RONNIE WILSON HELPS FLORIDA RELOAD

I’m shocked Urban allowed him back on the team.

No, wait. I meant… what’s the complete opposite of shocked?

/Yes, I know Stephen Garcia is back with the Gamecocks.
//When will he and mini-McConaughey be making another appearance?

Soon. In the works, brah.

Urban Meyer called the criticism of Urban Meyer “harsh.”

(And yes, he referred to himself in the third person when he said it.)

Wow, this coming from the coach that can’t stop crying about how his little team got bitched slapped in Gainsville. This coming from the coach who called UGA’s celebration a “bad deal.”

Well, this is one hell of a “bad deal” if there ever was one. But, its only a surprise if you don’t know Urban. From what I understand Ronnie’s been working out with the team since last year just biding his time to slide back in. Some punishment & banishment.

You stay classy Urban.

Where the fuck am I gonna find an Orange & Blue flak jacket?

I’m impressed with Meyer’s ethics. Or lack thereof.

The Big 12 will soon have our own Ron Wilson. Josh Jarboe will soon be arriving at OU’s campus. We can’t wait.

Bob Stoops, the second coming of Barry Switzer.

The late Charleston Heston doesn’t have the time for this shit.

I guess it’s all about location. In Baghdad this would get you an all expense paid trip to GItmo. In Gainsville you get benched for a year, provided you have a compitent backup.

I hear that Coach Urban hired Nick Saban as a consultant to pick out the flavor of ice cream….

“Bob Stoops, the second coming of Barry Switzer.”
@Blon – God, we can only hope.

I pitched a reality TV show about Barry to a friend of mine in the industry. He thought it was a bad idea.
(TV people just don’t get it.)

Mike Brown must be pissed he transferred Da New U

1. “Bob Stoops, the second coming of Barry Switzer.”
   @Blon – God, we can only hope.

Tony,
You are kidding?

If they give him his scholarship back, then it will look REALLY bad – but as of right now, he’s a walk-on.

@Blon – what can I say?
I’m a sucker for unintentional comedy and general anarchy.

To be fair, the Department of Defense has some solid research proving that skill with an AK 47 will definitely shore up your defense.

I recommend Brandon Antwine to do what he say.

#12

I can see your point about that. Sweet Barry would definitely be entertaining. He has enthralled many UT grads over years. Well, Barry and his players exploits, in general. It just wasn’t the same after he left.

Stoops may soon be making up for lost years.

i don’t get it

Wait a minute. Omar Hunter is hurt? [Uncontrollable sobbing].

#5

If you find one, let me know. With Jarboe in Oklahoma, we may need one in burt orange.

@ Allahver Fist – I think Tony Stewart has some:

http://deadspin.com/5027816/nascars-tony-stewart-donates-30-bulletproof-vests-to-police-dogs

Wait a minute. Omar Hunter is hurt? [Uncontrollable snickering].

Wow. That’s fuckin’ pathetic that he is allowed back on the team, the school and even the city. How the fuck did he get a damn AK anyway? Does this freakshow even NEED a gun? He’s built like a goddamn bull.

@Jesus,

You kiss Mary Magdalene with that mouth?

I guess it’d be asking too much to suggest that he be given his scholarship back w/o being able to suit up

Not surprising at all! DT depth is a problem………. Mr. top 1% of the top 1% will just make a call to someone who owned and fired a freaking AK-47 in downtown Gainesville.

This wreaks of desperation and sends a wonderful message to kids everywhere!

Meyer is a snake oil salesman!

1. - he never lost his scholarship, that would have been way to harsh.

Great write up. It’s hard to give someone too much shit when they’re the harshest critic of their own team. Particularly when that team’s defensive linemen carry machine guns.

What, the GPOOE™ can’t suit up as a defensive tackle when he’s not circumcising youth in the Phillipines or quarterbacking the offense?

Ohio Dawg-

According to the Gainesville Sun

“Wilson, who played left guard on the 2006 national championship team, has been paying his own way to school since returning to UF in January and will continue to do so in the fall.”

Particularly when that team’s defensive linemen carry machine guns.

Ahem: submachine guns. You have to do a little filing to turn it into a proper Kabul Confetti Sprayer.

Florida. Where even dorks know how to take an AK full speed.

The kid did something very stupid. He was threatened as he was being pursued by an unknown individual for an extended period of time after 2 AM. He has paid his own way through school and is doing things the right way.

What he did was wrong, but what he’s done since then is right.

He didn’t actually shoot anyone, rape anyone, kill anyone, sell drugs to kids, etc… Again, what he did was wrong, but I don’t see why a kid can’t work his way back towards a dream. If he was still on scholarship, I’d think it was wrong, but he’s not.

I’m cheering for the kid and hoping he has seen the error of his ways and will never go down that road again.

He must have been threatened by that dude in the ‘My Mind is Playing Tricks On Me’ video.

I would think simply brandishing the weapon would have been enough.

#30

lawya, pleaaaase.

unless your only rule is “there are no fucking rules”, then this motherfucker has gotsta go.

win at all costs is a perfectly acceptable stance, just don’t try to sprinkle peanuts on a turd and tell me its a brownie.

