Clemson wide receiver Joe Craig was involved in quite a troublued scene with a fellow track teammate, Marlena Wesh, back on May 22nd. This story involved Craig being cut with a razor, West being hit over the head with a either a curtain rod or towel rod and at the root of this is a Super Soaker.
Joe Craig is a two-sport athlete for Clemson University, he is a member of the track team and a redshirt freshman wide receiver on Clemson’s football team. According to an incident report from the Clemson University Police Department, that incident involved “assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature” with a female track team member, Marlena Wesh.
According to the police report and this story from Greg Wallace of the Anderson Independent Mail, it was a bizarre chain of events that lead to bloody scene. Let’s try to summarize the reported chain of events and keep in mind that Dabo Swinney has yet to weigh in on this issue facing one of his players –
Members of the track team had a pool party and boys will be boys as a Super Soaker was used to wet some of the girls. Well Ms. Wesh did not like this and a heated discussion took place between Craig and Wesh. After the pool party, teammates sought a resolution amongst the two at the apartment complex where Wesh lives. The apology session did not work as at some point, Wesh began swinging a razor blade at Craig and cut him pretty badly on his left arm. Craig after cleaning up the wound in a nearby bathrood became enraged, broke off a curtain rod or towel rod and sought revenge. He went back to Wesh’s apartment, beat on the door and as she opened it hit her over the head with the rod and continued to hit her while she was lying on the floor. Needless to say, a bloody scene due to his deeply cut arm and her gash on her head.
After Police arrived and surveyed the crime scene neither Craig nor Wesh agreed to press charges. The Police could have made a arrest but chose not too. Fishy due to the nature of the incident but what do you expect from Clemson Police.
Both Craig and Wesh did have to visit the hospital to get stitches. Later, Craig and Wesh were suspended from the Clemson track team and both will have a hearing next week before Clemson’s student judiciary panel. Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney will comment on Craig’s status after that hearing.
So to wrap this up, this site hopes both players heal nicely and learn from these mistakes. Hitting a female is not right.
What blows us away is this happens May 22nd and mainstream media just gets wind of it, Dabo does nothing and the Clemson Police let it slide. Wow. As LOHD wrote in the Brandon Thomas situation , the Jaime Cumbie situation or when DeAndre McDaniel shoved his girlfriend, the media treats Clemson much different than they do with USC in regards to unfortunate arrests or player wrongdoing….a double standard exists and it needs to stop.
UPDATE 6/7/11 –
17 days after this story was discussed, Clemson football coach Dat Boy Swinney finally addessed the situation and here is his statement –
“Joe Craig has been suspended from the football team for the summer workout period,” Swinney said. “Because this is a serious on-campus student issue, there is a process that he will have to go through from a university standpoint. I respect the process and will fully support whatever the university decides to do. We will react from a football standpoint after that process has run its course, but I cannot comment any further at this time on the details of this specific issue.”
