Spartans' Max Bullough Suspended

Submitted by dakotapalm on

"@BTNTomDienhart: Per Michigan State, Max Bullough has been suspended for the remainder of the season for a violation of team rules."

That's not good for the Big Ten's/ Spartan's chances in the Rose.

Huge surprise that this guy would be in trouble. I believe he was a team captain.

MJ14

December 27th, 2013 at 12:11 AM ^

Well apparently I'm not coming off as intended. I don't necessarily care that you think I'm a douche. I must say though that I have no idea how any of this comes off as me being offensive to the poster. I'm just stating my viewpoint, not knocking his. I said I can't feel sorry for the guy, I never said the poster was wrong for feeling bad for him. He can feel however he wants, I just wondered why because I don't, so I was sincerely wondering. 

Edit: If you're talking about my response to the poster who told me to F OFF because of my viewpoint, then I understand a little better. I didn't mean it in a bad way. Just as a matter of fact. And I also don't necessarily appreciate people taking me to F OFF, and I think I responded in a much better way than I could have. I don't go telling people to F OFF just because they have a certain opinion. 

blueblueblue

December 26th, 2013 at 8:18 AM ^

The thing is, humans dont think this way the majority of the time. It is a fiction we love to impose on people whose actions may or have harmed us, or as a way to feel superior to those people. And to make up for our own shortcomings. Only in rare circumstances are we actually rational actors, in which we have perfect informaiton and the time to assess all outcomes. So perhaps you should try to deal more with reality than fantasy.  

MGoBender

December 26th, 2013 at 8:31 AM ^

What? I'm sorry, I've gotten by being a rational person just fine. I've never been arrested because I've never done something dumb enough to get arrested. I've never put myself in a position where I have to make a choice between two bad options.

I haven't been perfect, and I have regrets, but to excuse poor decisions as "human nature" is insulting to everyone who does act rationally.

Plus, I would say for people in general, the rare times are the times we make mistakes and make poor decisions.  The vast majority of times we do act rationally.  It's that 1 out of 100 time where we make a mistake or make a bad decision.

blueblueblue

December 26th, 2013 at 8:34 AM ^

Wow, not quite the rational response. First, where did I say that non-rational behavior  = law breaking behavior? Or dumb behavior? In fact, the opposite is often true. Its often non-rational behavior (such as intuition) that results in very positive outcomes. So, how was I excusing bad behavior? He should face consequences. Its not about that. Its about understanding that people make mistakes, but must also learn from them. Try to be a bit more rational in your thinking. 

The fact is, if you think you have gotten by by being nothing but rational, you are living a fantasy. There are piles and piles of psychological and economic research on the topic. Thousdands of careers have been made our of research into the circumstances and reasons humans do not act rationally. That people normally act non-rationally is without debate. Its not about having regrets, breaking laws, being dumb, or negative consequences. But it can be. But it can also be about being very compassionate, thoughtful, giving, when its not rational to do so. Try some of that before giving an ignorant response. 

MGoBender

December 26th, 2013 at 8:41 AM ^

Ignorant? 

I spoke of law-breaking or dumb behavior because that's the context of this discussion.

Apparently, you were speaking much more broadly - I apologize for not being able to pick that up from the context of your post.  Perhaps I was ignorant in that regard, but given the context I think it is understandable.

Rational in the context of being giving/compassionate/thoughtful etc is a different topic than what we are talking about here.  And even then, I'd argue in favor of rationality.

It may be rational to not pay off my student loans too fast and instead invest into a Roth IRA because my student loans compound at 4% interest and the stock market has a history of 7% return.  However, I've made the financially less-shrewd move to pay off my student loans at an accelerated pace instead of put that money in the stock market, which is the better move mathematically.  I guess you would argue this is not a rational decision.  I think it is a rational decision because I am aware of the consequences and more heavily weigh the emotional stress of getting rid of my student loans.  Is that being irrational?  Probably a matter of opinion.

TESOE

December 26th, 2013 at 11:43 AM ^

other people consider substantial.  I doubt he had a choice (which is your point I think - it just needs to be said I think here.)  The cred doesn't flow from Dantonio's character as much as his lack of it.  Dantonio would likely not take action if it was something he could get away with given his past.

In addition this is a bowl game, the last game of a senior career and Max is a singular talent that is the heart of that defense (along with all american DB paly.)  Like you said - all things point to major screw up.

MGJS SuperKick Party

December 26th, 2013 at 6:56 AM ^

Agreed. What makes me feel so bad for the kid is his family's ties to the program. This Rose bowl has to mean so much to that family, as it does for the rest of the fan base.
However, kudos to Mark Dantonio for having the balls to suspend him. His duty is to help these boys become men, and actions have consequences. He has done a lot of stuff recently to really make me like him.

bronxblue

December 26th, 2013 at 7:58 AM ^

This is true, but I guess his brother does get to play, so at least someone in his family will get to Pasadena. That said, this feels like a situation Dantonio needed to sit him for. It wasn't missing training table or a meeting, I'm guessing. Though as was pointed out on TOC, no police reports could be found, so it must have been an internal issue.

ThadMattasagoblin

December 26th, 2013 at 12:56 AM ^

 I feel bad for the guy who's waited his entire life to play in this game. On the other hand, I find it hilarious that they lost the best player on the entire team six days before their biggest game in 25 years because he did something stupid.

alwaystrueblue

December 26th, 2013 at 1:09 AM ^

it sucks.

Must have been a serious mistake for Dantonio to boot him.