#30

Are you serious!?!? He had a fucking AK in the trunk, and he is merely lucky (in addition to being a horrible marksman) that he didn’t shoot or kill someone.

good stuff on your own team, glad you see it that way. Its a shame that he let the kid back on in such an obvious way, timing and all.

Bravo! That was a very well-written piece. A bunch of cocktails and stuff.

@ 30

Obvious homer statement. I agree with Orson, that with this guy being 6’4" and 310 lbs. there is absolutely no reason for him to have an AK, or “be scared” of anyone following him.

Also you bleeding heart liberal, keep this in mind, bullets that go up have to come down, and they could land anywhere, like a car windshield, a kid sleeping, or hopefully you as you hug the kid who is about to punch your kid in the mouth for his lunch money.

Couple comments McLaughlin style:

1. Touchdown Timmy can do all 3 of those things AT THE SAME TIME! If it wasn’t for his religious convictions, he’d make sweet sweet love to your mom and girlfriend Reggie Nelson style too. Not that he would, I’m just sayin’ he could. Bee-yoch.

1. I would have preferred that Ronnie went with the NATO standard MP-5 “Room Broom” rather than that Commie bastard banana revoluntionary AK. It showed poor judgement son. Do you love America or not?

Now, what do we call this situation in scholarship bean counting recruitnik terms? It’s not a redshirt year. It’s not even a mystic “gray” shirt year. When you’re suspended for a year and come back as a nonscholarship starting defensive tackle maybe it should be a Crips style Navy blue shirt. Blue is the new red this season.

Leave it to someone with the commenter name “tricky dick” to characterize letting a thug back on a football team as a “liberal” position.

OK, minds can differ on this situation, and that’s fine, but let’s at least get some facts straight.

1. It wasn’t an AK-47.
2. He never fired it AT anyone, just up in the air.
3. He was kicked out of school for a year, and re-entered without any promise he could ever play.
4. He is not on scholarship.

I know this site likes to get its jollies by keeping “score” of which teams have more legal violations, etc. etc. That’s fun and entertaining, but ultimately dehumanizing. The story here is not about which program is lenient, it’s about Ronnie Wilson. A guy who made a really stupid mistake. A guy who was on the fast track to nowhere.

Now, he’s in school and getting good grades. He’s spent nearly two years without getting into any trouble. He seems to be on the right track.

Personally, I think it’s a good thing when a kid who was so close to complete self-destruction turns his life around and starts building for a future. I suppose the author, however, would rather have Ronnie Wilson turn out to be the next Avery Atkins.

To each his own.

1. 5 — he has not been working out with the team. I regularly saw him in Southwest Rec on campus working out alone.

In general though, I guess it doesn’t matter because I’m disgusted with Meyer for letting him work his way back onto the team. Letting him stay in school is fine – the kid needs an education. But back on the team is a no no.

BTW Orson, do we get a point for Maurkice Pouncey getting cited for underage open container in a vehicle. Drinking Natural Lite, obviously not my beverage of choice.

Man, if I was 6’4 310, can move like a cat and strong like bull, why would I be in situation at 2am where I would be scared enough to “happen” to have a AK-47..

Dawg 05 @ 27 – you laugh, but this guy wishes that Tebow had been on the scene before it all went horribly wrong – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7537882.stm

You try too hard to be impartial, Orson. It’s like the dad who is coach of the football team and is harder on his own son than he is the other kids.

Urban gave Wilson a very strict set of rules to live by until he could be reinstated, and in the mean time pulled his scholarship. Evidently, he lived well enough to be let back on the team, but still is paying his own way. And it’s not like Meyer won’t kick a guy off the team when he plays for a thin position: look no further than the late Avery Atkins for a situation in which that occurred.

Bravo, Orson. Bravo.

Enjoy the smoke machines.

This reminds me: I need to get an AK.

By the way, the AK-47 is not a machine gun. It’s an assault rifle, and assuming his was a legal weapon (regardless of whether it was legally owned), it would only have semi-automatic firing capabilities. Basically, no different than a handgun, except for being much more awesome with range, accuracy, and looking badass.

I agree with Hugh…the Gator self-deprecation around here has degenerated into self-flagellation.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/article.aspx?articleID=20080801_2__After75101

……aaaaaaand the Josh Jarboe era is officially over at OU.

At the least, he shouldn’t be held responsible for downward-speeding bullets. Didn’t the ‘Mythbusters’ sufficiently dismiss that nonsense?

As for Msnr. Wilson return: everyone’s corrupt, so why act all high and mighty? Envy at the lack of walk-on, AK-47 toting, converted left guard masquerading as a DT on your football team?

#46
I heard that Jacksonville State is already, thru backchannels, gonna offer Jarboe another chance, and they will be loaded if they can get him before South Fla does…..
Dude they are gonna be stacked, Lawya…

#47

I highly doubt it. If Mythbusters busted the myth of downward-speeding bullets, then they should be taken off the air. In fact, they shouldnt have even devoted an episode to that investigation at all. Five minutes with a pencil and paper can show that Ronnie Wilson was endangering people.

