The 3-0 record may have been foreseen at this point by many Irish fans, but did we know that there would be two 30-plus point victories? Did we know that we’d have a poor performance against a rival and still find a way to coast to a victory (which is more than we could say at this point in 2012)? Did we know that Michigan would be a part of the former and not the latter?

But more impressive than the record is what is going on behind the curtains at this time regarding the academic fraud scandal.

We all know the narrative by now: DeVaris Daniels, KeiVarae Russell, Ishaq Williams and Kendall Moore have all been suspended indefinitely from the football team until more information and hearings are held to determine what happened in 2012 and what should happened from this point moving forward.

I know many Irish fans have become upset at the slow pace of justice resulting from this investigation. I understand. But these are events that happened two or three years ago and include tens of people, not just a few. Notre Dame investigations are extremely thorough; they get every drop of data and information they can. They also present their case against the student TO the student before the final hearings. This is the phase that the four suspended players seem to be going through currently. This way the student has the ability to know what they are up against and create a defense of their actions. It’s due process, and although nerve-wracking while involved it is an extremely fair process.

Quarterback Everett Golson knows all about this as well. Following the 2012 season, it came to light that Golson had participated in some form of academic fraud (Notre Dame does not release official charges against students as part of their privacy policy) and was no longer eligible to play as per the University’s guidelines. A common judgement in these cases is for the student to take a year off from the University and reapply for the following school year.

Will Mahone was dismissed from the University of Notre Dame and is currently enrolled at Youngstown State University

This disciplinary result is based on one goal: rehabilitation. They give the student a chance to not only be punished for their mistakes, but also to work on what caused them to make that decision. It gives them motivation to work harder to get back to where they want to be. Golson fought for this. He never once wavered regarding his desire to return to campus and he was readmitted.

Not all students are as lucky as these players, however. Notre Dame has often held to the standard that felonious acts are cause for expulsion and they maintained this policy regarding former RB/WR Will Mahone. Mahone was arrested and charged with five counts after an incident involving vandalism and resisting arrest in his hometown. He was immediately suspended from the team and the school asked him to leave after formal charges were filed. They made it very clear that Mahone would be allowed to reapply after the process was complete or if his felony charges were dropped or changed.

Mahone stuck to his guns and plead not-guilty at first, but as part of a pre-trial plea bargain he ended up pleading guilty to four misdemeanor charges and spent only ten days in jail. To the best of our knowledge, he never attempted to reapply to Notre Dame and now currently attends Youngstown State University.

In all three events, Notre Dame has been extremely consistent. Upon discovery of the event, the students involved immediately lose football privileges. University hearings are slow but fair. The University is open to readmission.

The sports news during the last couple of weeks has been very disturbing: Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald, Adrian Peterson.

What’s even more disturbing is that the NFL and their respective teams have given no consistency despite all of them being in essentially the same hot water. Rice was suspended for two games, then indefinitely, then cut from the Ravens; Hardy wasn’t suspended at all until the Rice situation blew up, then was deactivated for last week’s game and is currently active for his next game; McDonald is being investigated but has not been formally charged yet, and has played in both games so far this year; Peterson has had two stories of child abuse surface and was deactivated last weekend, he was reinstated this weekend but has since been placed on the exempt list after sponsors began pulling their money.

And that last bit there…that’s where things began changing in the NFL — money. When fans and players speak out against these players, the NFL responded with silence and goose chases. When sponsors began speaking out and ending deals, players became suspended.

This is where Notre Dame stands out from the crowd. Notre Dame didn’t give Everett Golson special treatment because he was a star quarterback. He got the same treatment that Will Mahone got: fix your issues, then reapply. Golson did both, and now he’s back on the team and playing some of the best football in the nation. Mahone dealt with his legal issues (it is unclear if his anger and/or substance abuse issues have been addressed) but never reapplied to the University.

For these four players involved in the current academic fraud case, they need only know one thing: Notre Dame stands by you. They may punish you, they may take football away from you — but they stand by you. They give you every resource possible to help you in school, and they give you everything you need to regain your enrollment.

Notre Dame does not put the success of its football team first; Golson was dismissed for a year while other schools may have given only a one or two game suspension for a similar charge.

