It's been a busy last few weeks for Oregon football, and not in a good way. With multiple arrests and dismissals, Chip Kelly and his players have been in the spotlight. Last week, Kelly dismissed team co-MVP Jeremiah Masoli after Masoli plead guilty to a misdemeanor second degree burglary charge. He also suspended LaMichael James and Rob Beard for the first game of the 2010 season after both plead guilty to harassment charges. 

So how did Kelly do during this time? Was he too harsh on Masoli? Did James get off easy?

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Chip Kelly laid down the punishment in response to some of his players recent run-ins with the law. Rob Beard and LaMichael James, who both plead guilty to misdemeanor harassment charges, have been suspended for the first game of the 2010 season. Jeremiah Masoli plead guilty to a misdemeanor second-degree burglary charge, and has been suspended for the entire 2010 season.

With all the speculation that has been happening over the past few weeks, I think that these punishments are fair. James and Beard made mistakes, and when presented with poor situations, made the wrong decisions.

Jeremiah Masoli's crime was much more premeditated, and he reportedly broke Chip Kelly's number one rule: he lied to the coach. I'm honestly surprised he wasn't entirely kicked off the team, though I support the University standing by the student-athletes and helping them compete their education.

All three players will have unspecified goals they will need to meet to earn full reinstatement. And if these plans aren't met, more suspension time will be administered. I don't imagine that James or Beard will have problems with that, but Masoli will have a long road ahead. Though he has the possibility to redshirt during the 2010 season, I don't anticipate seeing him play a significant role on the football field during the remainder of his career.

For now, this seems to bring for a close a fairly hectic time for Oregon football, though I'm happy with the response of the University. I'm confident that the players know their will be consequences for their actions, and hope that will affect their behavior. Here's hoping they can keep a low profile over the next few months.

More photos » Chris Pietsch - AP

Oregon running back LaMichael James waits for Lane County Circuit Judge Maurice Merten to enter the courtroom before changing his plea on a domestic violence charge Friday, March 12, 2010, in Eugene, Ore.

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[UPDATE] Chip Kelly will be announcing the status of James, Masoli, and Rob Beard at 2:55pm PST. This should be available for streaming at goducks.tv.

LaMichael James plead guilt to misdemeanor harassment this morning, and was sentenced to 24 months of probation and 10 days in prison. However, James has already been released from jail due to overcrowding, and will be electronically monitored during the remainder of his sentence.

For full information on the case, Jack Moran of the Register Guard has a good deal of info. However, the details of the case are available through this sentencing memo, which includes all the details of the argument that took place between James and his ex-girlfriend.

Unfortunately, this sounds like a classic situation that grew out of control quickly. It is clear that James was upfront with the mistakes that he made, working with the law enforcement. He wrote a letter to the victim apologizing for his actions.

At this point, it looks like James and his ex-girlfriend will be able to get on with their lives. James should be able to return to class shortly, and will need to make up a lot of ground academically to retain his NCAA eligibility. At this point, we don't know exactly what punishment Coach Kelly will hand down, if any, though it is assumed that James will stay on the team.

Jeremiah Masoli was also in court, and plead guilt to misdemeanor second degree burglary. The plea bargain kept the conviction as a misdemeanor, and Masoli will face 12 months probation and 140 hours of community service, and will need to pay over $5,000 in restitution within 10 days.

Unfortunately, Masoli's outlook as part of the Oregon football team is much more unclear. If he lied previously to Coach Kelly regarding these events (and this KOIN6 report claims just that), you can be sure that he will feel the full repercussions.

At this point, we are waiting word from Coach Kelly, who will be speaking at 3pm PST, and announcing the status of James, Masoli, and kicker Rob Beard, who recently plead guilty to harassment. We'll be updating this thread, so keep it to ATQ for the latest news.

The following statement came down from the University of Oregon via twitter

"I am carefully considering the latest news concerning Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James, and will make a decision regarding disciplinary action on Friday, March 12." -- Chip Kelly

Instant Reaction: Chip is being consistent here, taking some time to gather all of the facts. He had to make a statement of some sort given the timing on the news about Masoli being charged and LMJ changing his plea. Given the budget cuts and how much Lane Country officials complain about never having money, they've spent a good 6 weeks on "Frat Gate". Speaking strictly on the human side, things don't look good.

