Simply unbelievable
Rumors swirled last weekend that Arkansas sophomore tight end Ben Cleveland was denied admittance to the Razorbacks’ game against Florida International. And apparently they were all true, according to Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist Wally Hall.
Cleveland, who was diagnosed with nerve damage in his neck in the preseason, is still a member of the team. But Razorbacks equipment manager Tim Cheney turned Cleveland away Saturday.
He doesn’t travel to away games, but at home, like others who are injured, he’s on the sideline wearing his game jersey.
Like the others, Cleveland is there to support his teammates and the coaches.
The tall, talented tight end showed a lot of poise as a freshman and was being counted on for this season.
So after the injury, he remained as much as part of the team as he could.
Until Saturday, when he was basically told he wasn’t wanted. Wasn’t part of the team.
Before the game Cleveland — like Robert Johnson, John Rees, Crosby Tuck and others — went to the equipment room to get his jersey to wear on the sideline.
Only, he was told by Tim Cheney, the equipment manager, he wasn’t on the list.
Cleveland quickly explained that he hadn’t been on a list all season but for the first four games had worn his jersey and been there to encourage and pull for his Razorbacks teammates.
Cleveland was told he was not supposed to be there, and Cheney then turned and walked off.
This makes absolutely no sense. None. How does this happen? There is no plausible explanation for why a current Arkansas player would be prevented from watching his own team play at home. Razorbacks coach Houston Nutt called to apologize. But how does it get to a point where an apology is necessary?
Some employees of the Arkansas athletic department are allowed into the games for free, despite having no immediate connection to the football program. But an injured player who is actually on the team? He is denied access? Wow.
Tim Cheney should be required to run stadiums or gassers, that is conmpletely uncalled for. Of course, Cheney is probably jealous because he doesn’t get to wear a jersey.
Ben got to watch much better games on television than he would have seen from the sidelines.
I can’t think of a bigger sign that this nutty crew is on their way out the door than this.
This is a big screw up for sure and Tim should of used some common sense on this one. Rainer…not sure if you got your facts straight about employees of athletic department getting in free…don’t think that is entirely correct.
Not all get in, that’s for sure. But at least some do. I do know that.
Rainer….you need to go and dig deeper on your facts about the employees of the Athletic Department getting in free. You might be talking about the coaches and the tickets they get but as far as “other” employees getting in free couldn’t be farther from the truth. By saying that really blows this out of whack.
i lost a lot of faith in mitch mustain when he originally decommitted, ensued by numerous public seeking proclamations from his mother. however, ben cleveland has always struck me as a level headed young man and the decision of not allowing him access to the field on saturday, made by some equipment guy, is incredibly bizarre. thankfully, an immediate apology followed from houston nutt. hopefully, these kind of boneheaded type of decisions will be corrected.
Tim Cheney should be removed from the Football program. If he’s majoring in sports education or medicine, he needs to be reassigned to a different sport/squad. Unfortunately, this caps off a litany of issues and bad situations with some of the most talented high school football players that the state of Arkansas has ever seen and watched go somewhere else. Credit kids like Lee Ziemba and Kodi Burns. They watched and gained valuable insight into their choices of school to play for. Tommy Tuberville is a man of great integrity and character. I doubt he will ever have hooligans like Cheney and grossly inept staff like Shibest (who committed much worst atrocity with a gifted young kid by the name of Drew Combs).
the situation involving ben cleveland was totally inexcusable. at times, houston nutt appears to be too nice of a guy and relunctant to make the tough calls, be it staff related or otherwise. this cheney dude’s head should roll, as should any other melons associated with the fiasco.
Maybe Ben needs to follow his friends to other schools.Seems like him and all the other Springdale players are unwanted at the UofA.It really just puts the cap on Nutts season.Do we want this kind of leadership for our players for another season.I hope not.
Who puts the names on the list and why wasn’t Bens name on it?Really a class act by Tim.
According to Coach Nutt and other sources, Cleveland actually watched the game from the stands. Despite the mistake on Cheney’s part, I do not see how one could come to a conclusion that somehow Ben isn’t wanted on this team. I am also confused as to why this should be on the front page of the sports section.
I can only assume it is because Ben is from Springdale, providing another opportunity for Wally Hall to rehash old drama. If this were an injured Reggie Fish, Robert Johnson, or anyone else NOT from Springdale being denied a jersey, I seriously doubt Mr. Hall would have dedicated a column to the event. Indeed, since half his column involved “beating a dead horse” on old Springdale drama, there would be little text remaining, and basically no column to write had it been someone NOT from Springdale.
ArkaTechHog77: I believe that you miss the point. I believe the point that Wally Hall is trying to make is that here is yet one more example of “stupid” decisions being made by members of the football staff. I am appalled that something like this could happen.
73HOG: If that were really the point, then why did he rehash all the old drama with Mustain and Malzahn departing? Fact is, if the Hogs were undefeated (indeed they are just a few plays from being so), there is no way Wally prints this. When things turn sour, people like Mr. Hall look to dig deeper for an opportunity to take a jab at the staff. If Ben Cleveland and his family can see that this was just a simple, unfortunate misunderstanding then so should the rest of us. Hence the lack of necessity in making this front page news. Appalling? Hardly.
Since Houston is from Little Rock, and seems to be a good Christian man, I’ve tried to give him the benefit of the doubt on the past issues surrounding our program. However, this strikes me a bit odd how something like this could happen at the U of A. Ben is one of our more high profile players, and I can’t believe this Cheney fellow would do this unless he was instructed to do so. At any rate, this one leaves a bad taste in my mouth for sure.
GULLWING: What is the motive for someone on this staff higher than Cheney to take such action? It sounds like an equipment manager with an ego, but if it is something more, what is the motive? To run off a likely future star tight end at Arkansas? That makes no sense. We are on a witch hunt here for a story, just like Wally.
ARKATECHHOG77: I’m not saying there is a motive, but I do know if it was my son that was denied entrance to the game, and access to the sideline….I wouldn’t like it one bit. I aprreciate the fact that Houston called and tried to make it right though.
GULLWING: I understand. I would likely be a little upset as well. They did receive an apology and all indications are that they accepted that apology and moved on, making this even less of a story. Guess I just don’t understand why it was on the front page, leaving me to assume it was a chance for Wally to dredge up old news. That is the only clear reasoning I see here.
ArkaTechHog77: Maybe Wally was having to scrape the bottom of the barrel for a story. A brain cramp maybe??? LOL
I must say, after reading all this garbage, it is disturbing to me. When is enough, enough? I am sure Mr. Cheney does his job well as long as he’s been there. I am also sure that he is TOLD by his bosses who get’s what, when and where! I am sure he doesn’t get to make those kind of decisions. We may not like everything that goes on and we may disagree with everything that goes on, but are any of us doing the job? Are there not more important things going on in the world rather than placing blame on people when we may not always know the truth? We should focus on the positives of the team and the players and support them rather than find something to bring them down. It is sad that we forget these people have families and they have to hear these things as well. Adults need to GROW UP, WHAT ARE WE TEACHING OUR KIDS???????