While we sit back and wait for a decision on these players involved in the fraud case, let us take a moment to remember what that Notre Dame is doing what is best for each individual student. They didn’t wait for the NCAA to force them to punish the kids. They didn’t wait for Gatorade to pull its water coolers from the sidelines.

Remember this the next time a school suspends a kid for just a half of football after being arrested over the weekend. Remember the this the next time you feel like complaining about the school taking too long to decide the fate of the foursome.

Notre Dame does Notre Dame things and at a Notre Dame pace, we all know this. I trust that the students’ well-beings will be put first in their hearings. That’s what this school does. It won’t put the football team first, it won’t cut out cancerous players for no reason.

It is a special place and I’m proud to have an association with the University and the great fans that support it.

The post Notre Dame Unmatched On and Off the Field appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

After his arrest, Mahone was initially charged with three felonies. Two of those three felonies were dropped but with one felony still looming, Notre Dame dismissed the sophomore WR. Mahone’s lawyer stated at the time that he’d like to return to Notre Dame, but the school informed him that he would not be able to as long as the felonies were still pending.

According to Vindy.com, Mahone reached what appears to be a plea agreement:

Mahone, 20 of White Beech Lane, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, assault and aggravated menacing. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail and received two days credit from the time he was arrested initially and when he posted bond. After his jail sentence, he will be on a on probation for a year.

The most important thing to note is that Mahone didn’t plead to any felony charges. It appears that those charges have been dropped as a result of this plea.

Now cleared of all felony charges, Mahone could reapply for admission to Notre Dame if he chooses. Even if he does, there is no guarantee that Notre Dame will readmit him and Brian Kelly’s indefinite suspension could still be in play.

Either way, with admittance for the fall semester set and fall camp just around the corner, Mahone will likely miss the 2014 season. More important for him though is getting his life back together and on track. Hopefully the conclusion of this case will be the first step in him being able to do so.

The post Will Mahone Sentenced to 10 Days in Jail, Felonies Dropped appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

James Gentile, Mahone’s attorney, said Monday night that Mahone would like to return to Notre Dame. But, Gentile said, Mahone is of the understanding that he will not be allowed to return to the school as long as the felony charges against him are pending.

“That’s what the school has told him,” Gentile said. “If for some reason those felonies are reduced or something happens, then he’s free to reapply.”

It’s important to note that this is a University decision and not a Brian Kelly one. When the story of the arrest broke, Brian Kelly reacted quickly and suspended Mahone indefinitely from all football activities.

Based on this development, it stands to reason that the University feels the felony charges and case against Mahone are serious enough to cut ties with the 20 year old. Those charges are assault of a police officer, intimidation of a public servant/party official and vandalism of a government entity (and also misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct).

UPDATE [7/8/14, 11:52 AM ET]: It appears the charges for Mahone are different than what the SBT reported. Per Vindy.com:

A trial is now set for 11:30 a.m. July 23 in the township. Mahone pleaded not guilty to a charge of resisting arrest when he appeared for his arraignment June 16.

He had been arrested on charges of assault on a police officer, vandalism, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and intimidation. According to online court records, he now faces only resisting-arrest and intimidation charges.

That would mean that Mahone is now only facing a single felony charge of intimidation of a public servant/party official and one misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.

As we stated in our first report, this incident should not be compared with what happened with Tommy Rees and Carlo Calabrese. If you are wondering why neither of those gentlemen were dismissed from the University, please remember that neither player was formally charged with a felony. Rees was the only one in any real danger of a felony charge (assault of a police officer), but that charge was quickly dropped–it barely lasted even 24 hours.

Likewise, since neither player had a felony levied against them, Brian Kelly was able to take his time in making a decision on disciplinary action. After stewing on it for a summer, he suspended both players for the 2012 season opener, costing Rees and Calabrese a trip to Dublin, Ireland.

The University of Notre Dame has waited nearly a full month to let Mahone’s situation play out before deciding to dismiss him. You can’t ask for much more patience from the ND administration on this matter.

The bottom line is that this is a sad development for Mahone and I certainly hope that he is able to put his life back together. We here at HLS certainly hope that, no matter what the result of Mahone’s proceedings, he is able to do so.

