Notre Dame: Hooligan Player's Reign of Terror Thwarted

Notre Dame Tight End, Will Yeatman, will no longer be participating in football games for the 2008 season.

The young man was arrested for his role in a house party in September. That, coupled with his past incidents of being a menace to the campus, led to the Notre Dame Office of Residence Life's decision to revoke his status as a Notre Dame football player.

The young law breaker is also a member of the Notre Dame lacrosse team, and no word yet on whether his eligibility to participate in that sport will be mercifully rescinded.

Certainly, a full scale investigation into the 'lacrosse culture' at Notre Dame would be more than warranted given the unearthing of the criminal nature of participants in the sport during the Duke Rape Team prosecution. While the rape charges were blocked and deferred by the high priced, private defense team's ability to negate the effectiveness of the state provided (and much lower paid) prosecutor; there can be no refutation that the proceedings revealed that lacrosse culture has a decidedly unruly and illegal tint to it.

That tint, being white.

The actual suspension from the football team relates to a compounding of incidents.

Previously, the criminally active Yeatman was charged with a plethora of charges related to a drinking incident on campus. The multi-convicted Yeatman pled guilty to charges levied as recently as February. His admission of guilt was in response to the court appointed representatives of the people providing enough evidence that the hard drinking Yeatman had willfully operated a vehicle after committing the crime of underage drinking. In addition, he was charged with reckless driving.

Yeatman, being white, well to do and a member of ND's athletic department, was given the opportunity to clear his record in the space of just one year. However, the stipulation was that he remain free of being caught committing a crime.

Unfortunately, the embedded criminal nature of lacrosse culture proved to be too much.

Yeatman was arrested and charged Sept. 21 with minor consumption of alcohol, resisting arrest and false informing after police raided the house.

In what seems to be an effort to protect the young convict, the last two charges listed were dropped. Leaving only the underage consumption of alcohol crime.

Instead of being grateful to the courts and to Notre Dame for standing up to the danger Yeatman poses to the campus community, Yeatman's father was combative.

"Will had a .02 [blood-alcohol content at the party]," Dennis Yeatman said, according to the Tribune. "The other charges were dropped. There's never been a police report filed. And Will is an exceptionally good kid, admired by everybody, gets along with everybody. He's being suspended for a .02 BAC. After all he's been through, it appears to be a disproportionate penalty for college student."

We will take this opportunity to remind Mr. Yeatman (the father of the previously convicted lacrosse playing football player) that his statement alone incriminates his son. Yeatman the younger is under 21. Therefore, while a .02 BAC would certainly not be a crime for someone over 21, it is in fact evidence that the young convict broke the law. And, the terms of his previous deal with the court were clearly violated. Regardless of whether the police filed a report or not.

Additionally, we'd remind Mr. Yeatman that we find it hard to believe that an exceptionally good kid gets drunk and then drives his car on a campus sidewalk.

Finally, we ask Mr. Yeatman: after all your son has been through?

Let's recap what he has been through. He committed an underage drunk driving crime in which he drove on a sidewalk on campus. And, in return was given the opportunity to have his record expunged in only a year's time if he could refrain from committing a stupid act during that year. Instead of acting contrite and taking advantage of the opportunity he was given, he goes out and drinks while still underage (and apparently gives the cops a hard time in the process)...and we are supposed to feel sorry for all he has been through?

This young man should be kicked out of Notre Dame for sheer stupidity. And his father should be smacked for attempting to portray the hooligan that he raised as somehow being a victim in all this.

In a story of related interest, Pacman Jones is currently evaluating which program will best serve his needs for alcohol treatment after the Jerry Jones employed bodyguards failed to keep alcohol away from Pacman, negligently leading to his suspension.