The Chiefs and football: A passion play
By Laddie Morse
KeiVarae Russell
In 2014 KeiVarae Russell was brought up by his school, Notre Dame, on “academic dishonesty charges. In an article by “Coach & Player” magazine from last summer, it states, “… [KeiVarae Russell] maintains that he did not cheat on any tests or pay for someone to do his homework. Russell continues to maintain a 3.0 GPA while majoring in marketing and is on track to graduate.”
While it appears Russell did no wrong he was suspended for the 2014 season during an investigation by the NCAA. In an article by Patrick Schmidt of FanSided eight months ago, he said,
"“Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback KeiVarae Russell is officially cleared by the NCAA to return to the field after he was suspended for the entire 2014 season amid an academic dishonesty probe.”"
What was in question was whether or not Russell and others who played for Notre Dame, received help with their tests. Also from the Springfield News-Leader,
"“KeiVarae Russell was a standout cornerback for the Fighting Irish before academic issues threatened to sideline his career. But his suspension might have been merely a one-game penalty at schools with less rigid standards, and Russell owned his mistakes by taking junior college classes rather than transferring. The Chiefs were impressed that he returned to Notre Dame, earned his starting job back last season and is on track to become the first person from his family to graduate from college.”"
Dave Skretta also said, “Not all those picks this year are quite as shaky as they appear on the surface” and I couldn’t agree more. In fact, as I dug into stories about KeiVarae Russell, the more I found out what a great guy he is.
K.C. Chiefs fans should be thrilled to have Russell in red and gold and any more talk of his suspension should not be necessary.
Dadi Nicolas
Were you aware that Dadi Nicolas once hit a referee? I was going to post the video here but he wasn’t even thrown from that game and you can Google it if you want.
So, is it an issue? Or, is it an non-issue? I say, a non-issue and feel satisfied moving on to talk about anything else but that, when his name comes up.
Next: A Half Way House in the Locker Room?