This week keeps getting worse and worse. Per this Roanoke Times report, CJ Reavis is no longer enrolled at Virginia Tech. This represents a potential big loss for VT’s secondary in 2015 and beyond.
Reavis was a 4-star recruit and one of the top players in the state in 2014. He played as a true freshman this past season, and was atop the depth chart at rover at the conclusion of spring practice. Torrian Gray was very high on his future.
However, he is no longer enrolled at Virginia Tech following a student conduct hearing yesterday.
“Without discussing the details, there is an appeal process that we are going through at this point,” lawyer Jimmy Turk told the Roanoke Times. “I expect that process to maybe exhaust itself over the next week to 10 days.”
Because of privacy issues, the reasons for yesterday’s hearing have not been announced. He is not facing any criminal charges.
There probably won’t be any more news until the appeal process is over. Even if Reavis is reinstated, we don’t know how this will affect his status with the football team.
My personal thoughts: this is a big loss. Reavis looked like a big-time football player in the spring. I think he was going to be a three-year starter and an All-ACC caliber player. Desmond Frye will do a good job most likely, but if Reavis is done for good then Torrian Gray’s options are more limited for this coming season.
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I honestly don’t know enough (or really anything aside from what I read in the linked article) about this student conduct committee in order to have a fully informed opinion. However, this student conduct committee seems to have an awful lot of power, which just doesn’t sit well because of, among other things, the apparrent obscurity of the whole board as an entity, the rules that govern them and the authority from which they derive their power. Not to mention the scope of their authority, what issues they have standing over and the incredible power they seem to hold as the judge and jury (and the amount of discretion they have far as punishment is concerned). This language from the article is a little disconcerting:
“Inquiries relative to the status of ongoing student conduct matters are under purview of campus and not the Athletics Department,” the department said in a statement.
Student conduct decisions may only be appealed in the event of a denial of due process, significant and relevant new evidence or unduly harsh or arbitrary sanctions that are not consistent with conduct or case precedent.”
They have all of that consolidated power as it relates to, clearly, very serious matters allowing them to expel students. And I can’t tell who has what access to all of this information, and to what degree. Do they even have to explain in detail how they came to their decision (like a quasi-judicial opinion)? Assuming they do have clearly delineated substantive rules and are subject to rules of procedure, the scope of appeal is extremely limited…. And do they serve as their own appeals board? I was going to say that this is like Roger Goodel ruling on something, doling out the sentence/punishment and then hearing the final appeal. But that doesn’t seem to even be an apples to apples comparison, because that is all negotiated and agreed upon according to the CBA (regardless of how you feel about the level or fairness of the bargaining power). I would think the school has a handle on all of this. Like I said, I justvdon’t know how this board works at all, and hopefully it’s clearly laid out in whatever student code we have in place. I didn’t even know we had a student council like this, with so much authority. Maybe that says more about me and my 4 years at VT from 97-01 lol, I don’t know. I would be curious to learn more about it. It would also be interesting to see how our disciplinary committee compares to those at other schools.
“Worse & Worse”? What else bad happened this week? I’m drawing a blank. It’s probably something obvious……..
You may be joking, or forgot about McKenzie going to jail.
Was this student court even aound on the 80’s? What type of subject matter would they be involved in reviewing that the police wouldn’t? Cheating is the only thing that comes to mind. I’m only guessing. I know nothing! I hope it’s nothing really bad and he’s exonerated upon appeal so he makes it back on the team.
They were around at least in the mid ’80s. They kicked my sister out of VT for cheating in math. Her advanced calculus class in high school had already taught the material, so she knew the answers. It ended ok for her, she just had to go out-of-state to get her doctorate in biomedical engineering. And guess who doesn’t give alum $ to VT because of that council.
If you want to compare ancient times, talk to the football players from the late 80s / early 90s. Several have shared that things were much more lax back then, including theft and lesser law breaking. Guys I knew have said that they got away with a lot of stuff that players would not get away with today, and that was just as much a part of their blue collar attitude and chip on their shoulders. They weren’t ghetto, but they weren’t choir boys.
This most likely has NOTHING to do with CJR, but compared to that time, players do not get off as easily for mistakes like they made back then.
I must say, I have never been a fan of how this student conduct committee is effectively allowed to hide behind a cloak of secrecy in its dealings. We have no idea who these people are and what their qualifications might be.
I find it interesting that Reavis was found guilty of something by the committee but isn’t being charged by the police. In Shai’s case, he clearly was charged by the police yet he was found not guilty by this same(?) committee.
I dealt with these people once while I was at VT and while the case was resolved the way I wanted it, I do recall having the sense even then that it was a kangaroo court of sorts that doesn’t have to follow any real rule of law and doesn’t have its decisions reviewed by a higher power (unlike in court where higher courts can review lower court rulings).
I think its a great idea to have the committee be secret, otherwise you open them up to threats, especially in cases involving athletes.
There are surely plenty of student conduct concerns that are not legal matters that would involve police. Maybe it was cheating or plagiarism? We don’t know.
Here we go again…………..more bad news and its only July.
Man that sucks. From following him on Twitter he seemed like he really had his isht together. Hopefully the appeals process can exonerate him.
Darn
I met and talked to his cousin at my gym in Richmond last WEEK! He said CJ was coming home that 4th weekend and he’d bring him in for me to meet him (I told him i was going away for the 4th, but would sure like to talk to him any time he was around) . Said CJ LOVES VT and would be nuts to hears a Hokie in the gym was talking about him….
I left that conversation with his cousin feeling REALLY good about this year and CJ as our next great back (Rover)………..SO, blame me. I jinxed us! I SHOULD have known better. My excuse is that in normal life, I’m a pretty optimistic person. I easily forget what happens to the Hokies over and over and over….
Good luck CJ… I really DID want to talk to you…just NOT at the gym in Richmond during football season.
Here’s some advice – stay optimistic.