The post Will Mahone Dismissed from Notre Dame appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

The incident occurred when officers responded to a domestic disturbance call relating to a fight. When officers arrived, witnesses described Mahone as highly intoxicated and claimed he was head-butting/punching vehicles as well as attempting to fight several people.

According to the police report filed by the Austintown Police Department (as relayed by Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune):

Police say an officer advised Mahone to calm down and get on the ground, to which Mahone responded with, “(Expletive), white boy.” Police say an officer then took Mahone to the ground, but he repeatedly resisted arrest. Once Mahone finally was able to be handcuffed, police claim, he responded, “(Expletive), you white piece of (expletive). Takes these cuffs off and I’ll kill you. I’ll (expletive) kill you.” As Mahone was being led to the cruiser, police allege, he began to scream and shout and tried to pull away. Mahone is further accused of whipping his head back in an aggressive manner, striking a police officer on his forehead. Police accuse Mahone of trying to kick police after they again took him to the ground. At that point, an officer drive-stunned Mahone to gain compliance. As he was being taken to the cruiser, Mahone is accused of continually yelling, “Take these cuffs off, and I’ll kill all of you.” Once placed in the cruiser, Mahone allegedly violently kicked the window in the back seat of the cruiser and had to be drive-stunned again. While police were outside interviewing witnesses, Mahone allegedly began to spit on the windows and the seats of the cruiser, at which time a spit net was applied over Mahone’s head. When Mahone was told he was being transported to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Austintown to have a laceration on his left eye examined, Mahone allegedly responded, “Good, get me out of these cuffs and I’ll kill you and all them bitches there.” As the behavior escalated, the officer rerouted to Mahoning County Justice Center for incarceration. Mahone is accused of then stating to the officer, ‘Bro, when I get out, I got a Glock 9 for your (expletive),” referring to a handgun. When Mahone arrived at the justice center, he was seen by medical staff and refused admittance. He was then transported to St. Elizabeth’s, where he was escorted to the emergency room for observation.

I’m sure you can see already, this does not bode well for any young man. Assaulting a police officer is serious business, and intoxicated or not, threatening to shoot an officer isn’t going to win him any sympathy points in court.

Frankly, this is a very disturbing story and it will likely spell the end of Mahone’s playing career at Notre Dame (Mahone has no stats and has appeared in only two games thus far). The University released a statement Monday afternoon stating that Mahone has been suspended indefinitely from the football team, though he will still be allowed to attend classes. It is also the policy of the University to remain silent on any internal discipline set forth by the school.

The University has mixed precedent regarding felonious students. I, personally, have seen students expelled from school immediately after their arraignment and have also seen the school stand by its students when facing criminal charges.  Likely, he will be asked (or forced) to take a leave of absence from the school to take care of his personal matters.

Lately, the school has done a good job, in this author’s humble opinion, of allowing students to own up to and fix their mistakes. Expelling students and kicking them into the streets does nothing to help them build character or address any attitude/substance abuse problems.

By allowing them to earn their way back to the school, it gives kids who may have very little hope something to work for. Goals are very important in the rehabilitation process and I hope the school continues to give kids like Mahone the chance to redeem themselves and grow as human beings.

There’s one more thing that needs discussing regarding this story: this is not the same thing as Tommy Rees and Carlo Calabrese. It’s not close. It’s not. Stop it. Stop the comparisons. In South Bend, Tommy and Carlo were at a party that was getting broken up by police and decided to run away. It was emotional and they definitely toed the line with officers, but they were never charged with felonies. There is a massive difference between officers breaking up an off-campus party and responding to a domestic disturbance call. Please know that difference.

Also please, spare everyone the grief that Will Mahone won’t get special treatment because he’s not a starter. Mahone will get what he deserves for what turned out to be several hours of malicious and violent behavior. Rees and Calabrese were drunk and stupid, and officers of the law and of the court know the difference between that and belligerent, violent behavior.

I do wish the best for Mahone and hope he can see this as a “rock bottom” situation upon which to build his future. Mistakes are made by all of us, and hopefully he learns and grows from his.

The post Notre Dame Wide Receiver Will Mahone Arrested, Suspended appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.