Syracuse Football: #LeQuintCanPlay as running back, SU reach settlement

On Wednesday, it was announced that Syracuse University and SU student/Syracuse football player LeQuint Allen have reached an agreement to allow the running back to play and attend classes in the fall.

Per Mike McAllister’s story and others, the exact agreement details are not released. Tommy Sladek of CNY Central also got a comment from Syracuse University, which basically confirmed the agreement but said that due to privacy laws, that’s all it would share.

First off, credit to Syracuse.com journalists Emily Leiker and Anne Hayes for their investigative reporting on this subject. Without them, it’s possible we wouldn’t know much of anything. I get that Syracuse University is a private institution, but it’s also unfair that something like this may not have gotten the attention it needed.

Second, to those who stood up especially teammates and those around the team who used their voice to share their displeasure, kudos to you as well. It’s possible that it had little to no impact and it was mostly the idea of losing a lawsuit that caused this resolution but it’s also possible that administrators might have seen some of it and looked into a solution that might help everyone, including future recruits watching how it’s handled before they commit there.

Syracuse football running back LeQuint Allen will be able to play in the 2023 season.

To LeQuint Allen, I’ve heard many good things about you which is why so many stood up for you. Welcome back to Syracuse University and I hope you know many love you not just as a player but as a young man with a bright future ahead of him. Go Syracuse football!

And last but not least, thank you Syracuse University for restoring at least some of my faith in your institution and its handling of those young lives parents send to you to help them grow. There are times for tough love understandably but this punishment looked to be all tough and no love with circumstances that many who in that situation may have done similarly. I did not expect nothing but I always believed the punishment did not fit the offense.

Ever since this transpired, I’ve had a difficult time understanding why the school I loved chose to potentially harm a young man’s future. It’s been hard to care about something I’ve loved since I can remember as a 50-year-old man because it contradicted all I believed about you. Not because this was a Syracuse football player (though it’s possible without that aspect and a lawsuit, we wouldn’t have even known this happened).

I don’t expect anyone in the administration to read this or do anything because I said so but I do hope maybe someone can take time to focus on the system that allowed this to happen. Again, I’m not saying every decision made by those involved was acceptable but there has to be a better way to adjudicate such a case that’s more fair.

College is about growing and learning from mistakes and experiences. It should also be a system that encourages learning from mistakes in a manner that will not cost the student to possibly lose their chance at a degree or a livelihood unless that mistake is so heinous that you are left with no choice.

So again, I say thank you to Syracuse University for making the better decision and allowing me to feel more comfortable supporting the university as I have. I did not enjoy taking a stance against this but felt it unfair based on the information we had. I do not take lightly my passion and respect for the university not just for their sports programs but also their ability to mold young minds into future generations of alumni proudly in the workforce and community contributing in positive ways.

And while we may not know all the details behind the settlement, and don’t need to, the fact that he can continue his education and pursuit at the possibility of a career in football is the difference between a fostering, encouraging environment and tyrannical system that throws away lives.

I don’t know what the future holds for LeQuint Allen, but I’d like to believe that his education and the education of others at Syracuse University isn’t something taken lightly and not defined by one mistake in judgement, especially one in which he wasn’t the only one who made bad decisions but seems to be the one left punished for it.