The FAIRMONT TIMES WEST VIRGINIAN ran a op-ed column today that lays much of the responsibility for the misdeeds of former Mountaineers Adam “Pacman” Jones and Chris Henry at the feet of their former (and now Michigan) head coach, Rich Rodriguez.
“But it must be said the university — especially the football program run at the time by Rich Rodriguez — failed to do anything to straighten out this gifted but troubled young man.
It failed in its responsibilities to Henry, to his family and to society, which is threatened each day he walks around freely.
Multiple sources within the athletic department and football program say Henry was much worse than his public image, and that public image was never exactly heroic.”
It goes on to detail a number of nasty incidents involving Henry, Jones and receiver Travis Garvin - currently doing time for armed robbery - that were met with little or no disciplinary action by Rodriguez. In one case, receivers coach Steve Bird was fired for Garvin and Henry refusing to to do running drills before the 2003 Gator Bowl, with no penalty to either of the players.
Seeing as how Henry and Jones could reunite in Dallas, if this whole Michigan thing doesn’t work out, maybe Rich Rod can find his way onto the staff there. Just to ensure they don’t lose his quality instruction.
2:34 am on April 7th, 2008
“…if this whole Michigan thing doesn’t work out, maybe Rich Rod”
… um, could do what, exactly?
Maybe you should finish the sentence before you hit the “publish” button.
5:42 pm on November 16th, 2008
rich r had to do this to get wvu football program… pick up kids who no1 else wanted to that is… henry and jones prolly had like 1.0 gpas in high school + criminal records…
12:48 pm on December 27th, 2009
First of all, the NCAA is a little anal retentive about GPAs, SAT/ACT test scores and such when determining eligibility, so don’t start defaming people without the facts, Jon. Think before you post. That being said, whether or not Pac Man, Chris Henry or Travis Garvin were pre-collegiate felons is sort of a wash… it would not be the first time that criminals have found their way into college football: the great stories rise above those things, while others (Pac Man Jones as a singular example) return to their old patterns to harm themselves and everyone around them.
The larger issue in all of this is the culture that exists at WVU, a culture Rich Rodriguez would be well aware of as an alumni of the school. WVU is, without question, on a very short list for the title of “Party School of the Universe.” If a pipeline could be built to directly pump beer from Milwaukee to Morgantown, someone would finance it! One of the frats in Morgantown had (I don’t know whether it continues or not) a party ritual called the “Beer Slide”, which is like a Slip N’ Slide with beer.
In this culture, athletes get a lot of lattitude. BMOC syndrome is alive and well at WVU, and the Mountaineers do what they can to accomodate their stars. For the most part, they have been fortunate in that they have not picked anyone who has done something that attracts an excess of attention (murder, serial rape in the dorms, that sort of thing), but it is only a matter of time until the culture does produce such an incident if that culture manages to continue.
Basically, we’re talking about “Animal House” rules here: as long as you win games and play right, you’re allowed some partying and mischief. Unless you REALLY acrew the pooch (get caught with your drugs, statutory rape of a booster’s daughter, theft of the Hope Diamond), you’ll get by.
This culture existed when Rodriguez was a Mountaineer, and has continued to this day. As a coach and leader, it can be argued that Rich should have been more active in intervening in that culture, but he is not the only coach there, nor is that culture restricted only to the the athletic department. That being said, I do think it can be argued that the athletic department could make a greater effort to try to change some of the thinking among both students and administration.
I have believed for a long time that the incidents involving Pac Man Jones and Chris Henry were indicative of how permissive the culture at WVU had become. I have also believed that it was an understanding of that culture that allowed Rich Rodriguez to florish in Morgantown. WVU is still playing in bowl games, while Michigan has been a study in mediocrity in the two years since Rich Rodriguez took over the program there. Is it unfair to say that perhaps Rich is still suffering culture shock at Michigan? I don’t think so.
More important at this time is this question: had there been an effort to intervene in and alter the course of Chris Henry’s life, if only a little, would he still be alive today? I don’t know. I do hope, however, that the next Chris Henry or Pac Man Jones get the intervention he needs before he follows them into a jail cell or a grave.