Wheary cut from team

[ysufan0505]

.......... See ya.

YOUNGSTOWN

A Youngstown State University football player punched a hole in a wall so hard he broke a waterline to a sprinkler system, flooding several rooms in his Wick Oval apartment complex, university police report.

Michael Wheary, 20, of Lakeland, Fla., was arraigned Tuesday in Youngstown Municipal Court via video hookup from the Mahoning County jail on a fourth-degree felony charge of vandalism. Judge Elizabeth Kobly set his bond at 10 percent of $2,500. He has a preliminary hearing set for 10:30 a.m. Nov. 20.

He also has been dismissed from the football team, is suspended from living in any university housing while his case is being investigated, and he can face disciplinary hearings, YSU spokesman Ron Cole said.

Cole said the flooding caused $90,000 in damage. Seven students had to be relocated to other residence halls because of damage to their apartments.

Wheary was a junior wide receiver for the Penguins but has not played this season since suffering a hamstring injury during preseason drills. He played in 11 games his freshman season and 10 last year. He had a total of 23 catches for 289 yards and a touchdown.

YSU football coach Eric Wolford said the decision to dismiss Wheary was a “no-brainer.”

- See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/oct/14/wheary-cut-ysu-team-after-punching-wall-flooding-a/?nw#sthash.kglOinzZ.dpuf

[seanbryan3]

Love Michael. Great kid, and a very close friend of my brother Christian, myself and my family. It's ashame that one mistake can hurt you so bad. Hoping no one is arrogant enough to rip the kid on here, we all have made some mistakes in our life.

[Spiderlegs]

A good point about W.'s tenure at YSU has been how he handles these issues and matters related to student academic performance. I'm pleased that YSU tries to hold its athletes to the same standards as other students, maybe even higher.

[SoupCity]

Spider....Agreed.  If there is one thing he has done extremely well? It's discipline off the field.

Sean....Unfortunately for Michael Wheary, a $90K mistake is a pretty big one.  Feel bad for the kid, hopefully he has learned a very big lesson.  Good luck to him!!

[seanbryan3]

$90,000 is a pricey mistake for sure Soup. I just didn't want people bashing the kid, because mistakes happen.

[ysufan0505]

I'd like to know what made him so mad to punch that big of a hole in the wall?......

[ysufratrat23]

The complete article in the Vindicator stated he punched the wall while arguing with his girlfriend.

[IAA Fan]

I have always liked him as well. In fact, we all wondered where is was & when he was returning. I did not even realize the hamstring issue was that serious. I remember when I was in High School, I pushed another kid & he went into a window. Sometimes you just get mad at stupid things. I think he pulled a chair out from underneath me.

The vice-principal brought in the school nurse to see if he had any cuts ...luckily he did not (good old denim). Then he called my parents and got insurance information ...called State Farm & verified the window was covered (it was about three-stories tall). He then sent me home for three days & suspended all of my after school activities for the remainder of the semester (a few weeks).

It was a wake-up call for me, as I realized

1) That I could have really hurt this kid.
2) The inconvenience and embarrassment that I caused my father.
3) I ended up failing a music class because I could not participate in the after-school activities and had to do it over in the summer.

So I can understand that this really was unintentional (at least the results) for Wheary, but I also see where something had to be done, as I did not have to do what I did. I say that if he has the coverage to pay the damages & shows proper attitude and remorse ...we keep him at least at school. All of this assumes it is out-of-character for him.

[MrGuin]

Unfortunate for the young man. But this is not an isolated incident. Hopefully this is the wake up call he needs, football is secondary, being a good citizen/person is the most important thing. Wish him nothing but the best and hope all works out for him.

[penguinpower]

What are the odds of that. Seriously.

[seanbryan3]

Definitely unfortunate. Tough loss. Michaels not just a very athletic football player, but also funny and great kid to be around.