Check out today's piece from Kevin Skrababinski. The last two lines speak volumes in several ways.
Every misunderstanding isn't a crime, let alone a capital offense. Sometimes a mistake is just that, a mistake. Sometimes what's originally alleged isn't exactly what occurred.
That appears to be the case of the on-campus encounter last week between two male Auburn students and one female Auburn student that she said left her quite upset.
It sounds like it's time for everyone to move along with a lesson learned.
The male students were football players, and the female student was a veteran who said she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder that necessitates she use a service dog in public. Those details made it a national headline.
Football players don't always get the benefit of the doubt - especially among rival fans - because some of their peers have done things to embarrass themselves, their families and their schools. But it's unfair to jump to the worst conclusions based on the slimmest of details.
That's what happened in some quarters after Andrew Williams and Dontavius Russell happened across Ashley Ozyurt and her service dog in the lobby area of Haley Center a week ago. She did two local television interviews afterward and said the two players tried to get her dog's attention, she asked them to stop and they responded by raising their voices and using a profane word.
The Auburn athletics department released a statement Monday night to try to clear up any lingering confusion. The statement said that "neither of the student-athletes did anything with disrespectful intent." It said that Russell "had no involvement in the interaction whatsoever" as he was walking to class and that Williams tried to get the dog's attention and "didn't understand the purpose of the dog or realize that the student was a disabled veteran."
Williams offered this apology in the statement: "I want to take this opportunity to apologize for raising my voice. I was startled and totally misunderstood the situation. My mother and father who raised me both served in the military. I have tremendous respect for veterans. In the past week, I've learned a lot more about the role of service dogs for veterans and now better understand her courage to attend Auburn."
We all should understand how much courage it takes for some veterans to attempt daily tasks that seem routine to the rest of us. As a result of this situation, we all should have a new or better understanding about the important role of service dogs.
We also should be reminded not to jump to conclusions, whether we're in the middle of a situation or on the outside looking in. There was no reason initially and there's none now to denigrate the young women or the two players. No doubt they've all learned something from the situation.
Now someone should alert ESPN.com. Auburn released its statement Monday night. As of 8:50 Tuesday morning, the web site still had an Associated Press story about the incident on its front college football page. Headline: Auburn players accused of harassing veteran. Last update: Feb. 19 at 4:26 p.m. Or five days ago.
Every fan base thinks every media outlet is out to get their favorite team, coach and players. That's not usually the case, but in this case, the misunderstandings just keep on coming.
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