From Pitt’s media day last week, there was going to be some attention on Levance Fields. Still catching up with things.
There’s only so much you are going to get out of any athlete after they screw-up. If they don’t want to talk about it any more or won’t talk about it, there’s little to be done. The media knows this and has a general reluctance to push a college player too hard on the matter. Unlike pro athletes it isn’t endorsement money and league suspensions at stake. Unlike politicians, it isn’t their livelihood and election prospects. So, it’s no surprise that Levance Fields didn’t say much about his arrest last month, and the subsequent resolution.
He did talk about it a little, but kept it vague.
“It’s a night I wish never happened,” Fields said. “I live and learn from it. It hurt me not being able to be around my teammates for so many days due to the school’s discipline. I think I grew from it.”
Fields must complete the ARD program and serve a nine-month probationary period. If he does not run afoul of the law in that time he will have a clean record. Fields could not participate in any team activities while the case was in the court system. For more than two weeks, Fields had to work out on his own at night without any of his teammates.
“It was definitely tough,” Fields said. “I love to play. I love to compete. It was hard for me not to be able to be around my teammates and play with them. That was the most painful thing, not being able to be around my teammates.”
The threat of jail time and a permanent blot on his record, were apparently secondary.
There’s not much (nothing) that he said about the actual incident.
“Unfortunately, it happened,” he said. “But it’s behind me now, and I’m just ready to play basketball.”
There’s really not much he could say. If he talked about it and tried to give his version, it turns into excuse making and trying to justify it. That’s a bad path on so many levels.
Coach Jamie Dixon when he was talking about the players, fell into old habits and coachspeak at first.
Pitt men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon, as he often does to open press conferences, started down his roster player-by-player and lauded each one.
Unconsciously, when he got to Levance Fields’ name, Dixon said his point guard had a great off-season.
Well, other than Fields’ arrest on aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness charges …
Quickly realizing his slip, Dixon said, “Obviously, the situation that occurred … something I think he’s learned a lot from.”
Please don’t do that next Wednesday at Big East Media Day.
