We are all aware of the incident that Seattle in referring to about Coleman in high school. I found this little article that I found interesting:
Should the UI pursue Greg Coleman? YES
Donovan Burba - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 6/27/03 Section: Sports
Sports are all about second chances. Without them, we'd have no Albert Belle, no Randy Moss, no Pierre Pierce.
Hmmm ... I think my examples need work.
The point is, Greg Coleman shouldn't be punished for one youthful indiscretion. Certainly he should pay the price for his actions; he allegedly resisted arrest, injured several police officers, and in general made a disgrace of himself. But should that haunt him for the rest of his life? Certainly not.
If the UI - or any school, for that matter - wants to do both Coleman and the world a service, it will offer him a scholarship. No, he's no saint, but denying him a college education will only exacerbate the problem. Playing for coach Kirk Ferentz gives players a structured, caring, and often protected environment in which to mature. A few years under Ferentz, and Coleman will be a model citizen.
Coleman should, and no doubt will, be punished. However, he shouldn't suffer now for crimes he might commit in the future. Perhaps if the player in question were older, one could more accurately judge his character based on his actions. But Coleman is a junior in high school. Remember when you were a junior in high school? You did some stupid stuff, too; oh, yes, you did. No, it didn't make the papers, but you also weren't big enough to knock over a bunch of cops.
And you still turned out all right.
Sometimes, a school just has to take a chance. Someone's going to take a chance on Greg Coleman. Maybe he'll straighten out and become a productive running back and stand-up guy. Or maybe he'll spin out of control and end up throwing his life and immense talent away. The UI should do all it can to make sure the latter doesn't happen, and giving him the chance to don the black and gold is the best way to do that.
- by Donovan Burba
Looks like many people understand that Coleman would and did get punished for what he did.
As for the so-called many other run-ins that Coleman had while enrolled at Iowa St. (according to Seattle), there is only the one mentioned in this article; http://media.www.iowastatedaily.com/media/storage/paper818/news/2006/02/02/BreakingNews/Coleman.Williams.Suspended.From.Team-1596031.shtml?sourcedomain=www.iowastatedaily.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com. And guess what, he was found not guilty and actually a victim. So I guess that Coleman is indeed still within his second chance, and he learned that he is still being judged by his first mistake. According to this article, I think he has learned, http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060825/SPORTS/608250305/1080, and I have no problem with him being a member on the Montana Grizzlies.