The Law of Conservation of Energy says that bullets fired into the air hit the ground at the same speed as they leave the gun barrel.

Shockingly Florida sells it’s soul to a man carrying a FUCKING MACHINE GUN to improve their defense. Meyer is such a piece of shit. Can’t this guy get exiled to Jackson State like everyone else?

Maybe I’m cynical, but reinstating a guy who carries a submachine gun in his car and is willing to discharge it is begging for trouble. People rarely change.

#50

Luckily for all of us bullets fired straight up most certainly don’t hit the ground at the same speed at which they left the barrel. If they did, we would be living in a vacuum, and I think you’ll agree that that would introduce more problems than just Ronnie Wilson’s bullets causing death and destruction.

If DT depth is an issue, Paterno just gave two very good ones there walking papers the other day.

1. - I’ve got a bridge to sell you, and Ronnie Wilson has some swamp land for you.

Really an AK47 is not that bad. Its not fully automatic or anything. No body got hurt, no harm no foul, right?

At the risk of bringing baseball into this – they seldom change…but sometimes they do. Ask Josh Hamilton. I’m hoping the same thing happens for Ronnie. I’m hoping the same thing happens for every player who ever earns Fulmer Cup points. It is less than a month away from CFB and hope springs eternal.

That dog is seeking to transfer to Gainesville.

Oh, and by the way, that dog liked the way other Presidents looked on the dollar bill.

Your site and your humor is so refreshing in this bizarre world of sports that so many of us worship or at least obsess over. Certainly, most of us take sport and ourselves way too seriously. Bad for our health and bad for our fellowship. Yours is one of if not the only place to read equal opportunity outrage in a humorous package. No glaring signs of owed allegiances to product or sponsor. You and your work are dearly appreciated. If there is anything I can do to help you go national, please let me know. Don’t know if you’ve considered it, but a piece on Jim Gnome has some possiblities. One of my pen names is “Dodd Dimmitt.” On most sports boards, my handle is “SeminoleDog.”

Thanks for your work and your wonderful attitude.

#47,

In a vacuum that may be correct, but air friction both up and down will not allow it to come even close in this case.

Bullets do not hit the ground with the same speed as when they leave the barrel. When a bullet leaves the barrel of a gun it immediately begins to decelerate. If it did what you say, then a bullet fired parralel to the ground would never hit the ground. Gravity and friction with the air the bullet passes through slow it down. A bullet fired into the air moves in parabolic motion. At the top of that motin, it essentially stops its upward motion for an instant then begins its down ward motion. This is whay firearms and their ammunition have what are called “effective range”. This is why a shotgun fired at close range is lethal, but at over 100 yards, most of them will not even break skin or penetrate the lightest of clothing. Mythbusters did do a show on this and they were able to observe that a bullet fired from a high powered rifle straight up would come back down and had enough power to barely penetrate fairly soft ground on a dry lake bed.

And get the facts right, it was not an AK-47, it was essentialy a target rifle that is a mock up of an AK, but fires rounds more like a .22 cal

What is it with Russian weapons, Mexican Liquor, and African American athletes? That Dog wants to know.

RE: Mythbusters, both commenters are correct in that they busted the myth and confirmed it. They found that if you fire a bullet (perfectly) straight up in the air, it will not fall back down and injure you. However, if there is any deviation from directly upwards in the bullet’s trajectory, it can and has killed people nearby:

http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/04/episode_50_bullets_fired_up_vo_1.html

Enough of this self-loathing…

Has Holly hit the bar already???

Damnit woman, were are my Corrections?

#58, fair enough. But the stray bullets decending from the sky are still capable of killing and/or maiming innocent bystanders (particularly if they weren’t fired straight up into the air, but at an angle). And that’s Orson’s point. Wilson’s behavior was undeniably reckless and he cavalierly put people’s lives at risk.

Meyer’s slap on the wrist for such a serious offense makes Florida look bad.

LMAO the comments around here crack me the hell up. There must be a previously unheard of “Gator” level on the moral outrage meter. I’d be willing to bet DRUNK DRIVING kills many many many more people every DAY that bullets fired into the air but none of you seem to suggest every player convicted of DUI be summarily removed from the team with no shot (pardon the pun) at redemption.

We better build bigger prisons cause any mistake means we should “lock em up for life” cause ya know…“they never change.”

Ahhh cynicism…all the cool kids are doing it.

1. — Using drugs (potentially harming oneself) ? randomly firing an AK in the middle of a city (Though I use the term “city” loosely, there is substantial potential harm to others)

1. — I’m sure Wilson fired at an angle exactly perpendicular to the earth and was merely performing a science experiment

As for Urban and his dedication to rehabilitating Wilson, I’m sure a walk-on scout team player would have received precisely the same treatment

@ all the folks discussing whether firing the weapon up into the air was dangerous:

 How ‘bout all the apologists volunteer for an experiment? Everybody gather ’round a gunman firing straight up repeatedly until someone’s hit, and let’s see if it hurts.

