The arrest of Tyran Grissom, Bryan Ament and John Miller in connection with an on-campus brawl two weekends ago put head coach Carl Franks in an unenviable position.
He'd love to just focus on the start of spring practice, his first since taking over as coach, but instead an off-the-field distraction reared its ugly head.
"It was very disappointing that those young men would put themselves in a situation where that type of activity could occur," Franks said. "It certainly doesn't reflect the attitude or level of acceptable behavior that we have set for members of our football team."
The three players were involved in a brawl with members of Kappa Sigma fraternity Friday, Feb. 26. Grissom was charged with three counts of simple assault, while Miller and Ament were each charged with one.
No decision on their status has yet been made and the matter is still being considered by the Duke University Police Department and the Office of Student Development.
"We're going to handle it internally until I have the facts," Franks said. "My job as football coach is not to be an investigator. We have other people to do that. I know that there are usually two sides to every story, and we're going to let the proper channels handle finding out what the facts are. Once we get those, then I'm going to act.
"There will be some type of action taken by me, maybe before any judicial action is done. I think it's just necessary that I know the facts before I broadcast what punishment will be put forth. There are some things that are being done that I'll let everyone know about when I feel I have all the information that I need."
Along with Greg Wade's arrest two months ago for allegedly robbing a wheelchair-bound man at gunpoint, the incident only brought further negative publicity to Duke's program. For a new head coach, the situation is certainly more frustrating.
Franks is just hopeful people will consider all factors.
"It's a reflection of our football program," he said. "What is the perception of Duke football when people read the newspaper and our players are involved in such things? The perception of your football program is not very good.
"You hope that people understand that these are individuals. It is not a reflection of our program, or the program we aspire to be. Unfortunately when these things happen, it comes upon me to take action to try and prevent these things from reoccurring.
"We cannot have this type of behavior continue."
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