:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/assets/1093616/uspw_5588602.jpg)
When Boston College running back Montel Harris was dismissed from the team due to a "repeated violation of team rules" back in May, neither Frank Spaziani nor the department ever got into which teams rules Harris actually violated. By not disclosing the reasons for Harris' departure, it seemed like the program really, really didn't want to talk about the reasons behind his dismissal. The mainstream media followed the program's lead, refusing to really dig any deeper than the vague "repeated violation of team rules" reason given.
Fast forward three months later, where former Boston Globe BC beat writer Mark Blaudschun has struck out on his own to live among us blog folk with a blog named A Jersey Guy. Blaudschun, in a post riffing on Tyrann Mathieu's dismissal from LSU, drew a parallel to Harris' dismissal. Emphasis mine.
Harris, who had qualified for another season of eligibility after a knee injury virtually wiped out last season, would have been a key figure in BC's hope of bouncing back from last season's 4-8 record.
No one argued character issues. He was and is a great kid, always upbeat. But the buzz around BC was that the Eagles had no choice: three failed drug tests meant you were gone. BC, like LSU, chose to be vague in its wording.
Blaudschun has been a little more loose in his writing style since starting A Jersey Guy, which I guess is somewhat to be expected coming off a long career at a major news outlet. But to publish that Harris failed three drug tests and drawing a parallel to Mathieu's case, even if is was nothing more than reporting the "buzz around BC," seems a bit irresponsible.
Perhaps this was written to protect his boy and fellow Jersey guy Spaz. Maybe it was written simply to drive traffic to a new website (and if so, I guess I fell for it). Either way, seems a little irresponsible -- "mind-boggling"? -- to even draw a parallel between Mathieu and Harris without substantiating the "buzz around campus."