Head men’s basketball coach Tony Shaver announced the indefinite suspension of senior guard Brandon Britt ’14 Thursday afternoon, citing a violation of team rules.
“It is an unfortunate circumstance, but Brandon remains an important part of our program,” Shaver said in a statement. “He will continue to practice with the team, and we look forward to getting him back on the court for his senior season.”
Earlier Thursday morning, Britt faced a hearing in Williamsburg-James City County General District Court for an Oct. 25 DWI charge. The hearing was continued until Jan. 9, 2014.
According to Williamsburg Police Department’s Major Greg Riley, a patrol officer noticed a car crossing the center line of Richmond Road near Virginia Avenue and Nelson Avenue before pulling the car over at the intersection of Richmond Road and Brooks Street. The report states that the officer noticed “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from Britt, as well as “glassy, bloodshot eyes.”
Britt was placed under arrest at 1:37 a.m. before being transported to Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.
A College of William and Mary athletic department release noted the length of the suspension would be set following an “administrative process.” Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the College athletics staff, coaching staff and the basketball program have declined to comment further.
As to whether the Oct. 25 arrest was a factor in Britt’s suspension, the College athletic department declined to comment. Richard Rizk, listed as the defense attorney in court documents, could not be reached for comment.
The 6-foot-2 Britt, one of the College’s four returning starters, averaged 13.9 points and 2.5 assists last season. The Tribe opens its 2013-14 season Friday at Hampton University, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
We can all agree that this is a very unfortunate situation but I think to make this headline news and publicly chastise Britt is going too far. The articles tone leaves the reader with a misguided image of Brandon Britt. Despite the occurence I believe the flat hat should have represented Britt in a much better way. I find it amazing how the Flat Hat praises him when he leads the school in points and steals but is so quick to repremand him when he makes a poor decision. Then not only produces a poor article but fails understand the impact that this has on this young mans life. This article is much more than simply telling a story of a star-point guard potentially being suspended, it publicly humiliates him for one poor decision he made during Homecoming weekend. William & Mary is known for is “slap on wrist” policy for drinking. The school itself is surrounded by bars, and dedicates its last day of classes to drunken wrecklessness YET I have yet to see an article about the drunken foolery that takes on campus, the units, or other on campus establishments. I can firmly say that this is not the first case of a student making a poor decision but this is the first time I have seen in it on the Flat Hat. If the Flat Hat is going to portray this man in such a manner then also make it your duty to do so in a non-bias manner. Write articles about all of the students not just Britt. Post pictures of the students stumbling from the bars each weekend (most of which are underaged). Discuss the repurcussions of the students that drink during class on Blowout and show complete disregard for the academic standard of my alma mater.But do not showcase one story one student who one bad decison. Especially considering the fact that he is an Acadmic All-CAA player, a community role model, a role model for his family, an amazing student-athlete, and a good reprsentation of what it means to be apart of Tribe Athletic. If we are truly a Tribe then stand behind your All-CAA guard and support him through his toughest time.
This article may have every intention of being an informative one, yet it does much more then intended. I am familiar with the ‘The Flat Hat’ but I do notice that it tends to be a bit biased with positive vs. negative situations. I will not make one excuse for the situation involving the senior guard. Yet, I will say that the paper compromises its own integrity by the way it portrays Brandon Britt. When I personally think of William & Mary and the great things it stands for, without hesitation I think we can be compared to no other school across this land. We form such a tight circle at this College and bonds that will last a lifetime. “A small school with a big school feel” is how I like to describe William & Mary. This displays where a situation that is yet to be concluded, but the media released to the public selective information without gathering all variables. Drinking & Driving is incorrect period but humiliating is no way to bring awareness to the situation either. I am disappointed that without being present at the scene I have formulated an assumption based on the article. We must do better Flat Hat, not only for the integrity of the paper itself, but to show that William and Mary is different than every school out there. We handle adversity amongst other things differently as well and thats what makes us a “Tribe”.
