Last week, three Idaho Vandal football players were suspended indefinitely after being charged with misdemeanor battery following an alleged fight. Also, they were suspended because they weren't star running backs.
This last bit of information became painfully evident yesterday when Idaho RB Deonte Jackson was charged with battery in connection with the aforementioned scuffle, yet Jackson avoided any type of penalty from the team. Now might be a good time to point out that he is the Vandals' leading rusher.
From the looks of things, Akey and the Vandals are participating in a rather obvious double standard. But can you blame them? If Jackson is suspended for Saturday's game against BSU, who's going to rush for 23 yards on 12 carries against the Broncos? The Vandals NEED Jackson.
"When I made the suspensions last week, I suspended three guys because their actions were being detrimental to our football team," Idaho head coach Robb Akey said. "It wasn't because of the fight. It was because of a series of actions that had been taking place. No one has been suspended because of what happened on that given night."
On the contrary, players have been suspended because Akey has deemed them expendable.
The Vandal head coach has created quite the culture of hypocrisy up in Moscow, as everyone who hears or reads of these circumstances will immediately reason that Akey is protecting his star players. He'll disagree, but he's wrong. It doesn't matter what actually happened at this point because Akey and the Vandals have lost in the court of public opinion, bringing the series record between public opinion and the U of I to a rather lopsided 212-0.
"I feel like we've dealt with the team the appropriate way," Akey said.
If anyone still wondered what separates the University of Idaho from Boise State, here's another in the growing litany of reasons:
- BSU head coach Chris Petersen suspended star WR Titus Young indefinitely for events that have yet to be made public.
- Vandal head coach Robb Akey took no action against star WR Deonte Jackson after Jackson was charged by a teammate with misdemeanor battery.
Teammates turning on teammates. Coaches playing favorites. Nathan Enderle at quarterback. No wonder the Vandals never go anywhere.
Read more: Suspended teammate charges Vandals' Jackson with battery [Statesman]