I get that they're football players and therefore should not be treated any different. But I don't personally believe that's a good practice. If these any of these guys are innocent or believe to potentially be innocent, their situation should be hurried if dragging it out compromises their future profession (Ishaq, DD, KVR).
You have the order of things wrong. This isn't a situation where they're believed to be innocent and just haven't been reinstated yet. The delay is in the figuring out whether they are, in fact, innocent. Once the determination is made, then the delays will disappear.
Not this:
1. We believe they're innocent.
2. Delay to officially clear them.
3. Clear them.
This:
1. Delay to determine whether they're innocent.
2. We believe they're innocent.
3. Clear them.
Also, this isn't a delay in the sense of "period of time in which the process has stopped," it's a delay in the sense that "it takes a long time to go through the process." It's not like they're not doing anything, it's just that the stuff they ARE doing takes time.
And I'm not saying this because I love ND football. If there's any other students that are being forcefully held out of extras (I can't think of any ND-related examples, but at my school, I'd say 'career day' or 'Intern fest'), I feel they're getting screwed as well and should get 'special treatment', aka, hurry up and meet to decide.
There's a big difference. It's not just about the individuals, it's about the team. This needs to be a fine-tooth comb type thing because if they're cleared without 100% certainty, there are potential major consequences (i.e. vacating wins) that have nothing to do with the individuals themselves.
I get that. But I think it needs to be changed to allow flexibility. Not every student or student athlete is the same. This will eventually screw someone over and get the University embarassed, sued, and fuck with a kid's life.
Disagree 100%. Even if varsity athletes had a process that was COMPLETELY different from a "regular student," there would still be a process. Deviating from the process is how shit goes very wrong. Then you're into "lack of institutional control" territory. Defined policies and procedures and adherence to those policies and procedures is the sign of an organization that has its shit together, whether it's a football team, a company, a family, or anything else.