Necessary roughness

The University of Wisconsin football team – a squad that has gone to great lengths to embarrass this school off the field over the past several months – took a major step forward late last week. Then, predictably, four steps backward.

Kudos to new coach Bret Bielema for tossing Booker Stanley off the team in wake of his continued run-ins with the law and alleged issues with anger management. Barry Alvarez was never one to take such decisive action when it came to athlete discipline and Mr. Bielema, of whom I have been publicly skeptical at times, has certainly started his new job with the right tone.

But, alas, much is still rotten in the state of Denmark. Four more UW football players found themselves in trouble with law enforcement once again the other evening, as citations were dished out in one of the school's residence halls. Leading the pack is Parrish “P.J.” Hill.

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

Hill and three UW other players were involved in a disturbance outside a residence hall at 2:15 a.m. Jan. 26. Hill allegedly brandished a baseball bat and was cited for disorderly conduct while armed.

Linebackers Jonathan Casillas and Elijah Hodge and tight end Jaevery McFadden, all freshmen, were also allegedly involved.

They were cited by UW police for violating the UW administrative code, a non-criminal offense. That offense is not a violation of UW's student-athlete discipline policy and those players have not been suspended from the team.

Perhaps most stirringly, the same article reports:

Including this incident, eight UW players have been arrested or cited by police since Dec. 16.

Mr. Bielema took the proper first step by throwing Mr. Stanley off the squad. A fleeting glance of dignity has returned to the UW program accordingly. Now, if he is serious about sending a message that class is more than just those pesky lectures players sometimes attend, he'll extend the boot to Messrs. Hill, Casillas, Hodge and McFadden as well.

It is a privilege to be a UW athlete. And it should take more than mere talent to attain such an honor and represent this university on the field.