4 braves suspended- update (2/18)- Ja'Shon Henry reinstated

[Da Coach]

IMO, this has just taken a turn for the worse...

Report from the Missouri State beat writer-
https://www.news-leader.com/story/sp...se/6769640002/

Four Bradley men's basketball players who were suspended Saturday before a weekend series against Missouri State are named in a Springfield police report, though it's not yet clear if a crime occurred.
Springfield Police spokesperson Jasmine Bailey confirmed to the News-Leader that Bradley players Elijah Childs, Terry Nolan Jr., Ja'Shon Henry and Danya Kingsby appear in a report that was filed on Feb. 13.
Bailey said none of the players were arrested or have been charged with a crime and the investigation is still active.
An incident report obtained by the News-Leader classified the incident as a "sex offense" that was not rape. Police categorize rape cases separately.
The report says the incident took place between 12:45 a.m. and 1:45 a.m. on Saturday at the TownePlace Suites located at 2009 S. National Ave. The incident was reported at 7:36 a.m. The alleged victim's name was redacted from the report.


So why does it take the beat writer for Missouri State to finally shed light on this? Did the Bradley people think this would never come to light? IMO, this entire thing has been handled very poorly.

[BUBraves2006]

A few side notes on the topic worth considering as I don't want to speculate either...

Reporting? Isn't there a local newspaper in Peoria anymore? Isn't finding information their jobs? How is this information now just coming out 5 days later and by a sports reporter in Missouri?

Messaging? I still, like many have a problem with what has, or hasn't been said. If a police report is filed, they knew that this information is going to come out eventually. Why not get ahead of it as a program? I mean, even if the players end up being 100% in the wrong for whatever they did, it makes all of the leadership look at best disorganized but at worst inept.

The vagueness about tomorrow's game, with that newer piece of information is still no less baffling. "As of now they aren't playing ..." now seems to mean, if the police investigation clears their names by then, they'll be in uniform. But if the investigation is still ongoing, they're out?

How does that really reflect on the program? I mean, if they were just cleared in the time period up until now, would they have just said nothing and the players just show up in the next game?

Note: I had queued up the last two paragraphs before I saw Wardle's statement. Could/should this have not been said when it happened? It's like they got caught trying to cover for the players and only now they felt the need they had to issue a more detailed statement. If this was said on Saturday, people would have at least known that something was going on and the players would be out until the legal aspects were handled.

[Fyrebyrd]

The “impetuous” clothing brand is starting to make more sense.

And to the crowd spouting the “we’re donors, we deserve to know” rhetoric. Happy now?

[Big Mike]

This is a lot to take in with more questions than answers right now. Very disappointed in the time frame of early morning before a game....how does this happen. Trying not to judge until more info is available but is is a sad day for the program, and Bradley as a dark cloud is hanging over the team right now. This season is over in my book, just too big of hurdle to overcome this late, but will watch the games pulling for the remaining players who are giving their all !

[patrick_o'brian]

Well this is certainly not good. A “sex crime”? Does anyone have the student code of conduct manual? I would assume any sex crime would be a major violation. It is only an assumption, though. Here is a link to examples of Missouri Sex Crimes. Sorry for the content. I just wanted to provide an idea of the scenarios. Also, I’d like to have everyone remember that these players are innocent until proven guilty.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/deanpricelaw.com/blog/types-of-sex-crimes-in-missouri/amp/

[Da Coach]

The police report says the incident took place at the TownPlace Suites, 2009 S. National Ave. in Springfield, MO.
I am hearing that was the address of that Bradley team hotel. If anyone can confirm or dispute that, let us know.

The "incident" happened between 12:45 am and 1:45 am Saturday, but it was not reported until 7:36 am. And no arrests were made, and no charges filed, though it seems this case is still being investigated. It apparently involves one "alleged victim", who is likely a female, judging from the description of this being a "sex offense".
It's easy to speculate what might have happened, but I'd rather see the facts come out from a reliable source.
I do think Bradley should have been more forthcoming from the beginning about this.

[Da Coach]

The “impetuous” clothing brand is starting to make more sense.

And to the crowd spouting the “we’re donors, we deserve to know” rhetoric. Happy now?

Are you suggesting we should have just stuck our heads in the ground and not asked any questions? If you are suggesting that fans who support this program don't deserve to know what their money is paying for, then I couldn't disagree more. I have been a supporter of Bradley for more than 40 years, and I always been consistent in my expectations of discipline and openness.
Is that too much to ask?

I am hoping whatever sort of investigation is being done exonerates our guys. But, this is a very serious matter.
Were the people at Bradley hoping this didn't become public?
I agree that they should have gotten ahead of this story, instead of just more secrecy.

[wrsmith2phd]

One person's sense of "secrecy" could also be seen by another person as due process.

[Fyrebyrd]

One person's sense of "secrecy" could also be seen by another person as due process.

Precisely.

[Classof77]

I agree with Da Coach. Bradley could have and should have communicated more info.

Right now, I'm hoping this turns out like the infamous Duke Lacrosse team incident. It will be so disappointing if the guys did anything criminal. Especially Childs and Henry. (Not meant to disparage Kingsby and Nolan.)

[Fyrebyrd]

I agree with Da Coach. Bradley could have and should have communicated more info.

Right now, I'm hoping this turns out like the infamous Duke Lacrosse team incident. It will be so disappointing if the guys did anything criminal. Especially Childs and Henry. (Not meant to disparage Kingsby and Nolan.)

And what would they have said? It’s literally a lose-lose scenario. You announce they are under investigation for a “sex offense” and then cyber sleuths just take it and run at an even faster pace. They also can’t expand on it anymore at the risk of hindering an investigation or making potentially false claims. They can’t say if they are behind the players or the accuser because it’s still under investigation.

They said what was necessary. An infraction occurred so the players were suspended while the investigation is pending.

[molar50]

Until there is more information, it’s prudent to be non-judge mental. Often the legal process takes time and people have been advised to not talk about this until an attorney approves. But, it does appear that this season is over and it has been most disappointing to Bradley fans. I think this highlights as to how challenging a coach’s job can be when the coach is hampered by decisions of young men after hours. I’m not going to criticize Wardle or anyone until we learn more.

[LongTimeFan]

I am not a large donor by any stretch but I will continue to back the Bradley basketball team. I have been a fan for over 60 years and don't see it changing now. It will mean, probably, rooting for new players next year but maybe the transfer portal will supply some help.

It is interesting that the European players have helped Bradley greatly and, at least, publicly have stayed out of trouble.

[Da Coach]

Yes, there were 2 choices, and maybe they were both lose-lose, but I believe the choice they made has a much worse outcome.
IMO it's always better to simply tell the truth, especially since this is a police matter and they had to know it would become public.
Instead, the decision was made to reveal as little as possible. That immediatey lead to speculation of worst case scenarios, and now it makes the program look bad as if they were trying to cover-up, and opens them to greater criticism.

As I said before, I have always been supportive and simply expect honesty and transparancy. We did not get that here.
I appreciate those who believe it was handled the right way, but I simply don't think so and there are a lot of fans who agree. And I think in the end, this will damage the program worse than if they had just been open and honest.

[Chris]

If that is the team hotel, these are suites with separate bedrooms. So, it's a possibility that some of them did nothing wrong. After all, they were just named in a report. No one was arrested, but they pretty much had to be suspended while this investigation plays out.