Washington State Players Do Extra Conditioning As Punishment For Being Involved in Off-Field Fights

Washington State will be without defensive lineman Robert Barber this weekend as the redshirt senior has been expelled by the University Conduct Board. The 6’3″, 305-pound Barber was involved in a fight over the summer that left one student unconscious and sent another student to the hospital with a broken jaw. Video of the brawl was posted on Snapchat.

Barber will practice, but won’t be able to play while he appeals the decision. He is the second player who will miss time this season because of a fight off the field. Shalom Luani sat out the first game of the season after he broke a guy’s nose outside a Domino’s. Here’s what A.D. Bill Moos has to say about these incidents and the resulting punishments. Via The Spokesman-Review:

"“That has to be within (coach Mike Leach’s) shop. I think he was fed up with the crap on the Shalom deal, because it was the second one,” Moos said, referring to the arrest of safety Shalom Luani, who was suspended against Eastern Washington but has not been charged with a felony. “Everybody had to run and do up-downs and all the things, so you think the point had been made,” Moos said. “(Leach) even said, ‘If I had to do it over again I would not have suspended Shalom.’ I let my coaches make those decisions. When it gets to a felony charge, it’s on my desk.”"

That’s the athletic director version of “come back when you have a warrant.” You have to wonder how many laps a player is asked to run after he breaks a bone in the face of a civilian. To Leach’s credit, fighting is not one of the things on his zero tolerance list. Players can’t hit a woman, use illegal drugs, or steal. Everything else appears to be fair game.