Unbelieveable. (hat tip to TJ):
Pitt senior safety/linebacker Elijah Fields has been dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons.
Fields (6-2, 225) has had off-field issues throughout his career and had been disciplined several times — including being suspended for the entire 2007 season — but had seemed to pull it together enough to have his best season last year.
Still, he had several incidents of insubordination and other minor issues throughout the season, but the final straw came last week when he had a video posted on his Twitter page of himself partying with friends and apparently drinking alcohol.
If (big if) he can make sure his academics are in order, he can still transfer to a D-2 or D-1AA school in time to play his final season of eligibility and maybe pursue the NFL as the classic big talent on/big risk off player.
If there is one thing I think I have avoided doing on this blog, is taking personal shots at a Pitt players and coaches Avoiding much in judging their character or who they are. I, frankly, don’t know them and I generally find it unfair since I can really only judge them by their on-the-field performance (or when they end up in the news for other reasons).
Having said that, in light of his past history and now this, I don’t think I’m making any leap to say that Fields has shown just how absolutely clueless and unable to comprehend concepts of personal responsibility. It’s no longer a kid making a mistake or youthful indiscretions. There have been too many screw-ups. Too many punishments. It is so clear that he doesn’t get it and sad to say, I don’t think he ever will.
He has pro-level talent. People say he’s a nice enough guy. That’s not enough. He continually has made the wrong choices and assumed that he would be allowed to skate by.
His loss will be a hit to depth and talent level. He’s not worth it any longer.
UPDATE (2/18): Sigh. Gee thanks Spencer for finding this. In a nod to either his cluelessness or what not, while Fields’ Twitter account is deleted, he left his TwitPic mostly intact. No party pictures. Just a bottle of Grey Goose on a hotel room desk and more unnerving: Cash. Wads of cash.
It’s a shame he couldn’t straighten it out. I was looking forward to seeing him at linebacker.
Still sounds like more to the story?
This is Fields. Previously suspended for a full season for discipline. A kid who hasn’t put any effort into the student part. Who has been disciplined internally for lots of things like missing classes and workouts. For constantly being late. Someone on notice that his behavior has to improve.
So what does he do? He posts on his own twitter account (now deleted) a link to a video of him partying. This wasn’t someone else posting it. He voluntarily made his activities more public. Even assuming that this was the extent of it, considering the number of chances he had been given, the point was reached where there were no more chances.
Best of Luck Elijah, you blew a chance a lot of kids would kill for.
The good news is that this comes in plenty of time for planning for the upcoming seasoon … especially before srping practice.
The bad news is that he seemed to really get his act together and looked like a valuable asset for the upcoming year .. a talent defintetly wasted.
We can only comment on what we know, but IF someone is truly a liability (which I can only assume Field’s was), they just cannot be a part of a program that prides itself on integrity. Pitt is not State Penn and CERTAINLY not WVU.
If Fields truly was in a liability and given his proper chances to right his ship, it is absolutely better to have him gone than have him end up beating up a stripper in Tennessee – Pacman Jones style – all the while dragging Pitt’s name through the mud.
This is an extreme example, but the uncertainty remains true. Once you let a kid graduate, you better have faith that he will always represent his university with good actions.
We would all like to have had a few moments in the Wanny era produce alternative outcomes, but we should all be able to agree that he runs a tight program that brings a good name to our great university.
HTscriptP
Hopefully, this humiliating and public display toward Fields will be the final straw and he will wake up. I think Wanny did it as much for him as he did it for the team.
A sad day for him, Pitt and all of us.
Chas, I read Say what’s post a couple of times. I need an interpreter. Can it be translated into English?