As an Oregon fan and alum, I am embarrassed.  I don't like hearing allegations that our star running back beat up his girlfriend.  Or that our kicker got into a brawl.  Or that our quarterback allegedly took some computers.  Or that our linebacker got a DUI.  I don't like that we have players who make bad decisions.  I don't like the reputation that my school has amassed the last few weeks.  We have a problem.  It's a problem that needs to be dealt with.  I expect, nay, DEMAND, that guilty parties will be dealt with harshly.  

Most Duck fans I know feel the same way.  We are not happy with these events.  We don't want things to be this way.  It needs to change.

We all recognize there is a problem.  What we disagree upon is what to do about it.  Chip Kelly has taken a wait until we get all the facts in approach.  The media, most notably John Canzano, in what is the same self-righteous but logically flawed article that we've come to expect, is declaring the program out of control and demanding swift and decisive action. 

Lets take a look at where swift and decisive action gets you.

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More photos » Rick Bowmer - AP

Chip Kelly

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Throughout the turmoil with the football team over the of the past few weeks, Chip Kelly has kept fairly silent. While we have been informed that some players have been kicked off the team, during allegations against the Ducks two biggest stars, we haven't heard too much. And that's led to a good deal of speculation from many sources.

In what seems to be a response to that speculation, Chip Kelly spoke out today (video of his press conference is after the jump). And in doing so, he reinforced why I am so glad that he's the head coach of the University of Oregon football team. This is the exact response that I wanted from him.

The first thing that came across during the press conference is that Chip Kelly has taken these matters very seriously. He made very clear that these types of incidents will not be tolerated, and that there will be consequences for actions.

He talked about how the culture they strive for is an every day process, and it's not a matter of simply responding to incidents as they arrive. Kelly stressed that the coaching staff is as proactive as they can be. From Kelly:

We talk about doing the right things every day. There's a right way to conduct yourself, and a wrong way to conduct yourself. And our players know that. But if they cross the line, they also know there's gonna be punishment for it.

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Just when you think this offseason couldn't get any more ridiculous, it does. Early this morning, Oregon's star running back, LaMichael James was arrested for domestic violence by the Springfield Police. The Lane County Sheriff's Office website lists James' charges as strangulation, assault-4 and menacing.

Obviously, this is not good news, and if these charges are even close to what happened, James' actions are totally unacceptable.

But, let's take a step away from the cliff, Duck fans. There have been 3 incidents so far this offseason. None related, and none similar. While it will be the popular angle to talk about the decline in standards at Oregon, we have a long way to go before we reach that level. On top of that, none of the incidents that have occurred so far this offseason have been addressed publicly by the athletic department, which is to be expected until all incidents are addressed legally.

Unfortunately, at this point, all that we can do is wait and see how this all shakes out, and there's no reason to think that'll happen soon. So while it's not looking great for James, let's not make big pronouncements on the state of the football team just yet.

[Update] James has plead not guiltu to one count of strangulation, two counts of fourth-degree assault and two counts of physical harassment. All of these are misdemeanors.

James was taken into custody on Tuesday after a fight with his girlfriend on Monday. So the arrest happened long after the alleged assault took place. James' girlfriend is alleging that "he grabbed her neck during an argument and pushed her to the ground."

There is conflicting word on the bond in the case. though ESPN is reporting that it's $40,000. The Oregonian is also reporting that James will likely be released in the next 24 hours, but will wear an ankle bracelet and be under electronic surveillance, though at this point, it's not clear if this means he will be confined to a specific area or not.

Chip Kelly spoke out on James' status as well, though was not forthcoming with details, and it seemed to be pretty standard coach-speak for an issue like this. I wouldn't expect much from the athletic department until all of the legal issues in this case get sorted out.

Unfortunately, it looks like we're in for a long wait on this topic, as James will not have his pretrial hearing until Mach 24th. Spring practices start on March 30th.

In what seems to be an annual discussion here on the left coast, the spectre of Pac-10 expansion has again reared its head, and this time, speculation appears to be more serious than ever before.  Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott:

It really is over the next six to 12 months that we'll start having serious analysis and serious conversations...It makes sense [to consider expansion], if you are going to do it, to do it when you can monetize it and get value for it commercially

In layman's terms:  the Pac-10 finally has a commissioner that is not a fossil, and he's looking at how to make the big bucks.  And with it getting really close to being time to renegotiate the TV and media deals (which expire after the 2011-12 academic year), now is the time to make this happen and reap the economic benefits.  However, what would a Pac-10 expansion look like?

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