Oregon St. football players Malcolm Marable and Ryan Murphy had a run in with security staff at the Impulse bar in downtown Corvallis, and as a result, subsequently with Corvallis police.
Just after midnight Saturday night, at 12:04 AM Sunday, Marable was arrested by Corvallis police on charges of "Violent Conduct", and Murphy for trespassing and misrepresentation of age.
Marable, 20, allegedly hit a security person at the nightclub while trying to free Murphy, 19, who had been detained for trying to enter the bar using Anthony Watkins' drivers license as ID. Watkins is 23.
Marable and Murphy were cited and released, and are scheduled to appear in Benton County Circuit Court on Wednesday, May 16.
It's the second incident involving Marable, a red-shirt sophomore to be this coming season. Marable, a kickoff returner and reserve corner back, pleaded no contest to a charge of driving 104 mph at 1:01 a.m. on Feb. 19 on I-5 near Albany. Marable was fined $1,150 and his license was suspended for 30 days, and Oregon St. football head coach Mike Riley suspended him from winter workouts. Marable was reinstated for spring practice.Murphy is a sophomore to be who is projected to start at safety alongside Watkins, a senior who has started at safety since late in his gray + red shirt sophomore season. Neither have had any previous legal problems or incidents with team rules.
Riley has not returned messages this week, with the only statement that the matter will be handled internally, from the team's standpoint.
What results from the court appearance remains to be seen as well as what Riley may choose to do, and will probably influence the decision. But in any event, the incident will be a distraction and disruption to the secondary, one of the anticipated strengths of the team this coming season, as well as special teams, another key area for the Beavers if they are to bounce back from their recent downturn, which produced a 3-9 season last year, and an 8-18 skid that has left the team out of the bowl picture for the last 2 years.
Regardless of how Riley decides to handle the matter, there was a series of decisions made that had the potential to rise to the point of loss of playing time, ranging from a little to a lot. And not close to being focused on doing everything possible to turn the program around. Especially given that the impact will extend far beyond just the individuals involved when something went wrong. Regardless of one's position on the specifics involved, this was a disappointing episode of risk analysis and responsible decision making.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com