From the Trib: "Charges were dropped in January at the request of prosecutors, and Palo was immediately reinstated to the Cyclones after a 17-game suspension. Palo was also found innocent of a student code of conduct violation by ISU’s Office of Judicial Affairs, according to the school.
That decision, though, was appealed to and overturned by Leath, who made the decision to remove Palo from the men’s basketball team, ISU executive director of
university relations John McCarroll told the Ames Tribune in an email last month."
I may have this wrong, but a person who was not named appealed the decision of the Judicial Affairs office. Without hearing from both parties, Leath overturned that decision, and Palo was notified AFTER the decision was made. I have problems with that. Specifically:
Why wasn't Palo allowed to present his case in this secret appeals process, or even told that there was an appeal in process? Why have an office of Judicial Affairs listen to evidence, weigh it, and issue a decision, if the President essentially makes his own rulings regarding conduct violations? If President Leath determined that Palo violated the student conduct code, why was he not expelled from the University? Why just kick him off the team? The code applies to ALL students, doesn't it? There's just too much that doesn't add up in all of this.
Obviously we don't know all the facts in the case. However, the prosecutors declined to pursue the case, and the Office of Judicial Affairs determined that the conduct code had not been violated. I daresay THEY knew the facts in the case. President Leath is not above making errors in judgement, nor is he omnipotent. If he is going to go against what the other two entities determined to be true, he should be held accountable for his decision. I'm not particularly concerned with his level of embarrassment.