Spring Break
Quick Thoughts on a Dirty Ending
Jon Dougherty
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Opinion
There can be no washing away, no understating and no words to express the magnitude of the win against No. 8 West Virginia. I grew up in Greenville. When I was eight, I sat in row eight behind the uprights. Jeff Blake aired out five touchdowns against the Wolfpack to win what was the biggest game in ECU history. The fans rushed the field in ecstasy and dad refused to let me join them. In 1999, my family and I cleaned out the inches of mud and garbage from Hurricane Floyd dropped in our home. We also witnessed the Pirates' destruction of a whole group of Hurricanes in Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Fans not only rushed the field but ended up destroying major amounts of property, an embarrassing ending to another emotional and nationally noted ECU victory.
I was as proud as I had ever been of my Pirate team and excited for my Pirate nation when we destroyed the Mountaineers.
But we now have to address what was clearly some mismanangement at the game's close.
I am waiting for the final reports of the investigations launched by ECU Police, the Pitt County Sheriff's Department, and Greenville and Lenoir county sheriff departments before I pass a final judgment on what transpired. Based on all available video footage and news reports from WITN, ESPN, the Daily Reflector and the Raleigh News and Observer, I have some thoughts on what happened and perhaps there will be more:
1. ECU Police have stated in a press release they told officers working the game that "if ECU won the game and fans attempted to come onto the field, officers should try to deter them by making themselves visible" and if that failed "officers were instructed to step back and focus on making sure that those on the field stayed safe." This suggests no orders were given to arrest or physically restrain those who attempted to rush. An officer engaged in arresting and detaining an individual can no longer engage in the process of "making sure those on the field stayed safe."
I was as proud as I had ever been of my Pirate team and excited for my Pirate nation when we destroyed the Mountaineers.
But we now have to address what was clearly some mismanangement at the game's close.
I am waiting for the final reports of the investigations launched by ECU Police, the Pitt County Sheriff's Department, and Greenville and Lenoir county sheriff departments before I pass a final judgment on what transpired. Based on all available video footage and news reports from WITN, ESPN, the Daily Reflector and the Raleigh News and Observer, I have some thoughts on what happened and perhaps there will be more:
1. ECU Police have stated in a press release they told officers working the game that "if ECU won the game and fans attempted to come onto the field, officers should try to deter them by making themselves visible" and if that failed "officers were instructed to step back and focus on making sure that those on the field stayed safe." This suggests no orders were given to arrest or physically restrain those who attempted to rush. An officer engaged in arresting and detaining an individual can no longer engage in the process of "making sure those on the field stayed safe."
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