence.

IGNORE.

[UNDBIZ]

I don't have the facts of the case that they do to tell them what should or shouldn't have been done. I can tell you as a coach I'd probably suspend those minors that admit to me they were drinking, whether they were charged or not. But then, every program has rules for alcohol offenses, not so with this petition thing. If i'm the prez or AD I may take my cue from the legal process as well to figure out what punishment is fitting. I certainly wouldn't argue with the AC for suspending everyone, or anyone else that thinks they should be. I just don't carry the expectation that they should have been suspended. My problem with the punishment not fitting the crime lies mainly with the statue and the deferred imposition of sentence. Anyone that feels strongly about the injustice of the petitions not getting on the ballot should focus their energy with changing the law and the penalties first. Railing against the AC seems a waste of time and energy if you genuinely care about the issue.

Ok, I can accept that. Just to let you know, it is probable the hockey players who don't have prior records will all receive deferred sentences on their minors and they probably won't have to do any court-ordered community service (unless the judge treats them differently due to being hockey players).