The big difference for me between the lax terms with Marcus Thomas and Ronnie Wilson, is that Marcus was doing lots to hurt his dumbshit to himself, and Ronnie’s transgressions could’ve hurt others.

#64…odds are a walk on scout team member wouldn’t have the testicular fortitude to work his way back onto the team…or the incentive of a possible future profession at stake.

“We’re da U now.” Them’s powerful words, Orson.

So how much time left until Sports Illustrated demands that Florida shut down its program?

Looks like Bob Stoops just juxtposed the hell out of this one…hasta la vista Josh Jarboe…..

I’m all for giving kids second chances to correct their mistakes, but some mistakes – like wildly discharging an automatic rifle, for example – are just plain inexcusable. Okay, so no one was hurt, but even if they were, what would that have meant? Maybe Ronnie Wilson would have had to tack on stadium steps in addition to sitting out a year? Seriously, this is exactly the sort of thing that I’ve gotten on FSU and UT about over the past decade or so. The only (very) small comfort I take in this is that I – and the majority other Gator fans are sickened by this- and not trying to make excuses for this or be Meyer/Wilson apologists. But then again, it’s not like he shot the president.

Acceptable punishment? How bout making him watch the Fla-Michigan game over and over……that was painful…..

#47

Dear CincySooner,
I stand corrected in my assessment of Bob Stoops. I do, however, remain firm in my opinion of Barry Switzer.

Sincerely,
blon57

1. you’re right…Stoops “juxtaposed” what happens when you’ve already made a mistake and you are given guidelines to follow to stay on the team and you don’t follow them as opposed to making a mistake, being given guidelines to follow to stay on the team (or earn your way back on) and you DO follow them.

One other thing, re: second chances. If Ronnie Wilson wanted to stay at UF to get a degree and NOT play football, I would have been perfectly okay with that. If Ronnie Wilson wanted to transfer to another school and try to get his life and career back in order, that would have also been kosher. But playing for the Gators should be a privilege, not a right, and an offense like Wilson’s should have cost him his Gator football privileges permanently.

Damn, I can only imagine the backlash Ohio State would have received had Clarrett, a man who never fired a weapon, simply carried them around with some grey goose, was reinstated at Ohio State. Holy shit…stop the presses it would be unprecedented.

Clifford got busted with some pot and got involved in a small dispute in a bar in Cincy and was sent packing for good. Tressel helped him get transferred so he could get a fresh start, but made it clear…it is a privilege to wear the Scarlet and Gray and you’ve lost that privilege for good.

Dude was a 5 star recruit and potential stud at corner or safety.

Yep… I’m an idiot and left out air resistance…

However, I did the calcs real quick at my desk here.

Taking into account variation in air properties throughout the flight, taking an average of drag coefficient during the supersonic and subsonic portions of flight, and limiting the bullets speed to its terminal velocity on the way down, the bullet slows down, on average, by about 58% by the time it reaches the ground.

This means that instead of the bullets hitting the ground at twice the speed of sound, they “only” hit the ground at nearly a thousand feet per second.

Still think Wilson wasn’t endangering people?

We have scientifically determined that if you fire a bullet into the air, when it comes down you will have what is empirically one of the smartest and stupidest threads in the history of this website.

We’re proud and ashamed at the same time, which is how it usually works out for us.

There must be a previously unheard of “Gator” level on the moral outrage meter. I’d be willing to bet DRUNK DRIVING kills many many many more people every DAY that bullets fired into the air but none of you seem to suggest every player convicted of DUI be summarily removed from the team with no shot (pardon the pun) at redemption.

Fantastic point. Kudos. The moral outrage meter is always over the top when UF is involved. Probably Dawg fans mostly. Most of them are just pissed because it will make Florida a better team defensively, and it’s something they can use as “ammo” (pun intended) when UF beats them.

I don’t see how any of you can say ‘oh no big deal.’ Tell you what, if he’s learned his lesson, let him finish out school but NOT play football.

Do you honestly think if this had been some random student they would have even been let back onto campus???

#80

No, the more interesting thread has been the response to the first post of the day and the opinions about beer.

I now realize that is the fourth most important subject to a man behind sports food and sex. I learned something new today.

Thank you, Orson.

As far as bullets go, only the little nerdy chicken from FogHorn Leghorn could fiqure the trajectory of a bullet reaching its apex and its tumble to the ground whether it would be fatal or not, draw a diagram on graph paper, and simultaneously dig you up from behind the barn, and leave you wondering how in the hell it happened…

I love the righteous indignation. Yes it is a privilege to play for the red and gray, win the mac and then get kicked in the dick mitten by LSU/UF/real conference. Enjoy it again this year.

I love the righteous indignation. Yes it is a privilege to play for the red and gray, win the mac and then get kicked in the dick mitten by LSU/UF/real conference. Enjoy that privilege again this year.

#70

yeah, obv correct. walk-on scout team players have zero testicular fortitude. as a group they are profoundly unmotivated. unlike 6’5" 300 lb 4* recruits who’ve never had a thing handed to them in their life.

