In the wake of football player Jimmy Wilson's arrest on charges he murdered a man in the Los Angeles area, and after allegations from California law enforcement officials that former teammate Qwenton Freeman witnessed the murder, UM officials have come under public pressure to explain their guidelines for recruiting and disciplining Grizzly athletes.
And while Hauck and other officials have been mostly silent through the storm, Dennison called the coach a strong “disciplinarian,” and said he's not to blame for the recent spate of negative news surrounding Griz players.
While Wilson was “suspended indefinitely” following his arrest, Freeman was cut from the team last Sunday when coaches learned he'd been arrested in downtown Missoula for disorderly conduct - he allegedly threw a beer bottle at someone standing on the sidewalk outside a bar.
But news of Freeman's arrest came on the heels of earlier reports that the 22-year-old cornerback is wanted on two misdemeanor warrants in Arizona, where he went to play football before signing with UM, and begged the question of whether coaches knew about his criminal past.
Dennison said it's critical for coaching staff at UM to be aware of their prospective players' pasts, but called Freeman's case an anomaly and said stringent policies already are in place for recruiting - and accepting - athletes into Missoula's community. He also said it's in the university's best interest to recruit athletes who also exhibit strong academic talent, helping UM to boost its graduation rates.
“We don't want to recruit somebody who is not going to make it,” he said. “I just think that we've got to make certain that we are enforcing all of these policies and procedures. I asked the question three or four times, ‘Why is it that we didn't know about those incidents in Freeman's background?' We should have. And the coaches at Arizona should have told us.”
“Bobby talked to the coaches down there and they said nothing was amiss,” he said. “Frankly, I don't think anybody around here knew about those incidents in Arizona.”
Dennison, who was overseas during the recent developments, said he's also spoken with athletic director Jim O'Day since returning to Missoula, and believes UM's policies and procedures regarding recruitment are already adequate.
“I think we have those policies,” he said. “This is not a large universe of people that we're talking about here. Coaches deal with coaches who deal with players, and players are well-known in their communities.”
To that end, Dennison said there's no need for UM to require background checks on its prospective players, and said the recent bouts of misconduct were based on isolated incidents.
The president also expressed disappointment in the public's characterization of Missoula's student athletes as having risen above the law, and dismissed complaints that Missoula residents say they took to athletic officials in recent years. Those residents contacted the Missoulian in the wake of Wilson's arrest, but asked to remain anonymous in news stories for fear of retribution.
“I'm comfortable with what (Hauck) did, and he certainly didn't ignore anything that was brought to him,” Dennison said. “Our athletes are not treated any differently than anybody else. Now you may not believe that, but that happens to be the case. Nor are they admitted on any different basis.”
“The police chief indicated that if he (received complaints) he talked to Bobby and Bobby dealt with it. He deals with it in a way that's appropriate,” Dennison said. “The condemnation or the tendency to characterize these athletes as being something other than students and the unconscionable tendency to view them as thugs is just inappropriate. I had an e-mail from someone who said we recruit thugs. We don't recruit thugs.”
He cautioned members of the public from drawing any conclusions about UM football players based on the allegations leveled against Wilson in California, which do not characterize the students or athletes recruited by UM.
“Just as with all of our students, bad things happen occasionally,” he said. “That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to prevent them, we should.”
Dennison even conceded the strong possibility of UM implementing a mentoring program for athletes recruited to play in Missoula from larger urban areas or other cultures.
“There's discussion about putting a mentoring program in place, and we will probably move forward with that,” he said. “But there are people now who provide that kind of assistance and counseling, including one member of the police department. But we can always do more and we will.”
In the meantime, Dennison said, UM will stay apprised of athletes' behavior by maintaining a good relationship with the Missoula Police Department, and by exhibiting the internal leadership critical to students' development.
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