Report: Army disciplined 20 cadets after 'alcohol-fueled party' involving recruits (Update)
Update: 10/28 - 10:20 a.m. ET
U.S. Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen Jr. issued a lengthy statement Sunday and accepted responsibility for the football program’s recruiting violations that took place early this year.
As Superintendent, I take full responsibility for all actions that occur here at West Point to include the incident on January 25, 2014. I am fully committed to the values of West Point in all of our cadets and in all of our programs, and will ensure they are upheld to the highest of standards. We have programs that assess the climate and culture of our teams and clubs, and have taken action when assessments indicate the need to do so. We have also commissioned outside consultants to review our workplace culture and policies for blind-spots and weaknesses. When violations occur, I am committed to investigate them in accordance with all due process and adjudicate accordingly. I believe those involved in this incident have learned from their mistakes, corrected their behavior accordingly, and will have the character to be the leaders our Nation expects of its West Point graduates.
In the statement, Caslen also disputed a few portions of the original story from the Gazette of Colorado Springs.
First, Caslen asserts that no “booster” money was involved in the trip to the bowling alley. However, the way the “Cadet host funds,” which were distributed legally, were handled by the cadet hosts resulted in violations.
Next, Caslen characterizes the “police escort” for the bus as being compliant with New York state law “that requires a bus to have a police escort while traveling on the Palisades Parkway.” Caslen also wrote that the “54-passenger charter bus” was escorted by just one state police officer. However, the investigation into the matter found that the escort is a violation of NCAA rules and the school has since “discontinued the practice.”
Caslen also disputed that the football staff arranged for female cadets to attend the trip. Instead, he says that cadet hosts invited female cadets who were a part of a recruiting dinner to accompany them on the trip to the mall.
Finally, Caslen says there was no “cover up” to keep quiet about the incident.
West Point is prohibited from disclosing or discussing personnel matters and ongoing investigations by the federal Privacy Act. We did a deliberate investigation, held individuals accountable, and reported rules violations to the NCAA.
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Army disciplined 20 cadets on the football team after learning of an “alcohol-fueled party” that occurred earlier this year and involved recruits.
According to a report from The Gazette of Colorado Springs, the football team hosted several recruits for a party that featured “a dinner date with female cadets, cash from boosters and VIP treatment on a party bus complete with cheerleaders and a police escort.”
Army, which “acknowledged the misconduct,” self-reported a recruiting violation to the NCAA as a result of the incidents after it disciplined the 20 players involved. Additionally, two officers and two coaches were reprimanded, but according to The Gazette, “those involved avoided more serious punishments, including dismissal from the academy for cadets and courts-martial for officers.”
All of the players involved, including starting quarterback Angel Santiago, are “expected to be on the field” when the Black Knights host Air Force on Saturday.
Army said in a statement that it takes this matter “very seriously.”
"Although seen as a minor infraction by the NCAA, the U.S. Military Academy takes this very seriously and adjudicated this at the highest level of the disciplinary code. We adjudicated this under Article 10 of the Cadet Disciplinary Code and all cadets appeared before the Commandant's Disciplinary Board."
According to The Gazette, Army began to investigate the recruiting misconduct in March and found that “football coaches, including first-year coach Jeff Monken, knew of the incidents within days but didn’t tell West Point leaders or the NCAA.”
Monken dished out unspecified punishments and also held the players involved from the spring game.
The first instance of recruiting violations occurred on January 24 and involved 14 recruits. The recruits were taken on a trip to a mall 27 miles from campus “on a chartered bus with a full police escort.” The recruits were then taken to a bowling alley that is “known for turning a blind eye to underage drinking.” At the alley, cadets used “booster money allocated for the evening” to buy beer for themselves and the recruits.
According to a report written by Lt. Col. Shannon Miller, the person assigned to investigate the incidents by the school, the ride home “reflected a club-like atmosphere.”
"The trip consisted of the (charter) bus driver allowing the music to play very loudly, dancing in the aisles, strobe lights flashing iPhones to reflect the club-like atmosphere," Miller wrote. The investigator also found that two female cheerleaders began making out amid the bus party, adding a sexual charge to the scene. The cheerleaders also kissed a football player and a recruit.
The second incident occurred in February and involved Lt. Col. Chad Davis, Army’s director of football operations.
From The Gazette:
Miller found that Army football recruiters use female cadets to help sell West Point. In February, West Point's director of football operations, Lt. Col. Chad Davis, recruited cheerleaders and members of the academy's women's basketball and volleyball teams to act as dinner dates for recruits, Miller's report said. Miller wrote that Davis, who still works for the team, told the women, "We want recruits to see that there are pretty girls that go here," and "There are not just masculine women that attend West Point."
The NCAA issued a warning to Army earlier this month, but did not issue sanctions. However, the NCAA said Monken could be suspended if similar incidents occur in the future.
Miller’s report said that the bus trop to the mall “started more than a decade ago.”
“The Palisades mall trip has been in place for many years. Additionally no officer in-charge attends the trip to the Palisades, cadets do not sign out and there is no clearly understood cadet in charge,” Miller wrote.
Army instituted new guidelines for recruiting visits in September requiring officers be in attendance at all times. An officer did not attend the previously described bus incident.
For more Army news, visit GoBlackKnights.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