I am honestly amazed that some of you applaud this move. History has shown that bringing in low character guys, or reinstatements like this, can really hurt the internal culture of a team. Don’t be surprised if there is some later fallout because of this. Urban is starting to walk a slippery slope between his desire to win, and thinking clearly about the impact of his decisions. * Note this may also be due to him being a soulless cyborg.

#81,

So Orson is a Dawg fan? Fuck, all this time I thought I’ve been reading a Gator blog. Shenanigans!!!

All this rushing-to-judgment.

I suggest we all embrace prudence, and wait until the Fantasy Sports Gurlz have had a chance to weigh in.

Damn, I wish I had an AK when I was at UF. Of course, that was back in the ’80s and the MAC-10 was considered much more stylish.

Orson, snap the necks of a bucketfull of kitties… I’m sure that’ll help.

Bob Stoops thinks that Urban is scared of a kid.

Shooting guns in the air isn’t dangerous? Look no further than this story from the 2005 Peach Bowl in the Georgia Dome:

Shooting guns into the air: What goes up must come down!
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

JAN. 11, 2005 — Something which has always bugged me is what happens when people shoot firearms into the air, such as at times of celebration.

After all, we’ve always been taught that what goes up must come down.

Well, over the holidays we got an inking of what can happen when people go shooting off firearms, even if supposedly not pointing at anyone, and even when shooting into the air.

We read of an 18-year-old UGA freshman being hit in the leg by a stray bullet while at the Miami-Florida Peach Bowl game on New Year’s Eve in the Georgia Dome. Police say the bullet, apparently fired into the air by a New Year’s reveler, came through the Dome’s roof.

And time that story came out, we read of a second such incident in Atlanta, again an apparently random shot into the air that struck a person. Luckily, neither person was killed by these two celebratory pistol-firings into the air. But why was there gunfire within the city limits?

But now we know of these incidents.

And if a bullet can injure someone’s leg, it can also injure other parts of the body, and no doubt, has the ability also to kill someone.

It’s another instance of the unleashing of destruction when someone fires a gun….even into the air.

Ah, sports blogs where facts go to die in the name of whitty rhetorts.

People in Iraq scoff at that story. They’re likely to fire guns in the air to celebrate dinner being served.

The sound you hear in the background are Notre Dame fans like myself enjoying a nice Schadenfruede sandwich.

Not to mention the kid violated the suspension from the firing of the weapon by an “undisclosed violation of team rules”…which is assumed to be (and generally means) a positive drug test.

And as another Gator blogger noted, "Under Florida’s “10-20-Life” statute, he faced a mandatory 20 yr. prison term if he went to trial and was convicted."

So a year off and having to pay for college only to be get let back on to the team vs. 20 years in prison…sounds like a pretty sweet deal

One little oversight … it wasn’t an AK-47.

You need to hand in your fan card after “Da U” call out.

89 – I didn’t write that all were Dawg fans. I’m sure there’s plenty of Gator fans criticizing the move, while they are secretly glad that he’ll be playing again. It’s the OMG1 Meyer is slime people I’m referring to.

Shooting any gun into the air is dangerous. This is not in dispute. But everyone here spouting off on Meyer and/or UF because he was let back on the team should get over it and watch for flying stones in your glass house. As was pointed out, drunk driving is just as dangerous to others, and no one gets their panties in a bunch when they are let back on a team.

Some of you are such moral pillars that have done no wrong. I’m sure you would all say the same things to Ronnie Wilson’s face that you put down here while hiding behind your computers.

I personally wish Wilson good luck and hope he continues to be a good student, a better person, and a good football player.

I find it hard to believe that some of you think he is outlandish in firing a gun into the air to scare off a car that was following him for over an hour. You think he’s scary enough being a big guy? Guess what, oh knowing ones, guns kill big guys, too. Ask the Pata family in Miami.

Would you guys be saying the same thing if this were your son? No. But you’re all high and mighty here on the internet. Please.

Wilson made a serious mistake. I think he’s paid the price for it. Obviously so does Urban Meyer.

he faced a mandatory 20 yr. prison term if he went to trial and was convicted.

Wrong-o. After the incident was investigated, he was charged with battery and discharging a firearm, both misdemeanors. Each charge is a 1 year max prison term, and only someone with a long criminal record would get that.

#100

These kids are representatives of the university. They sign on to play for the athletic department and they wear the school uniforms. They are the face of the university. Fair? Maybe not, but that is the reality.

My alma mater had some players arrested last summer on drug and burglary charges. They were dismissed from the team before they were convicted. We are extremely concerned with our image and so is the coaching staff. I donate to the university and support it as a life member of the ex-student association. If they had not been dismissed I would have pulled my donation, as would many others. The response to those incidents were overwhelming; students and ex-students alike wanted those players GONE. End of discussion. We care about the value of our degree and our face to the public.

And to the statement if he were my son…it would be a painful, painful emotional day for any child of mine if they shot off a gun in the air, charged with a DUI, cocaine distribution… My kid wouldn’t have to worry about the athletic department pulling his scholarship. I would do it for them.

I believe in rehabilitation. I am a white, liberal elite voting for Obama. But rehabilitation is a job for the courts and his family, not the athletic department.

