Sen. Claire McCaskill criticizes Oklahoma's signing of Dorial Green-Beckham
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) is not a fan of Oklahoma's recruitment of Dorial Green-Beckham.
In a column for USA Today published Wednesday, McCaskill criticizes the Sooners for their pursuit of the former top recruit in the country. After playing for two seasons at Missouri, Green-Beckham was kicked off the team in April.
He was involved in an incident in which he forced his way into an apartment and pushed a woman down some stairs. The woman, a friend of his girlfriend, declined to press charges in the matter citing the attention and possible backlash.
McCaskill, a Missouri fan and alum, references a recent poll asking what coach college football coaches would want to have their son play for. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops tied Georgia's Mark Richt as the most popular coach.
I watched to see whether another program would pick him up. Unfortunately, I didn't have to wait long. Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma Sooners welcomed him, and even petitioned the NCAA to let him play this season. With a straight face they cited the "run-off" rule that allows eligibility for a player who leaves a squad for reasons beyond his control. Thankfully, that request was denied, but he will be eligible to play next year, if he is not drafted by the NFL before then. None of this is particularly surprising. But for Stoops to get the most votes from his fellow coaches as the coach they wanted to influence their sons?
After he signed with Oklahoma, the Sooners petitioned the NCAA to allow Green-Beckham to play in 2014 via the NCAA's "run-off" waiver. The request was denied. Since 2014 is Green-Beckham's third year out of high school, he has the option of playing for Oklahoma in 2015 or declaring for the NFL draft.
Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione told Sports Illustrated earlier in the week that the school would not recruit Green-Beckham now. The Sooners suspended freshman running back Joe Mixon for the season after he punched a female student (a punch caught on video) and LB Frank Shannon has been suspended for the season following a Title IX investigation into allegations of sexual assault. (Shannon was not charged in the matter.)
However, Castiglione's reasoning for not recruiting Green-Beckham was because of the attention similar cased have received recently. That's ridiculous. While his comments were before the publication of McCaskill's op-ed, the crux of her comments probably doesn't change after hearing them.
It is time for real leaders in the world of big-time sports to do a soul search on character. Every decision they make reflects on them in ways that a won/loss record never will.
- - - - - - -
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
