IU president: Athlete misbehavior embarrasses university

BLOOMINGTON -- Indiana University President Michael McRobbie issued a blistering warning Tuesday to members of his athletic department staff, telling them player misbehavior had to stop.

McRobbie's stern admonishment came during remarks at the department's annual all-staff meeting, at which the president often shares his thoughts on the academic year ahead. Departing from his usual position as supportive but passive when it comes to athletics, McRobbie didn't mince words when discussing the recent spate of off-the-field incidents that have made unwanted headlines in Bloomington.

First he praised a recent major IU discovery in the field of paleobotany: "This is the sort of world-class achievement by our researchers with which I want to see Indiana University associated."

Then he jolted the room.

"What I do not want to see is any more stories of repeated student misbehavior. They embarrass the university, they embarrass all of you in Athletics, and they are a complete distraction from our primary role as an educational institution," McRobbie said. "This misbehavior simply has to stop."

The university released McRobbie's remarks Wednesday, after athletic director Fred Glass' annual football kickoff news conference was overrun by questions about off-the-field incidents that have damaged his department's image.

Glass said he welcomed McRobbie's message.

"Coincidentally, fortuitously, we had our annual all-staff meeting in this room about this time yesterday," Glass said, speaking from Memorial Stadium's Henke Hall of Champions. "(IU President Michael McRobbie) annually comes and brings his message to the staff, and he took that opportunity, very appropriately and forthrightly, to express his expectations about student-athlete behavior. That was to our entire … staff, from top to bottom."

Asked whether saying McRobbie "read the riot act" during his address at the all-staff meeting would adequately characterize his comments, Glass responded: "Yes."

The questions followed Monday's news that two IU men's basketball players, sophomore Emmitt Holt and freshman Thomas Bryant, were cited for illegal possession of alcohol at a convenience store just up 17th Street from Assembly Hall. The citations are the latest in a long string of public off-the-court problems that have plagued the program, starting with Hanner Mosquera-Perea's OWI arrest in February 2014.

This summer, star safety Antonio Allen, arguably the football team's top returning defensive player, was arrested on a host of drug-related charges. Allen was dismissed from the program and has since enrolled at Indiana State and joined the Sycamores.

McRobbie's involvement now speaks volumes, suggesting the issue is front and center in the offices of Bryan Hall, the central hub of the university's administration.

"I expect all of you to ensure that my message is heard loud and clear by all student-athletes," he said according to the excerpts. "I have stressed repeatedly that our student-athletes are first and foremost students! Our ultimate goal is to help them obtain a degree that will prepare them for career and life success.

"We owe this to them."

Glass has been vocal in the past year about taking a hands-on role in athlete behavior and discipline. Asked specifically about the most recent incident involving men's basketball, Glass declined to elaborate or speculate on any potential punishment, beyond saying he is giving it "the serious and sober attention it deserves."

"I don't really have anything to add to the statement we put out earlier this week," Glass said, referring to IU's two-sentence news release Monday. "We'll have more on that later."

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Addressing the Allen arrest publicly for the first time, Glass expressed confidence in football coach Kevin Wilson's assertion that Allen's behavior was isolated and not indicative of a larger issue involving other members of Wilson's program.

Indiana has not dismissed any other players for reasons related to Allen's crimes, to public knowledge. Glass said that he didn't "know for sure" but that he believed Allen lived in a single apartment.

"We took a comprehensive review of where that all is, across the whole team," Glass said. "Without getting into details of that, I think we're confident to state, as Kevin did, that we think that's an isolated incident with Antonio."

Glass' preseason news conference is an annual event used to announce changes and enhancements to IU's football game day experience. Wednesday's revealed plans to honor IU's undefeated 1945 football team, improved concussion protocols and arena safety, altered pyrotechnics at Memorial Stadium and even the addition of the Chocolate Moose — a popular Bloomington ice cream shop — to the stadium's concession offerings.

Like IU's landmark research find, and so many things in Bloomington recently, it was overshadowed.

Follow Star reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

Excerpts From:

IU Athletics All-Staff Meeting

Remarks of Michael A. McRobbie

President

Indiana University

North End Zone

Henke Hall of Champions

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Noon

STATEMENT ON STUDENT CONDUCT

I expect that all of you will have noticed the announcement last week of a brilliant scientific result in paleobotany by an outstanding team of scientists led by Dr. David Dilcher of IU's Department of Geological Sciences, where they seem to have identified the earliest form of ancient flowering plant life that emerged about 130 million years ago. This finding was published in one of the world's most prestigious scientific publications, the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.

This epochal result was applauded prominently in the media all over the world.

This is the sort of world-class achievement by our researchers with which I want to see Indiana University associated. I want to see the world-class accomplishments of our faculty and students celebrated, as well as the accomplishments of our student-athletes.

What I do not want to see is any more stories of repeated student misbehavior.

They embarrass the university, they embarrass all of you in Athletics, and they are a complete distraction from our primary role as an educational institution.

This misbehavior simply has to stop.

I expect all of you to ensure that my message is heard loud and clear by all student athletes.

I have stressed repeatedly that our student-athletes are first and foremost students!

Our ultimate goal is to help them obtain a degree that will prepare them for career and life success.

We owe this to them.

COMPETITION, CONDUCT, AND COMPLIANCE

As Hoosiers, we want to win—but win the right way, and with student athletes we can be proud of.

We expect our student-athletes to win with good sportsmanship but without sacrificing their education and without shortcuts.

As always—compliance with all NCAA, Big Ten, and Indiana University rules and policies by all coaches, student-athletes, and staff is crucial, and we will remain vigilant at every level to ensure we follow the rules.

As I have said to this group on numerous occasions, the love of sport must never sacrifice integrity.

Our student-athletes act as role models for students across campus and representatives of IU to the world beyond. They should embody Hoosier values of hard work, dignity, and respect.

All of us must play by the rules, whether those of the law or those of the game, whether we agree with the call or not, whether competition brings victory or defeat.