#91,
It was all about the TEC-9 in my day.

#99,

I still think it’s apples and oranges to compare the two, but I can see your point. Fair enough.

#100,

I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life. Discharging an automatic weapon in a public place is not one of them however. (And why did he even HAVE an AK in his car to begin with?) There are mistakes, there are youthful indescretions, and then there’s stuff like this. How exactly did he learn his lesson? By being able to stay in school and allowed back on the team? Wow, that’s some harsh punishment. Oh that’s right, he had to pay for his classes. Funny enough, I had to pay for my classes at UF and I didn’t even own a gun during my time in Gainesville. It’s not being a hater, it’s wanting a higher standard from the people that represent my university in the public eye, and I’m not sorry for it.

when you consider that the NFL only gave chris henry and pacman jones half season and full season suspensions, respectively, for multiple criminal incidents including at least one apiece where guns were fired, then this actually begins to look like a harsh punishment

After Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois there should be no scholarship available for a fool like him. If he were a typical student he couldnt even get back on campus. For the Florida students sake he should have been sent packing PERMANENTLY.

In the NFL I doubt he would have been suspended at all. It is a league rife with thugs and criminal behavior.

This isn’t the NFL. This is college.

My alma mater had some players arrested last summer on drug and burglary charges.

All felonies. Not the same. Wilson was formally charged with two misdemeanors.

We are extremely concerned with our image and so is the coaching staff.

Then why were two players, Melton and Kindle, still on the roster after being arrested for DUI last year? They were suspended for 3 games. DUI, as you know, also endangers others, and is also a misdemeanor.

students and ex-students alike wanted those players GONE. End of discussion. We care about the value of our degree and our face to the public.

Great. Anyone convicted of a felony, I want gone off of my team too. Wilson wasn’t.

I don’t necessarliy agree with Melton and Kindle being reinstated. And a DUI should not be just a misdemeanor, but they didn’t consult me when they wrote the law.

A DUI, while not the smartest move in the world, isn’t in the same ballpark as firing a fucking assault rifle in public.

And shooting a gun in a public place can endanger others. That, too, should be a felony. And no one should be able to own an AK 47. But that isn’t my call either.

I live in a state where most people own guns. I grew up in a family of gun-loving
hunters. No one owned an AK 47. They wouldn’t be much of sportsman if they had to use that type of gun.

Assault rifles are necessary for hunting today’s super-animals like the flying squirrel or the electric eel

you people are still ignoring the fact that he violated the terms of his suspension during his college athlete parole (for lack of a better term). Do that in real life and they don’t put you back on the streets free of charge any faster.

1. -

applause

Heston @99: So it was a good day if he didn’t use his AK?

@Florida Dentist

Hope you don’t run into him at 3 a.m. when he’s feeling all threatened.

A DUI, while not the smartest move in the world, isn’t in the same ballpark as firing a fucking assault rifle in public.

You’re right. DUI’s are worse. DUI’s kill thousands more people every year.

116

“May I play Devil’s Advocate for a moment?”
(plays arcade game called “Devil’s Advocate”…one of the funniest moments in Simpson’s history)

I’m sure the ratio of drunk driving-related fatalities to instances of drunk driving is much smaller than the ratio of assault rifle-related deaths to assault rifles fired in public.

Either way, your point is taken that both are extremely serious and stupid.

Hilarious! And to think most of you ignorant Gator fans are still runing around calling Miami thug-U!!!!

And for the record, UF is not Da U, Da U whipped ass on the field and won championships. UF is just an out of control bunch of thugs, more like PSU than “The U”

I’m sure the ratio of drunk driving-related fatalities to instances of drunk driving is much smaller than the ratio of assault rifle-related deaths to assault rifles fired in public.

I don’t think so. First, you cannot include instances of someone purposely firing an assault rifle at someone with the intent to cause harm, because that isn’t the same thing as what happened here. Go ahead and try to find instances, any instances, of assault rifles randomly fired into the air in this country (not Iraq) that have killed someone. I bet you have a very difficult time finding many, if you do find any, and the total number of randomly fired assault rifles in the air is difficult or perhaps impossible to measure.

You won’t have the same problem with DUI fatalities. So even if the total number of DUI instances in this country is in the millions per year (sad, I know), the thousands of deaths are still going to be a higher ratio.

I agree that both acts are incredibly stupid, but there is no question which one has caused more deaths and more injuries to others – DUI. As you can see on this thread, drinking and driving is just more socially accepted, and therefore, viewed as “not as bad” as this act, when in fact, it’s worse.

I’m guessing that the number of drunk drivers on a given day would number in the tens of millions, and of those millions per day there are roughly fifty deaths caused by these incidences every day. That’s a minuscule percentage. I would wager the percentage of people injured or killed by random gunfire is much higher, but I can’t get you the statistics because it is rare and nobody conducts studies.

Some facts:

Wilson fired off a .22lr in public according to the police report.

An AK-47 isn’t a machine gun, and the term “assault” rifle is a made up term used by gun banners to attempt to convince people that because certain rifles were black and scary, that they were more dangerous.

