THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702150236
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 82 lines
Twenty-three Virginia Wesleyan athletes who received game suspensions for their roles in a campus brawl might be able to reduce their punishment in exchange for extra community service, according to the mother of one of the athletes.
That compromise apparently was reached Friday after an afternoon of meetings between school administrators, athletes and parents.
``There were 23 angry kids in that room,'' said Tina Hynson, mother of suspended basketball player Bernard Hynson. ``They got in there, and they were troupers. They took their medicine like men.''
Jim Bergdoll, vice president for college relations at Virginia Wesleyan, would not confirm the compromise.
``I know that was suggested as a possibility,'' Bergdoll said late Friday. ``To my knowledge, no decision has been made.''
Eleven baseball players, seven basketball players and five members of the lacrosse team were suspended Thursday for their alleged participation in the Jan. 18 fight on the school soccer field. Suspensions ranged from two games to the remainder of the season.
According to Tina Hynson, athletes can have one day of their suspension lifted for every eight hours of extra community service performed, but no more than half the suspension can be worked off.
The fight happened about 11:30 p.m, according to three students involved. The students, all lacrosse players, said they were surrounded and beaten by several baseball players and at least one basketball player.
The lacrosse players, Lance Conant, a sophomore from Syracuse, N.Y.; Ryan Frashure, a freshman from Pasadena, Md.; and Charlie Helmlinger, a freshman from Baltimore, each suffered injuries.
Conant, 20, said he suffered a concussion and bruised ribs and needed stitches to the head. Frashure, 18, said he received nine stitches and required surgery to repair two fractured bones in his face. Helmlinger, 18, said he received bruises and cuts but did not seek treatment.
Conant, Frashure and Helmlinger said they were among those suspended.
No charges have been filed, but the incident stirred up strong feelings in the small, close-knit college with an enrollment of 1,400.
Tina Hynson initially was unhappy with the way punishment was meted out. She claimed that several athletes who were bystanders or were trying to break up the fight were suspended by overzealous administrators. She drove down from Dumfries, Va., Friday.
The fight began at a nearby bar, Winners Sports Club. Helmlinger said he was speaking to a woman when a member of the baseball team took exception. Words were exchanged, then the baseball player punched him, Helmlinger said.
Conant said he confronted the baseball player and more punches were thrown. Security staff then told the students to leave.
Conant and Helmlinger admitted they were too young to be in the bar. They said no one checked their ID at the door, but Winners manager Gilbert Carolino said the bar has security guards checking IDs from 6:30 p.m. on.
``We try our hardest to keep (under-aged patrons) out,'' Carolino said.
Conant and Helmlinger said they had returned to a dormitory room when Conant got a threatening call from a baseball player at about 11:05 p.m. Conant said the baseball player challenged Conant to meet at the soccer field for a fight at 11:30.
``I figured I'd go out and deal with it, instead of looking over my shoulder all semester,'' Conant said. ``If I'd known what was going to happen, no way would I have gone.''
On the way to the soccer field, Conant and Helmlinger said they were joined by Frashure, Helmlinger's roommate, who had not been at the bar.
Helmlinger said the lacrosse players tried to run, but were surrounded and tackled by about 15 athletes. He said two of their lacrosse teammates helped pull attackers off them. Campus security arrived and broke up the fight.
The Campus Arbitration Board and Campus Review Board handed out the suspensions. Conant, who said he already was on probation for violating the school conduct code, was kicked off the team. Helmlinger was suspended 10 games, and Frashure two games. All suspended players are required to perform 25 hours of community service.
The three lacrosse players had been upset because they got the worst of the fight and the punishment, they said.
The suspensions leave the basketball team with just eight varsity players for today's game at Emory & Henry. The team is in first place with two games remaining, and is bidding for its first Old Dominion Athletic Conference title.
The team could be back at full strength for Monday's final game of the regular season.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA WESLEYAN COLLEGE SUSPENSION ATHLETES