Fear and loathing in Columbia

We were somewhere around Aiken on the edge of the Piedmont when the Wild Turkey began to take hold… wait a minute.  Scratch that.

Let’s try this version of paranoia instead.

One of the longest-serving and most influential members of USC’s board of trustees believes Gamecocks athletes have been targeted by the university’s police force.

Eddie Floyd, a Florence surgeon who has served on the board since 1982, said several months ago he was told that some campus police officers were overzealous in their investigations and arrests of athletes.

“I feel they have overstepped in some areas,” Floyd said Wednesday from his home in Florence. “After talking to some of the people, this is how I feel. And I always say what I feel, good or bad.”

You get the feeling he knows which this is.

… Floyd first voiced his allegations to GamecockCentral.com, a USC fan Web site.

Floyd told the site he believes Gamecocks quarterback Stephen Garcia was being watched by campus police in March when he and two teammates were cited for underage drinking outside the East Quad dormitory that houses many USC athletes.

He also said he knew of an investigator with USC’s police force whose office was decorated with Clemson’s signature Tiger paws.

Tiger paws. I knew it.  That’s always been the first sign of an out of control police state.  Impanel a grand jury!  We need to string some people up, the sooner the better… uh, wait a minute.

But Floyd toned down his comments Wednesday, declining to discuss Garcia’s situation and conceding he knew little about the investigator whom he implied had a pro-Clemson bias.

“One of the investigators that had a tiger paw in his office, my understanding is he said it was a joke. I don’t know,” Floyd said. “I haven’t looked at it. I haven’t seen it. But that’s what I heard.”

It’s not clear whom he heard this from, but…

USC football coach Steve Spurrier last week pointed out what seemed to be a rush to judgment by local law-enforcement agencies, noting that half of the charges against the six football players arrested or cited this year were dismissed.

“I just wish if you’re going to arrest somebody, make sure the guy’s guilty,” Spurrier said.

The OBC is just sayin’, I’m sure.  Nothing to see here, folks, you can move on now.

We return you to the bats and ether, already in progress.

6 Comments

Filed under Crime and Punishment, The Evil Genius

6 responses to “Fear and loathing in Columbia

  1. Ally

    Preaching to the choir.

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  2. Isn’t it weird that people will invest this much paranoia and melodrama in a program that, last I checked, is still sitting at two games under .500 all-time?

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  3. dean

    Funny you posted this because I had lunch today with a friend of mine who is a Carolina fan and he was telling me about this. He was saying something about the cops giving high-fives after Garcia’s arrest and how the cop who arrests the most football players gets a bonus and all kida other BS. It was an entertaining lunch, needless to say.

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  4. peacedog

    But Dug, they’re on the brink.

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  5. Ally

    As much as I think crackolina fns are full of manure, it does peak your interest a tad when you see local squad cars w/ clemsux tiger decals.

    The best story though is about Spurrier’s meltdown last week accusing a clemsux reporter of mailing out newspapaer clippings of lamecock arrests to their mutual recruits.

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  6. scdawg

    “I don’t know, I haven’t looked at it, I haven’t seen it. But that’s what I heard”

    Elementary my dear Watson!! Case Closed!! Book ’em, Dano, etc, etc.

    This guy’s like the CSI Miami–no, CSI Columbia!! When he puts on his sunglasses you see a big wide pan to the industrial area just behind Williams Brice.

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