Having said that, we fail epically for letting someone who shows that poor judgement back on the team. Firearms are not toys.

As to the various morons that posted how nobody should own such and such a weapon, i say this

You don’t get to decide what I need, and if you don’t like guns, don’t won one.

A machine gun is a fully-automatic mounted or portable firearm. An AK-47 fires 600 rounds per minute. Let’s go ahead and call that a machine gun.

Mr. Wolf,

  The term assault rifle is a term that is defined as a weapon that discharges a weapon whose ammunition travels faster than the speed of sound.

  It is not a made up term to scare people.

  The AK-47 is the Russians premier weapon similar to the M-16. The differences is that it fires a 7.62mm bullet rather than the latter 5.56mm bullet. This weapon fires around 500 rounds a minute and the bullets travel in excess of 2300 fps (feet per second). The magazine carries 30 rounds. Additionally, this weapon has a internal bayonet that is 12 inches long.

  This weapon is the choice of most paramilitary groups because of its ability to completely maw human bone and flesh.

 The shear fact that the AK-47 did not bring ATF and federal prosecustion charges is beyond me.

ask the chef about falling bullets, not so fatal really-

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3312784

Sorry, the honeymoons still not over for me, I still like
Coach Meyer and since I have never meet Ronnie Wilson I am going to have to take Coach Meyer’s word that Wilson is ready to play for the Gators.

Ohh… and I have shot a .22 up in the air and no body died… go figure.

Boo-Fucking-Hoo already, pull up your panties you bunch of candy asses.

Go be a bleeding heart liberal.
Go Gators.

#119

Actually, Brian, an instance happened here in the Austin area. A man was target shooting with a .22 caliber rifle and an errant bullet hit a little boy jumping on a trampoline in a neighboring yard about a third of a mile away. The boy died and the man received an eight year sentence for manslaughter.

Yes, driving under the influence is stupid and dangerous (and I believe the penalties should be more severe for first time offenders even when they do not injure anyone) but so is shooting off a gun in public.

My point was that a student that decides to own a gun, let alone an assault rifle, is just a problem waiting to happen. I don’t care how damn talented he is, I wouldn’t want him playing for my alma mater. (Lord knows we already have enough guns around here, anyway.) I think that was Orson’s point, but he can speak to that.

Kudos to Bob Stoops. He knew the past problems of his program (not necessarily any of his players, but an inherited reputation) and he did the right thing. He averted a likely problem early.

And I cannot believe I just praised Bob Stoops. Damn.

number of drunk drivers on a given day would number in the tens of millions,

In the US? No. There’s only 300 million people here, and probably less than a third drive on any given day. For that stat to be true, more than 10% of them would be drunk. And if that were true, there would be a whole lot more accidents and deaths than there are now.

I would wager the percentage of people injured or killed by random gunfire is much higher

Again, “random gunfire” is different than randomly shooting a gun into the air. Random gunfire could be a drive by shooting where people randomly shoot at a building. I don’t think you’ll find many, if any, instances of firing a gun up into the air killing someone here in the US. But you’ll find thousands and thousands of deaths every year from DUI.

A man was target shooting

Target shooting is not the same as firing a gun into the air.

This must be a record for weekend comments on EDSBS.

Spellcheck on aisle 122!

Is Brian O’B really Coop, back in all his obstinance ?

@122 – Want some Freedom Fries with that?

Aisle 121, dang it.

Stupid fingers.

You Gators must be proud. Your coach has propelled you into a new light. Firing a gun in a crowd and only being supended for a year. Unfuckingbelievable. Who is paying this thug’s tuition? I’m sure that is questionable too.
You will get what you deserve. Your coach will lead your program back to the hole in which it once festered. I almost feel sorry for you all. Enjoy the fall.

What is interesting here is the “agenda promoting.” Argue all you want….this is a nation still governed by the “rule of law.”

Mr. O’Blivion,

The lack of indignation over players being charged with DUIs is in no way a reason to ignore the bad actions of Ronnie Wilson. Whether or not it is hypocritical (on the part of the coaches, the university, the fans, etc.) is another matter completely. If both are offenses that merit dismissal, Wilson doesn’t deserve a pass just because the drunk guys got one. You should be happy UF got it half right and hope they figure out how to handle DUIs in the future.

For what it’s worth, I suspect people don’t get bent out of shape over a DUI is because they are so commonplace. Things that we do are not nearly as outrageous as things that others do.

Brian, why do you think so many bars do happy hour from 5-7? It’s not to make the winos happy. When I worked in an office, the bar was an everyday stop on the commute home for way more than 10% of the employees, and that was a bunch of computer nerds.

All I want to know from the Gator homers: if Ronnie Wilson walked on at Georgia would you still be happy for him and still think it was ok?

Otherwise, I’m fine with it. “Da U” is a little harsh, Mr. Swindle.

Thanks for a great article and comment-brush-fire.

It was not an AK-47 you gamejobs. If you are going to blog, at least get your facts straight.

I think the difference between “dui” and “firing off my assault rifle” – regardless of which kills more – is this:

Drinking is legal in cities in this country. It is possible to misjudge how many drinks you’ve had and if you’re “over” or “under” a limit – especially when the activity impairs the exact judgement you need to make the determination. People make mistakes in judgement.

