Open Letter From Bill Snyder

[Kansas State 2000]

I am extending a heartfelt and sincere apology to the people of Kansas State, our community of Manhattan, and the entire state of Kansas for the anguish and suffering endured by those who genuinely care about our football program and university. The incident which took place during our stay in Scottsdale has been a painful experience for our administration, our faculty, our student body, our community, and, certainly, for all of us closely associated with Kansas State football.

 

I extend the same apology to the administration of the Fiesta Bowl, its sponsors, the Scottsdale Plaza Resort and the people of "The Valley of the Sun" all of whom received us so very well and extended such gracious hospitality to our travel party and all visiting K-Staters.

 

Please understand that it has not been my intent to withhold information from the media, but to cooperate with the legal process.

 

As we now know, charges will not be filed and the Maricopa County Attorney has stated that no criminal incident occurred. It is unfortunate that this damaging information was released prior to a thorough and complete investigation, which ultimately concluded there was no validity to the allegation of sexual assault or sexual abuse. The fact that the initial charges were found to be erroneous in many cases will fall on deaf ears.

As most of the people in our local and regional media understand, over the past 15 years in our program the violation of team rules and the punishments for those violations were always kept in house (within the "family"). Because this violation of team rules by our starting quarterback, Ell Roberson, became a national news story, I have decided in this one instance to make the consequences of violating those team rules public.

 

In accordance with our policy of the past 15 years, I then decided that the consequences for Ell Roberson and those players who had violated team regulations would include :

 

1. The loss of scholarship aid (of approximately $8,481.00) for the spring semester.

2. Not receiving a Fiesta Bowl ring.

3. Volunteer public service addressing youth groups within the community.

 

In addition to these consequences, Ell Roberson has already paid a severe price for his indiscretiona price far greater than perhaps any other student in a similar situation would have paid.

 

I want all K-Staters to know that this incident has hit at the core of my value system. I do not condone any form of sexual abuse or, for that matter, sexual activity for young, unmarried males or females. I have three daughters and three granddaughters. Each of whom I pray to be safe and secure and to carry strong moral values that coincide with those of our family.

 

At the time of the incident, I made what was seemingly an easy decision: to suspend the young men from our program and send them home that evening. I was at peace with that decision and shared it with our coaching staff the next morning.

However, later in the day, I was provided with information from local authorities and an outside investigation which led us to the conclusion that, with complete assurance, no crime of any nature was committed by any player in our program. An indiscretion, yes; a violation of the law, no. At that time it became apparent that the decision to suspend players did not seem consistent with other decisions made within the program.

 

Timing, then, became an issue. I had one day in which to make what I could only pray and hope would be the appropriate decision. This proved to be the most agonizing and painful event in my entire professional career.

 

As I anguished over this decision I was well aware that I do not have the capacity to regulate the decisions that 22 year olds make regarding their moral and sexual behaviors which are within the limits of the law.

 

The question arose: would it be better not to start the young men? The idea of allowing them to play, but not start the game and sit out for a series or two seemed merely a token consequence. I believed the price of this irresponsibility should be far greater. All the while, I was well aware that any decision I made would be met with criticism.

 

I cannot adequately convey to you how badly I feel for those within the Wildcat family who, through their allegiance to our university and athletic program, are suffering immensely. A day has not gone by that I have not prayed that the Lord would ease the pain for our players, coaches, staff, the athletic department, the university faculty, student body, and administration, and the remarkable K-State fan base throughout the country. The accusation that was falsely made in this incident will live within each of us for a long time to come.

 

I am grateful for the outpouring of support and the continued faith that we are diligently attempting to advance the proper values to young people within our program and that we are teaching life’s lessons in a manner which provides them with a venue to mature and grow toward a successful future.

 

I apologize from the depth of my soul that this situation ever took place.

 

Bill Snyder

Head Football Coach

Kansas State University

[Kansas State 2000]

Ell is getting a HUGE punishment one a lot worse than missing a few snaps in a bowl game. The reason he's getting such a huge one is because the media released false reports. If this was handled in house as always this would have resulted in a much smaller punishment.

 

I wonder how many high profile athletes will be accused of crimes they didn't commit just before big games down the road. If all someone has to do is make up a rape story to ruin a players reputation as well as their performance in a big game, I see it happening more and more.

 

As long as the media continues to report anything and everything they hear without waiting for the facts everyone is in danger? All it takes is one person that wants to get back at you or ruin your credibility to cry foul and the media runs with it, but by the time the facts come out you are already ruined. The way the media operates it doesn't really matter if you have done anything wrong or not as long as someone accuses you of wrongdoing you might as well be guilty.

 

How many people besides K-State fans are going to know that Ell was innocent of rape? I doubt you will see the same size headlines in papers and on the tube proclaiming Ell's innocence as they did in reporting he was accused of a crime. thumbs_d

[davearm]

A few comments:

 

First, Bill Snyder seems like a guy teaching the right lessons here, although somehow the fact that he laid on the remorse so thick, and apologized so profusely, almost makes me begin to question his sincerity. I love the fact that he holds his guys and his program to a very high standard, but c'mon, this isn't exactly a crisis of Bayloresque proportions here.

 

 

Kansas State 2000:

The reason he's getting such a huge [punishment] is because the media released false reports. If this was handled in house as always this would have resulted in a much smaller punishment.

That's certainly not my read of the situation. According to Snyder, Ell and the others received the same punishment they would have received had the situation been handled in-house. Snyder's just going public with the rules/punishments due to all the attention the incident has garnered. (Either that, or Snyder attended the Pete Rose School of Media Relations.)

 

 

Kansas State 2000:

I wonder how many high profile athletes will be accused of crimes they didn't commit just before big games down the road. If all someone has to do is make up a rape story to ruin a players reputation as well as their performance in a big game, I see it happening more and more.

That's an awfully pessimistic view of the world, as well as one that conveniently ignores that Roberson put himself in this precarious position by his own decisions/actions. You'd think that other high-profile hotel room "he-said, she-said" should have been all the warning necessary to prevent this sort of thing.

 

 

Kansas State 2000:

The way the media operates it doesn't really matter if you have done anything wrong or not as long as someone accuses you of wrongdoing you might as well be guilty.

Unfortunately, that's the way it's been for a long time, and regrettably will remain. These athletes need to recognize that like it or not, they're in the spotlight and under incredible scrutiny, and thus they need to conduct themselves accordingly. I have no doubt that Snyder and his staff have impressed this upon the team too many times to count.

 

With regard to the penalties, the cynic in me wonders if Ell had planned to skip the spring semester anyway, to prepare himself for individual workouts and the combine (as do many draft-bound seniors). If so, then the scholarship part is a moot point. And volunteer public service? Isn't he involved in this sort of activity already?

[polksalet]

Snyder is one of my alltime favorite coaches. Even moreso now.