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Does Massillon running back reflect the high price of winning? Or is he getting deserved second chance?
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published on Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008
There's no way to clean up some stories, to make them better than what they are.
So it goes with new University of Akron signee, Devoe Torrence. Great talent, but what's the cost of signing him?
More importantly, and maybe more fairly, is there a cost at all?
Torrence right now is part of a rotation for fourth-team running back — the Zips have depth at the position — but he's also more. His story brings up issues that get deeper and deeper the more they are considered, issues about second chances and the importance of athletics and what a team needs to do to win.
What happened with Torrence — and others at Massillon — peels back the layers like the proverbial onion.
Torrence is a standout running back who transferred from Canton South to Massillon for his senior year — for the advanced-placement English course, no doubt — and in the winter was charged with the rape of a 12-year-old girl. This summer, he was acquitted.
To repeat: He was acquitted.
Three boys and one man were charged with sex with minors. Torrence fought the charges in court. He was acquitted because the judge found the testimony conflicting. There was no beyond-a-reasonable-doubt proof.
Ohio State pulled Torrence's scholarship after committing to him early. UA signed him, and he started practicing with the Zips on Monday.
A girl had to sit on the witness stand and testify that Torrence had sex with her when she was 12. Ponder that one for a while.
The other three who were charged pleaded the equivalent of guilty in juvenile court.
One was charged with having sex with an 11- and 12-year-old, another with having sex with a 12-year-old. The two were 18 when sentenced. The third was 22, and was given two years in prison on top of a year for violating probation for another case involving sex with an underage girl.
Yes, it makes a person shudder.
The typical prattle follows these cases — that it was the girls who were at fault because they said they were older and looked older. It's the same kind of blame-the-victim thinking that sometimes follows rape cases.
Everyone involved pretty much agreed all acts were consensual, but responsibility also extends to the males involved. Let's not be naive and think all our teens are innocent, but let's also not turn a blind eye to this kind of story.
It's ugly.
Torrence's entire senior year at Massillon actually sounds a little off.
He transferred from Canton South because he said Massillon was where he always wanted to play. Neither the Canton South
nor the Massillon superintendent deemed it necessary. No matter, his family established residency in an apartment in Massillon, and he was welcomed.
Canton South folks said Torrence was a good kid and would be loved no matter where he played.
When Torrence was charged, there were statements from Massillon that Torrence would not have found that kind of trouble had he grown up in Massillon. By that logic, it's probably time to wall in the city and close the prosecutor's office.
Massillon has a wonderful tradition, and its football nights are special. But bringing in a guy like Torrence for his senior year makes football the one and only for him. That's not a set of priorities I'd like to share.
He did not have a great senior season. Word is he brought an attitude that did not sit well with the other players. (Imagine that, a guy who transfers for his senior season having an attitude.) The Tigers finished 6-4, and Tom Stacy, who coached the Tigers to the state title game and a record 13 wins in 2005, resigned.
Once acquitted Torrence was going to play football somewhere this year.
UA, which had been in touch with him for a long time, is coming off consecutive losing seasons.
The Zips are opening a new stadium next season.
They need to win.
In J.D. Brookhart, they have a coach who has jettisoned players for not following rules. Part of the thinking in bringing in Torrence was that Brookhart had a track record to stand on.
Brookhart also needs to win.
Athletic Director Mack Rhoades has backed Brookhart, and has been a driving force in stressing character and chemistry on all his teams.
But can the school go into a new stadium off three losing seasons?
Can it afford to turn away a Top 100 recruit?
''Did we make this decision because there's pressure to win?'' Rhoades said. ''Absolutely not.''
He added that had UA found any other problems in Torrence's past, he would not be a Zip.
Brookhart sat down with Torrence and his family, talked to them at length. Talked to people around him. He investigated as much as he could — and really, aside from saying UA never will sign anyone charged with a crime, what else can he do?
Torrence has ability. He was acquitted.
As his stepfather said after the verdict, ''He has a chance to redeem his life, to put his life back together.''
Don't we all deserve that chance?
If this is a one-time thing, an aberration, that's one thing. But a one-time thing with a 12-year-old. . . .
''It's not a one-time thing,'' Brookhart said. ''It's a none-time thing. He was judged innocent.''
Professional sports is about winning. Bigger issues should be at work in college. Little things like education and integrity, which is what college institutions stand for. Allegedly.
It's a shame we put an inordinately high value on winning in college athletics, and it's a bigger shame when that extends to high schools.
Torrence's signing easily could be viewed as a desperate move by a school and coach desperate to win. Brookhart laughs at the word ''desperate,'' pointing out his depth at running back and saying UA saves a couple of scholarships every year for transfers. The Zips will bring in a transfer running back from Louisville as well as Torrence.
''We are building depth at running back,'' Brookhart said. ''It's very logical for us take these kids. It has nothing to do with desperation.''
If Torrence is as good as they say on the field, he could do wonders for the Zips' program.
And the Zips might have done Torrence the greatest deed anyone ever has done for him: They gave him a second chance.
It would be a real shame if he doesn't take advantage.
At UA, the price of losing could be very high.
But the real shame here would be if the price of winning were higher.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
There's no way to clean up some stories, to make them better than what they are.
Get the full article here.
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