What to do about DeAndre McDaniel

Ever since the story broke on DeAndre McDaniel's arrest on charges of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature I've heard many and varied opinions on what should be done, if anything, with his status on the football team. It's a fair, but tough question.

My first instinct was that because of the nature of the charges he should be suspended, if not permanently removed from the team. There's one problem with that: McDaniel hasn't been convicted (or admitted to) of anything. So to suspend or remove him from the team would be tantamount to finding him guilty without a trial. There's no doubt others know more about the situation than I. What's the likelihood he committed the offenses he was charged with or at least at least some offense that would warrant his suspension? Who knows? I don't. I have to trust that the university in letting him stay in school and Tommy Bowden in letting him remain on the football team (for now) know more than I do.

Would I feel the same way if, say, the charges were murder? The answer is no. So, it's not even as simple as saying "Let's wait for the courts to settle this". For me, part of the answer lies in the very emotional nature of the crime. It's one of those crimes that makes headlines and is very often tried in the court of public opinion before the facts come out.

However, having served on a grand jury I do know that just because you are arrested and charged with a crime doesn't automatically mean you are guilty.

This is a no-win situation for Tommy Bowden. Sit him because of "allegations" and you risk the chance of punishing an "innocent" person. Play him while the case winds its way through the courts and you risk setting a precedent of seemingly not caring about what your players do off the field in order to win on the field and Clemson's reputation for fielding a team with great character and few off field problems could be harmed for a long long time, especially if McDaniel is eventually found guilty.

I would like to think that Bowden looked at the evidence he had in front of him (which is not necessarily the same that will be used in court) and made a judgment call. I would like to think that McDaniel's side of the story was compelling enough for Bowden to keep him on the team (for now). I would like to think that Bowden had not only McDaniel's version of the events, but also the complainant's version to compare to McDaniel's version.

I would like to think the nagging doubts I have about Bowden's decision to keep McDaniel on the team for now will go away soon.