by Kent Sterling
No smiles early this morning for Yogi Ferrell, who was arrested along with teammate Stanford Robinson.
Being arrested for illegal consumption and possession of a fake ID while in college is almost a rite of passage, and Indiana basketball players Yogi Ferrell and Stanford Robinson became members of that club at Kilroy’s Sports Bar early thing morning, according to a release from the Indiana State Excise Police.
Getting self-righteous about underage drinking is ridiculous, as virtually everyone who has attended Indiana University in Bloomington has been there and done that, but did Ferrell and Robinson have to step so far into the danger zone to risk getting caught?
These are the second and third arrests of basketball players for alcohol related crimes in Bloomington in the last three months. Hanner Mosquera-Perea was booked for OWI – a far more serious charge – on Valentine’s Day.
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The only part of the story that baffles is that two of the most recognizable people in Monroe County would use a fake ID. Everyone in town knows that Ferrell is a sophomore and Robinson is a freshman, so if there is a hard ass bouncer or the dreaded excise police (similar in stature and demeanor to the Central Park Rangers in “Elf”) someplace, the card will either be confiscated or the police called.
If the police wanted to drill the message home that they aren’t playing games this weekend, who better to bust than a couple of basketball players. Ferrell has been through this drill for two years, so he should have known that fame is a double-edged sword.
For days, reports from Bloomington have touted the multitudes of law enforcement officials stationed in likely target areas waiting to arrest students who have either consumed too much alcohol or are too young to drink at all. There is one weekend not to use fake IDs in Bloomington, and it started last night.
Everyone I knew at IU had a fake ID but me. Spending $10 to get a bogus Kentucky Drivers License seemed to invite more problems than it would solve, and with cases of beer selling for $8 in the 1980s, it seemed like bad economics.
Being denied entry to a bar was a pill I could swallow, but being arrested for holding a fake ID and forfeiting what amounted to a case of Bud Light (plus a six-pack) was unacceptable.
Ferrell and Robinson will be earnestly chastised by Crean, and will go through conditioning work that will reinforce the message. The worst part of the deal for Ferrell is that he is only two weeks from turning 21.
The weekend will continue, and more dopey and entitled kids who don’t believe consequences await them for being idiots will be cuffed and tossed in the drunk tank.
That’s Little 500 Weekend in Bloomington.
Oh come on Kent! Here’s to dopey and entitled ADULTS who don’t believe consequences await them for being idiots! Cheers!
We were clever – never entitled.
as much as I like to fault crean for everything:crisis in Ukraine, global warming famine etc., I cant fault him for this. these are just stupid kids. really stupid. like how creaning stupid can you be stupid. dummies. so this isn’t crean. but imagine this: you are chosen to have a house built by habitat for humanity. how cool would it be to have the entire Indiana basketball team build it for you?! that is if there ok to drive to get there. we didn’t make any tournaments this year but if there existed a beer Olympics our bball team would make the final four. but something tells me if these arrests happened during the season crean would handle it in a way that draws ire and the questioning of his morals. anyway not creans fault. dumb stupid idiot kids. but we have had three alcohol related arrests in the past three months and half the team either transferred or quit. hmmmmmmmmm…well those three guys can carpool to community service now. idiots.
I think the tendency for the older crowd (of which, I have to reluctantly admit, I’m a part of now) is to forget what it was like being young, and the things we used to do. Having said that, I never had a fake ID, but knew older folks that would buy beer for me, and I did drink before I was *legally* able to. I really don’t see anything wrong with underage drinking, provided it’s done where noone can get hurt, and it’s just for fun. That’s what I did. (ie – no drinking and driving or the like to endanger anyone else)
The situation with Mitch McGary is also something I would bring up in this situation. Smoking a joint at a party, and then getting hit with a one year suspension from said recreational use? That’s absolutely ridiculous. Glad he went pro even if snubbing the NCAA isn’t an intended effect of his action in leaving. The NCAA needs to drastically change that penalty…. But I digress.
These things don’t make any of the kids bad, and they’re young enough to learn a lesson and move forward. I think we should have enough leniency and understanding built into the system to reflect a common sense approach in these instances.
Here’s to hoping calmer and cooler heads prevail in any punishment that needs to be dispensed, and in moving forward with a positive attitude. I’m sure that in the end, the kids and IU will be just fine.
Warren, I’m surprised more people aren’t outraged about McGary’s suspension/dismissal too.
I’m no pot fan, but to invoke a de facto death penalty for a kid WHO IS NOT EVEN PLAYING for testing positive is ridiculous, and more evidence of the tin ear at the NCAA. I don’t know the facts. Pot may not even be illegal or it’s non criminal in Ann Arbor. It’s not a crime in many major urban areas. NBA players are allowed under their contract.
I’d love to see a lawyer make the case that he lost his scholarship for testing positive for something that’s not even illegal.
I’m no Martha Stewart fan either, but recall she was imprisoned for lying about something that was not illegal. This seems reminiscent.
Three arrests in three months. Talk about a lack of institutional control…
I have a problem with the light penalty for Mosquera Perea, but this was just college kids being dumbasses. I don’t hold Crean responsible for Ferrell and Robinson.
you hit the nail on the head there ks. but if you look at the forest instead of the trees you have 3 arrests in 3 months and a major emigration from the program. aside from graduates, what percent of the team is returning and has not been arrested?
My choice is to see the Ferrell/Robinson issue as an moment of stupidity rather than evidence of a trend of poor behavior. Perea – different deal. As for the transfers, I don’t blame Etherington. He’s a post grad transfer. Hollowell was a necessary removal. Vonleh is going to the NBA. My biggest concern is for the walk-ons. They play only because of a deep love of the game, and if things are going on within the program that corrupt that love – it’s a problem.
People can mock and see Crean as the devil if they like. I don’t. Is the momentum headed in the wrong direction? Yes, and that needs to change. Making it personal corrupts your point of view.