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Clint Uttley, McGill's head football coach, resigns in protest of school's comments on suspended RB Luis-Andres Guimont-Mota, who's accused of robbery and assault in domestic violence case
It's been a bad week for Canadian Interuniversity Sport across the board, with the former University of Ottawa men's hockey players accused of sexual assault expected to begin their trial, Dalhousie University suspending its men's rugby team over hazing, and the University of Calgary forfeiting a football game over an ineligible player. What's going on Montreal is particularly concerning, though. McGill University suspended running back Luis-Andres Guimont-Mota last Thursday over criminal charges of assault and robbery in relation to an alleged incident of domestic violence, and on Tuesday, football head coach Clint Utley resigned in protest, issuing a statement that bashed the school for its comments on Guimont-Mota:
I have resigned as the head coach of the McGill Redmen football team.
The university released a statement on Friday, September 26, 2014 regarding allegations against an individual from our team.
“A member of the McGill Redmen football team was in court on Thursday to face criminal charges. This individual had previously pleaded guilty to an assault charge arising from a 2010 incident in Quebec City. This individual should not have been invited to join our team. That was not in accordance with the values of our community.”
The above statement does not represent my personal morals or values with regards to sport, recruiting and life in general. I believe in rehabilitation. The student athlete accepted his conviction and did his punishment, a fact that was not hidden from the university. At the time of his arrival, the university tolerated and accepted his presence and then proceeded to celebrate his accomplishments thereafter.
For McGill University to say now that this individual should not have been allowed on our team in the first place because of his past, deeply troubles me and in good conscience I cannot work for an organization that does not embrace equity and inclusiveness. Post-secondary education should be accessible for all, not just the ones who have no known incidences. How can someone aspire to rehabilitation when the leading institutions of Quebec and Canada shun those who have made an error in judgment?
Uttley does make some valid points there. For one, the school was well aware of Guimont-Mota's record, so it's a bit silly for them to criticize it after the fact. Moreover, giving athletes a second chance can be valuable, and a blanket policy against recruiting or continuing to play student-athletes who face criminal charges might well be too strict. However, this is a problematic case to choose as a spot to make a stand. While Uttley doesn't specifically criticize McGill's decision to suspend Guimont-Mota (his particular criticisms are about the university's statement that blasted bringing in Guimont-Mota in the first place), taking the drastic option of resigning over this sure makes it seem like he's on the side of his player in that matter too.
The current suspension for Guimont-Mota isn't about the school preventing him from getting a second chance; it's about them punishing him once he screwed up his second chance. McGill's statement that Uttley never should have recruited him can be questioned, but Uttley choosing to resign over that makes it appear that he's blasting the school for its current decision on Guimont-Mota as well as its statement. It's hard to see a case for McGill doing anything other than suspending Guimont-Mota over these charges.
Yes, other schools' discipline for athletes facing criminal charges has varied, from McMaster's almost-instant indefinite suspension (later reduced to three games) of quarterback Kyle Quinlan once charges of assaulting a police officer were brought against him in 2011 to Laval allowing Alex Skinner and others to continue playing while a criminal assault case was being built against them, only suspending him a year later. It's not like there's a universal policy for how to handle these situations, and McGill is being more harsh than we've often seen.
The Redmen really didn't have a choice here, though. Sure, the current allegations and charges against Guimont-Mota have not been proven in court, and they may or may not be proven down the road.Given Guimont-Mota's past criminal record (he was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 240 hours of community service after pleading guilty last February to a 2010 assault, and wound up serving that jail sentence on Sundays so it wouldn't interfere with his McGill football career), the criticism the school's taken for letting players facing sexual assault charges continue to play for the last two years, and the current furor about football players and domestic violence, allowing him to continue to play or even giving him a slight suspension would have brought down a firestorm of public wrath upon McGill. From this corner, it looks like suspending him was the right call.
That's the big issue with Uttley choosing this moment, this player, and this action to make such a public stand. His comments in defence of second chances and his recruitment of Guimont-Mota are fine, but he could have presumably made those and objected to the university's language in its statement without quitting. He also could have stated that he agreed with the suspension, just not the language used. If McGill fired him in either of those scenarios, he'd look a lot better here. Opting to publicly resign over this sure makes it seem like he's supporting Guimont-Mota currently (not just his past recruitment of him), though, and that puts Uttley on the side of someone charged with assault and robbery in connection to an alleged domestic abuse incident. That's not a good place to be, and it's not one that makes Uttley, McGill, or CIS as a whole look good.
