Plagiarism earns Duke QB a Suspension

by user Deuelio

According to Fox, Duke University Quarterback Zack Asack was suspended for the season for plagiarism. Asack started six of the final seven games for the Blue Devils and was penciled in as the starter for the 2006 season. Duke coach Ted Roof took an incredible risk by suspending his starter for an entire season in a very difficult conference. This story comes on the heels of a relevation that Auburn provided players with easy A's without requiring much work or study. Auburn's issue may be an academic issue first and foremost, and I'm not naive to think that this is exclusive to Auburn.

But what Roof and Duke did was set a standard for all others to follow. Sure, Duke isn't a great program, but it does play a high profile game in a high profile conference where you have to win or find a new job. Roof deserves to be commended for his actions and putting academic integrity above winning football games.

Schools like Auburn, USC, Miami and Ohio State, schools who have been beset by scandal and dubious activities, can take a page out of Roof’s book and hold their players to a higher standard.

Perhaps Duke's lacrosse team can hire Ted Roof.

Date

Thu 07/20/06, 7:15 am EST

I am a cpcpMajor Leaguer

1210 days ago

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I think Root probably did what he did BECAUSE of the other Duke scandel. He had a chance to make Duke athletics look a little better so he did the right thing.

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DeuelioJV Squad

1210 days ago

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I'll agree with that. Although, how many football players do you think plagiarize things? How often did you plagiarize things in college...er I mean forget your sources? Your point is well taken.

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The sharkDraft Pick

1210 days ago

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I'll agree with that. Although, how many football players do you think plagiarize things in college...er I mean forget your sources? Your point is well taken.
I would NEVER plagerize. EVER!

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I am a cpcpMajor Leaguer

1210 days ago

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I was a writing major at a Christian college. I didn't dare plagerize even if I would have felt the urge.

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TartanVarsity Captain

1210 days ago

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I'd be willing to bet if he wore sneakers instead of pads, Duke wouldn't touch him, and neither would Coach K.

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DeuelioJV Squad

1210 days ago

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Great point. Either the basketball program is squeeky clean or their issues go unreported. Think of William Avery, he left after one year at Duke and is now out of basketball. Perhaps he had run afoul of K and the Duke administration and rather than tarnish the Duke reputation, they forced him to enter the draft instead.

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Anonymous Fanatic #1

1210 days ago

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William Avery isn't out of basketball -- just the NBA. He's had a great career in Europe and could possibly sign with a NBA team this offseason. Just FYI.

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Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

1210 days ago

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amateurs plagarize, professionals steal

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ASwaffAll-American

1210 days ago

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True, but I've always heard it phrased, "Good writers borrow from great writers. Great writers steal from them."

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DeuelioJV Squad

1210 days ago

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I had an English professor tell me "The key to originality was to forget your sources." I never did forget the source of that wise nugget.

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Anonymous Fanatic #2

1210 days ago

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it's a take on "amateurs borrow, professionals steal..." it's actually a music and songwriting reference

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ChristofMVP

1210 days ago

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Wow, Duke athletics are out of control, aren't they. You know, sooner or later, there is goig to be dirt coming out of the basketball program.

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BigPPupMajor Leaguer

1210 days ago

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Who would have thought the next Miami would be Duke and not USC...

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CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1210 days ago

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What about USC? They used an ineligible running back the last two years...

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CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1210 days ago

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A Heisman Trophy winning ineligible running back I might add.

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ASwaffAll-American

1210 days ago

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The accusations against him weren't made until after he'd decided to leave the university, and even then, nothing has come of the allegations. See, and now you made me defend a university I don't like and a player I don't like. Thanks a lot!

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CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1210 days ago

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I was speaking hypothetically. I know the accusations came after he left, but had they come during his time, his eligibility would've been under the microscope a lot more than it is now.

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ASwaffAll-American

1210 days ago

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He ONLY got suspended for the season. That's academic fraud. I would be kicked out of school entirely for plagiarism. I've been the three different universities, and all three had a standing policy that plagiarism would result in expulsion. I had another friend that was a pitcher for Texas State, and he got kicked out of the university when he was caught cheating on a test. Getting suspended for the season is a slap on the wrist as far as I'm concerned.

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CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1210 days ago

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Very very good point.

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DeuelioJV Squad

1210 days ago

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True, I agree with you there. But you have to put it in the context of big time college football. Auburn had a bunch of players take fake classes and nothing was done. I give Duke credit for at least doing something while also realizing tht what they did pales in comparison to what would happen to you or I.

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ASwaffAll-American

1210 days ago

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I don't think I should put it in context of big program football. Why should I congratulate one university for giving their player a slap on the wrist just because another university has no scruples at all? I'm not going to congratulate a university for having less of a double-standard toward its athletes than another. This crap needs to stop. Period. They're student athletes. The student part comes first.

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CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1210 days ago

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It's too bad the governing body for student-athletes doesn't see it that way too.

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Anonymous Fanatic #3

1210 days ago

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ASwaff Because it's a start. You have to start somewhere and I agree with you that it's a shame that we're to a point where a slap on the wrist earns a coaching staff and university praise. But it's the nature of the beast that the big money and win at all costs mentality has created.

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DeuelioJV Squad

1210 days ago

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Damn, I swear I was logged on there but I guess not.

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ThecrookedcapAll-Star

1210 days ago

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A lot of schools won't kick out students (even non-athletes) after one incident of academic integrity. As long as they keep up the punishment, the coach is doing the right thing. Athletes shouldn't be getting special favors, especially at a university that many a non-athlete would give their left arm (or left other body parts) to get into.

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DeuelioJV Squad

1210 days ago

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Another good point. A lot of times they'll give you a pass if it's your first offense.

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AndersedJV Squad

1209 days ago

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Exactly. The reason Duke is "the next Miami" (blatantly not true) is simply that they've reported and taken accountability for a violation that I'm sure happens all the time. Now if only rape allegations carried similar weight to plagiarism (I wonder which hurts people more?)...

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JackdocJV Squad

1210 days ago

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Duke football players are used to faking it, pretending that they play for an actual Division 1 program. By the way, the coach's name is Roof, not Root.

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DeuelioJV Squad

1210 days ago

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Thanks for the heads up. I corrected it but unfortunately my credibility is now shot...not that I had any in the first place.

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IcemanvtWaterboy

1209 days ago

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Duke was going nowhere in the ACC even if he had Asack behind center. If anything, Roof can now say, "It's not my fault we went 0-12. I did the right thing by suspending him in the first place. It's only because Duke is a higher profile academic institution that he could do this. Most schools aren't going to care because winning comes above all else. At Duke, nobody cares about winning, so you can make a "statement".

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