Oh, this doesn't help NDSU's team unity or outlook either:
https://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4349107
FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl returned
from conference media day festivities earlier this week to a familiar
refrain for his football team: A player arrested for allegedly driving
drunk.
Backup linebacker Blake Sczepanski, expected to play
sparingly this fall, was arrested in the early-morning hours on a Fargo
street -- the fourth Bison player cited for DUI in six months.
Sczepanski was suspended from the team indefinitely.
"You
know what, it's disappointing," Bohl said Tuesday, one day after the
Bison head coach outlined his team's prospects in the Missouri Valley
Football Conference. "Playing athletics here is a privilege and not a
right. We have a zero-tolerance policy and we certainly have sent out a
consistent message."
Not everyone is listening.
Starting
defensive end Garrett Johnson was cited for DUI in March. Return
specialist Shamen Washington and backup quarterback Jose Mohler were
arrested about a half-hour apart in April. All three were suspended
indefinitely.
Two Bison players have also been arrested on drug
charges in the last year. Starting wide receiver Jordan Schultenover
was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.
Seldom-used quarterback Troy Jackson was charged with possession of
marijuana. Both were kicked off the team.
"The problem is there
are a few kids on the team who aren't getting the message," NDSU
athletic director Gene Taylor said. "It's affecting the kids who are
doing the right thing. I don't think they are thinking of their
teammates."
Bohl, an assistant at Nebraska from 1994 to 2000,
took over the Bison program in 2003 while it was making the transition
from Division II to Division I-AA, now known as Football Championship
Subdivision. He has an overall record of 49-17 with NDSU.
The
Bison were 6-5 last year, including a 4-4 mark in their first year of
Missouri Valley play. A poll of league coaches, media and sports
information directors picks NDSU to finish fourth this season.
Running
back Tyler Roehl, who had the best single-game rushing effort in school
history with 263 yards before wrapping up his career last fall, said
the arrests overshadow some of the good things players do for the
school and community. Roehl has spoken to middle school students in the
area about making good choices.
"You don't like to see your
program in a bad light. That's four [DUIs] now and that's tough to
take," Roehl said. "But there's no doubt in my mind the players will
learn from it. You've got to."
Taylor said Bohl takes a harder stance against legal problems than some of his predecessors.
"That has come up," Taylor said. "The people I talk to who support the program recognize that we don't take it lightly anymore."
Said
Bohl, "I wouldn't say they are treated with a sense of entitlement at
all. They're held accountable for school, they're accountable for their
social behavior and they're certainly accountable for their athletic
performance."
Bison athletes are required to attend drug and
alcohol seminars once each semester. The school is increasing efforts
this fall with a pilot program to screen football players for high risk
behavior, said Laura Oster-Aaland, NDSU student orientation director.
The program may be expanded to include all athletes, she said.
"Nationally,
student-athletes are definitely a concern as far as alcohol and drug
use," Oster-Aaland said. "There's just a lot of research that shows
they drink in more high-risk ways than other students."
Oster-Aaland
said there are other factors working against efforts to curb substance
abuse. National surveys show that North Dakota leads the way in binge
drinking in all age groups, she said.
"This is not a youth
problem in our state. Our adults are drinking in high-risk ways also,"
Oster-Aaland said. "Why would we expect our young people to be
different?"
JT!!!
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