Late Thursday evening on October 24, 2013 Brandon Britt along with many other college students on campus began
to celebrate Homecoming at William and Mary for the 2014 year. The nightwas
like any other, friends gathered and fellowshipped after months and years of
being apart. Britt, a star player on the William and Mary basketball team
consumed alcohol on that evening, and made the decision to get behind the wheel of a vehicle shortly afterwards. He was pulled over and charged with a DWI and was arrested at 1:37 on Friday morning.
Soon afterwards, Chris Weber, the Sports Editor of the Flat Hat, published an article depicting the
incident, pushing Britt on the front page of the newspaper with the headline, Britt
arrested for DWI Oct. 25”, noting the indefinite suspension and the
charges issued by the police department. Chris further goes on indicate that an
officer “noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Britt”,
information supplied by the police department. Next, Weber elaborates unnecessarily
that Britt had “glassy, bloodshot eyes”. Such details are inappropriate and
extraneous, and only serve to humiliate Britt. The Flat Hat should have been
more sensitive to Britt’s reputation, considering the aftermath of such an
article, for Brandon in the long term. The details weren’t necessary to explain
why Brandon Britt is currently unable to play basketball at this current time,
which is truthfully all that was required of the paper to report. The headline
was approved likely to attract readers even at the expense of Britt’s
reputation. It’s a headline that Britt will have to endure for the rest of his
life. Alas, the editors of the Flat Hat made the decision to publish such
details perhaps in error or excitement.
The issue with the article is that it reflects the tendency of the media to portray black males in an excessively negative light. African American males are consistently depicted as inherently
thuggish, irresponsible and unintelligent. It is unfair and discriminatory and
shall be addressed. Brandon Britt wasn’t
offered the basic respect that is to be expected of such a historically
pristine publication. Had he been white, it’s doubtful that the paper would
have been as detailed and negatively in its description of the incident. In the middle of October, Weber published an
article on another student athlete in a case of embezzlement, which isn’t as
harsh as the case with Britt and is written in a more responsible tone.
However, the selected picture corresponding with the article is suggesting of a
threatening individual, portraying him unfairly as dangerous and menacing. This
individual was also a black male. The Williamsburg Yorktown Daily newspaper
also covered the case with Britt, but respectfully did not go into detail on
his physical state during the incident, proving that there is a way to cover
such a sensitive topic with fairness and responsibility. There is a responsible
way to report; the Flat Hat just chose not to do so. Weber’s article also fails
to mention that Britt managed to earn a spot on the CAA academic second team,
garners the respect of all his peers on campus, and produced a 3.0 grade point
average.
These depictions are harmful and
reinforcing of the negative stereotypes surrounding black males. Worse yet,
they don’t reflect reality in the ways that many may think. William and Mary like most colleges are safe,
but struggles to manage underage drinking. According to the Annual Campus CrimeReport published by the Flat Hat, over the last three years there have been
“150 arrests and 761 referrals” due to liquor law violations at the College.
The majority of these offenses were committed not by African Americans, but
instead by other races. That is why it’s unfair and unrealistic to portray
black men in such a way, because it’s biases that aren’t grounded in facts or
evidence. There is no reason to condone over-representing African-Americans in
the criminal sections of newspaper publications when all races of people commit
crimes in the city at about the same rate. After examining the Flat Hat’s
website it’s clear that black men are overrepresented in the articles reporting
on crime on campus. The case of Brandon Britt is only the tip of the ICEberg,
revealing the much more systemic issue of race relations that America still
struggles to deal with, even with a black man in the White House.
The author of the article Chris
Weber ‘15, should be quite frankly ashamed and embarrassed for his unjust
illustration of a young man who made a poor choice by providing unnecessary
details that served no other purpose than to defame and humiliate Brandon
Britt. Brandon did act irresponsibly on that fateful Thursday and has no one to
blame for his choices but himself.. However, Chris Weber has also made a poor
choice that he will be held accountable for, by writing such a damaging and
hurtful piece. He decided to report in an unethical and distasteful way. Let it
be known that all published writings, both previous and those yet to come, will
be carefully examined with high levels of scrutiny, should anyone ever decide
to publish such an unfortunate article. The campus community will be watching
with clear, unwavering eyes.