 

I hate the Spartans....but i feel bad for them now. They busted ass to get there....and now a good player fucks up....

RP

December 26th, 2013 at 1:35 AM ^

Damn, sucks for them. I always thought Max Bullough was a squeaky clean guy and a hell of a LB. Quite unexpected before their biggest game in 30 years.

Mr. Yost

December 26th, 2013 at 10:56 AM ^

But I was asking why the poster had the opinion of being shocked and surprised and never saw it coming.

Does he know the kid? Is it because he's a legacy kid from a football family, a well-off white kid that plays hard-nosed football?

Just wondering what sparked that train of thought. Clearly it wasn't his criminal history because he's already gotten in trouble.

aiglick

December 26th, 2013 at 1:53 AM ^

Well this now makes me think of Lewan. If Sparty is going to suspend one of if not their best players before a huge game are we not going to do the same? I have no idea if Lewan screwed up of course but if there are serious charges which there appear to be then shouldn't he also sit? Of course this sucks and I don't want either player to miss their final games but who knows a little lax discipline now can lead to terrible consequences for them and others down the road if they think it is ok to behave unacceptably. Now of course I am far from perfect as is every other human and i feel for these kids but if you break the rules and are caught you should face the consequences.

MJ14

December 26th, 2013 at 1:58 AM ^

Yes, because you should assume guilty until proven innocent right? Lewan came out and said he had nothing to do with it. The OSU fans story sounds bogus, and many people in the area say they can back Lewan up. So until we know what Bullough did, it's not fair to compare. You're basically saying that if tomorrow I release a story saying ten guys from the Michigan team beat me up, they should automatically be suspended. Forget actually going through the legal system and checking to see if Lewan was actually involved. 

aiglick

December 26th, 2013 at 2:13 AM ^

Innocent until proven guilty is a fantastic principle and one that i believe in though even in those cases where somebody is accused of a crime and facing a trial that person may be held in jail, "suspended" if you will, while a court determines that person's innocence. I, like you, have no idea if either player is innocent or guilty but what is indisputable is that both players have now had repeated incidents of suspicious behavior. Anyway I hope that both players, if guilty, learn from their mistakes and have successful careers in the NFL and elsewhere in their lives.

Sinsemillaplease

December 26th, 2013 at 3:37 AM ^

Being held in jail pending charges is not like a suspension. It is done to guarantee a court appearance. No action is necessary to assure an NCAA athlete continues to show up on campus. They already have incentive to do so. A suspension would not help in that regard. there really is no comparison to be made there.

bronxblue

December 26th, 2013 at 9:24 AM ^

Well, in Bullough's case he ran from some cops, was arrested, and pleaded out.  Lewan was not charged and, at best, was investigated.  I know he had some issue earlier on in his career, but when your coach suspends you before the biggest game in the last, what, 50 years in your school's history AND you were arrested and convicted in another state, that to me rises above this potential non-story about Lewan.

All that said, I'm not going to argue about the morality of college kids getting into fights or breaking rules.  Every team has guys who do, and the vast majority of their teammates don't do anything wrong and pass through the school successfully.  It sucks for the MSU and its fans that they will have to play Stanford without one of their leaders, but Hoke has suspended important players for big games before (Fitz against Alabama,  Stonum and Hagerup for whole seasons as well as individual games), and I'm guessing if there was sufficient fire behind the Lewan smoke he'd be sitting as well.  But this idea that UM is not addressing real, punishable acts because they want to win the f'king Copper Bowl and finish 8-5 is silly.  I commend Dantonio for doing what he did, though I'm guessing Bullough had to do something pretty bad for it to come to this.

bronxblue

December 26th, 2013 at 11:51 AM ^

As others have noted, Dantonio could have pulled one of those "let's wait and see" approaches that drags it out just long enough for the game to be played.  I mean, Tressel basically did that and it blew up in his face, but lots of other coaches have dragged stuff on long enough.  I'm guessing this involves something rather cut-and-dry, but LOTS of coaches have found ways to slow-play those offenses to benefit them.  I'm just giving him kudos for addressing it early and moving on.  

UMgradMSUdad

December 26th, 2013 at 9:52 AM ^

Until we know (and we may never know) what Bullough did, it's too early to praise or diss either the kid or his coach or make comparisons to other players and coaches.  Even the saner State fans (the non RCMB types) seem to acknowledge that it must be something serious.  Someone on TOC even speculated that it might be academic in nature.  Suppose he's ineligible to play in the bowl?  We just don't know, so it's way too early to pass judgment.

Mr. Yost

December 26th, 2013 at 10:57 AM ^

Look at FSU's situation...imagine if this guy was running the show. No Heisman or National Championship.

And Winston was being accused (but not charged) with MUCH more serious allegations.

Someone is going to make a joke, but imagine if that was Gardner and Michigan's season. We'd all be IRATE if we lost out on a Heisman and an undefeated national championship because of an allegation that didn't draw any charges. 

If it's that easy to get a player suspended, next year I'm creating 22 accounts and going after every OSU starter with flase allegations. They'll have to be suspended, because it must be true if MGoBlog is saying it about OSU players (with no link, proof, etc.)

ThadMattasagoblin

December 26th, 2013 at 2:00 AM ^

You can't suspend Lewan for the bowl game beause you don't know if the charges are correct or bogus. If Hoke suspends Lewan and he's innocent then Hoke suspended Lewan for doing nothing and that is worse than if he plays and did infact commit the assault because it can be made up with down the road in jail time and NFL draft status.