On the other hand, it seems kind of hard to “misjudge” whether or not you should be pulling out your gat and firing it into the air in a city after leaving the bar. This isn’t one of those things where “you might be fine.” Its always a no. To compare it to a DUI is asinine.

Just sayin.

Everyone,

I live in Florida and own six firearms.

The lack of indignation over players being charged with DUIs is in no way a reason to ignore the bad actions of Ronnie Wilson.

Who’s ignored it? Not I. Just pointed out the over-the-top moral outrage here from the same people who willingly accept people who have been convicted of DUI back on their teams. Yes, what Wilson did was wrong, no question. But is Meyer “slime” for giving him a second chance? No.

Drinking is legal in cities in this country.

So what. Firing a gun, in many cases, is legal as well. Just not this one, which is fine. He was charged and arrested for it. Not disputing that at all.

To compare it to a DUI is asinine.

Not at all. Both acts endanger others? Check. Both acts were a result of poor judgment? Check. Both acts misdemeanors? Check.

The only difference is as previously noted, more people drive drunk, so therefore (to them) this act is somehow more “outrageous”. HOWEVER, it is no less dangerous. DUI’s kill thousands of more people every single year. This is without question. So there’s no question which act endangers others more – DUI.

136

DUI’s aren’t always a “no”?

“More deaths! MORE DEATHS!”

You can scream it over and over again – but thats not how we decide whats worse. If we went by your idea, then athletes shouldn’t drive cars at all, because more people die in sober crashes than dui crashes or random gunfire. Let me fix what you said:

“Driving sober kill thousands of more people every single year. This is without question. So there’s no question which act endangers others more – driving sober.”

Using your logic, driving sober is the worst thing we can do. But we’re not all dumb like that.

The point you keep ignoring, that everyone else on this site understands, is that it was a MUCH POORER display of judgement. To get a dui, you could have had 4 (or was it 3? or 5?) drinks in 3 (or was it 2? or 4?) hours, and sometimes people “misjudge” whether they are at a .07 (you’re fine!) or a .09 (you evil bastard!), or if the law is .10, then .11, or .09, etc. This is not saying DUI is “great” – but rational people understand how easily this misjudgement can be made.

Now, there is NEVER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE YOU CAN PULL OUT YOUR AK IN A CITY, and then FIRE IT INTO THE AIR. NONE. There is no room for “slight misjudgement” there. It was complete jackassery.

Someone could “think” they were fine to drive a car, but it turns out it was wrong. They misjudged. Tell me when you can “think” you’re ok to pull out an assault rifle in a city and fire it into the air. Go ahead. Please. Explain it to us slow people.

If your point was to prove you can be the most irrational here, congratulations:

Mission accomplished.

Bernie is an idiot and will look lost in two years like the PSU president last week on ESPN Outside the Lines…

The program is a thug program- it started with Urban. Shame…It won best party school from the Princeton Review…Where did the days of going after the public-ivy go?

When Miami and UF play this year- only the uniform will show them being different….UF has become FSU. Nice.

PS. Tell me these CITIES that its ok to fire guns in that you are talking about. Me thinks you’re making it up. I know of none.

#141,
The unraveling of discipline started with [NAME REDACTED].

Using your logic, driving sober is the worst thing we can do.

Wow, I don’t know where to begin with this line of reasoning.

Driving is a legal activity. So is owning and discharging a firearm (it was not an AK). However, there are things you can do with both of them that make them illegal. That’s how society works. DUI homicides are not just car accidents, which yes, people who are sober die from as well. There is a good reason you get sent to prison for killing someone while DUI, and don’t for just a regular car accident.

Just because you can “accidentally” have a DUI because you “misjudge” how much you drink does not make it any less illegal or dangerous. If you choose to drink and then get behind the wheel, you are endangering others, and you are engaging in an activity that has killed thousands of people.

Whether you meant to do it becomes irrelevant at that point. It goes from a misdemeanor DUI to vehicular homicide, for the very same act. Same would have been true if Wilson’s firing into the air actually had hurt or killed someone. Like someone convicted of vehicular homicide, he could say he didn’t intend to kill anyone and that would be true, but he’ll still be punished accordingly. And statistically, tens of thousands more people have died from DUI than from firing a gun into the air. So while you can write all you want that firing the gun was “worse”, that won’t make it true. The only measure of “worse” is the injuries and deaths to others from the activity.

This reinstatement is not the sign of a change. It is a confirmation of what everyone north of Tenn already knew. I really hope that every UF grad stays in Florida. If you ever attempt to compete nationally or god forbid internationally for a job outside of FLA. armed with your UF degree — you will be in for one rude awakening.

Bernie Machen must go,

Can you please not compare Miami and UF on terms like this? UM has this ridiculous brand of Thug U, meanwhile the Gators rack up arrests like they’re touchdowns. When a Miami team based on Randy Shannon’s virtues and standards visits Urban Meyer’s successful but delinquent Gators, there will be much different underneath the jerseys.