Casey Stengel once demoted Hank Bauer to 8th in the lineup and benched Billy Martin after a barroom fight at the Copa in NY where they and Mickey Mantle had been on an all nighter. Mantle stayed in the #3 slot. When asked why he didn't punish "The Mick", Stengel replied "I'm mad at him too, but not mad enough to lose a game over it".
Pretty scathing article from a Gator alum. But this could be written about a lot of coaches. It looks particularly bad when it's a star player who gets "forgiven" because no matter what the real reason, it's going to look at least somewhat like it's all about winning. If it were a third string walk on punter we wouldn't be having this discussion if he were reinstated. But the same thing has happened to knucklehead superstar athletes in Baton Rouge on occasion. More than once. Or twice. I don't recall the same reaction in the media. I guess it's good to have the public's goodwill in the bank because then you get the benefit of the doubt.
Les took a two season setback because of dismissing starting QB Ryan Perrilloux for offenses far less serious than Rainey's offenses. Les has dismissed players for bar fights, petty theft, and vandalism. But Rainey can stalk women and threaten murder and be back on the field? Meyer is a self-serving weasel.
I heard the anecdotal story of a Dallas Cowboys team meeting during training camp when Jimmy Johnson was still in charge. A couple of players fell asleep in an offensive team meeting. Johnson sees it and gets irate. He has a coach roust Curvin Richards and cuts him on the spot, telling him to leave his playbook on his way out the door. He tells another coach "Please tap Troy on the shoulder and wake him up gently."
Yeah, he sent a text to his girlfriend that said "time to die". I wonder what's worse, Chris Rainey threatening your life, or Brett Favre sending you a pic of his wang chung.
