Several University of Idaho football players stole nearly $400 worth of clothing from the campus store earlier this month, but it sounds like they were fortunate enough to avoid legal trouble after their coach bailed them out.
According to a police report that was obtained by the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, VandalStore manager Scott McDonald contacted police on Aug. 16 after the merchandise was stolen during a time when the store was only open to the football team. McDonald had “noticed several clothes hangers empty” and discovered on surveillance footage that several items had been stuffed into a backpack and others were concealed in a player’s pants.
After police watched the footage, two team graduate assistants were asked to contact their superiors to determine how the suspects could be identified. Vandals assistant coaches Kris Cinkovich and Bobby Daly arrived at the store to watch the video, and the report stated that head coach Paul Petrino later arrived and spoke to McDonald. McDonald then showed police that Petrino had returned a pile of clothing.
When police asked McDonald which players had been identified as the culprits, he said he “didn’t write it down and did not recall.” McDonald said police would be given video the next day, but VandalStore director John Bales informed the authorities that he was keeping the tape and the issue was being handled internally.
Petrino said the same after practice on Tuesday.
“The situation has been handled and they’re being internally disciplined,” he said, adding that he did not believe the players received any special treatment.
The UI Dean of Students Office said the players will be investigated through the Student Code of Conduct process and that the same would be the case for any other student who shoplifted and then returned the items. In other words, no student would get arrested for stealing from the campus store as long as they brought the stuff back.
You believe that? Good for you.
As some of you know, Petrino looked bad earlier this month when a report came out about him going ballistic on a reporter for seemingly no reason. Helping players sweep a shoplifting incident under the rug isn’t a great look, either, even if the same would have happened with most football programs.
H/T Deadspin
