Incidental or not, Syracuse Director of Football Operations Brad Wittke contributed to shoving Boston College defensive back William Harris on Saturday. For that, he received a “public reprimand,” the equivalent of a verbal spanking.

That’s simply not enough.

In response to Wittke shoving Harris, Syracuse University publicly condemned Wittke’s behavior this week in a joint statement with the Atlantic Coast Conference. SU Director of Athletics John Wildhack called Wittke’s actions “unsportsmanlike.” But Wittke doesn’t appear to be facing any consequences beyond these words.

 

At the very least, Syracuse should more firmly condemn Wittke’s behavior by removing him from the sideline for the remainder of SU’s games, if not strongly considering suspending Wittke for the rest of the season.

Wittke’s behavior was inexcusable: An adult in a position of power put his hands on a college student from another school. Parents and guardians place college students in the care of college and university authorities (like Wittke).

What transpired on Saturday was unbecoming conduct for an SU Athletics staff member. Coaches and athletics staffs are held by learning institutions to be role models and the university letting Wittke slide sets a poor example for the athletes that are supposed to look up to him.

During Wednesday’s ACC teleconference, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers declined to comment further on Wittke’s status. Ultimately, Babers said, “I thought both staffs handled it the right way except for the one incident that’s been handled.”

The lack of punishment emits a different message.

Earlier this year, Princeton put former lacrosse coach Chris Bates on administrative leave for shoving a Brown player. Two years ago then-Texas A&M student coach Michael Richardson shoved two players from West Virginia University. He was fired. While Wittke’s intent may not have been as clear as that of Bates or Richardson, other sports staffers have faced repercussions for similar incidents.

By Syracuse trying to protect its public image and effectively burying the story, it failed to properly address Wittke’s error in judgement. SU and the ACC has sent the message that unwarranted aggression and violence is OK, not only to staffers but also to players.

Furthermore, Babers saying the situation has been handled constitutes another mishandling of the situation. In the immediate aftermath of the “public reprimand,” The Daily Orange contacted Syracuse Athletics and the ACC for comments. SU Athletics declined comment. After the ACC spokesman was asked, he declined comment as well and quickly hung up.

“That’s all there is,” the ACC spokesman said of the joint statement. “Bye.”

Published on October 27, 2016 at 12:00 am

Contact: opinion@dailyorange.com