Marshall's football season is over, but players from the undefeated 1996 team still are thinking about it.
They can't stop.
The snubbing the players say they received from the Marshall athletic department at a reunion during Marshall's game against Florida Atlantic on Oct. 15 is sticking in their craw.
"The weekend was going great until the game," said B.J. Cohen, defensive end who was a three-time All-American. "We were all thinking we were going to watch the game from the sidelines. But, then, they herded us off the field."
The players say security guards were told to remove the players from the field.
"I was having a conversation with Keith Morehouse (WSAZ-TV sports director) on the sideline," said John Grace, former star linebacker, "and a security guard came and tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Where's your sideline pass? And you need to leave.'
"I told him, 'Hey, look, when I'm through talking, I will get off the sideline.' And he stood there and didn't leave. Are you kidding me? The security guard had just seen me walk off the field, waving my hand and, now, he was asking for my pass and telling me I had to leave. Keith was standing there like 'What the hell?'
"I was so flabbergasted I didn't know what to do. Part of me was instantly angry."
Marshall's athletic department responded to the players' criticism by listing the events that were held for the 1996 team during that weekend. It included a dinner and reception, a tour of the new athletic facilities, a tailgate with complimentary food and drinks before the MU-FAU game, along with the players and coaches being recognized on the field.
As for the players not being allowed to watch the game from the sidelines, MU's athletic department noted it is policy that any individuals involved in on-field presentations return to their seats following their ceremony to decrease traffic on the sideline.
The MU athletic department also says conversations with some players afterward were positive.
Yet, former star safety Rogers Beckett still is bewildered by the treatment.
"As far as game day, it was just a very weird situation," said Beckett, who played in the NFL for five years. "They took us on the field, did the team introductions and all that, then, afterwards we moved to the sidelines and stood there talking and sort of taking in the moment.
"Then, all of a sudden, security starts coming through and saying, 'You guys need to leave the field and move away,' which we did. We moved further down to the end zone. And, then, it was to the point of almost harassment.
"Get off the field. You don't have any field passes. This, that and the other. And I'm thinking, 'Ok, I've taken time away from my family to come up and be a part of this. And, then, the day of the so-called big event, within 15 minutes I'm standing outside the stadium wondering exactly just what occurred.'
"It was almost like a dog-and-pony show. It was very disheartening. Within 15 or 20 minutes, you were forgotten. It was almost like it was a bad movie. I couldn't believe this was happening."
Cohen was so disillusioned he confronted Marshall's Mike Hamrick, as the athletic director was walking toward the press box.
"Yeah, I did," said Cohen, who is a special education teacher in Florida. "I asked him, 'Why is this happening? Whose decision is it? His tone and demeanor was like, 'Well, what do you want?' That is what he asked me. 'What else do you want?'"
The players say what they wanted was respect.
"It was a shame," said Albert Barber, former linebacker. "It was embarrassing. But you know what? It wasn't embarrassing to us. I was embarrassed for the city, for the town, for the fans."
The players seemed to feel a range of emotions.
"The slightness of what they do is so disrespectful," said Grace, who is a regional general manager for Evergreen Industrial Services. "You have a team that filled that stadium, week-in and week-out. We went across this country carrying that Marshall flag with pride and giving the people of Huntington something to be prideful about.
"Yet, we had to beg to get standing room in the end zone away from all the people in that stadium. ... and we were denied. Standing room. To stand up in a place that we built. Not a seat. Standing room.
"We left skin out there on that field. We slid and left skin out there. I've got marks on my legs now. I came to one game this year and I couldn't even stand on the sidelines at my own university. Yet, they're going to send me letter, after letter, after letter asking me for money."
Barber expressed disillusionment.
"Guys are starting to lose hope," said Barber, who is now a special needs teacher in Georgia. "Even when it's not a celebration they don't feel welcome to come back. Just if you want to bring your family down for a good experience and want to show your kids the facilities. Half the time, we don't feel welcome and it's the same facilities that you saw being upgraded beneath your very own feet.
"That's just one thing that seems like a big slap in the face to us."
It's why the players are talking about never coming back to Marshall or Huntington.
"Nobody wants to come back now," said Grace. "Nobody wants to be subjected to that. This is a place that we all love in the bottoms of our hearts. We love the people of Huntington. We love Marshall University.
"But the people that are involved disrespected us and put us on the back burner. We came back to our tailgate that was for us and were told, 'I can't give you another drink.' I shouldn't have to go through that at my university. If you bought drinks for us to have at our tailgate, why would you come and confiscate them.
"As soon as the game started, they took all the refreshments. They took it all. They said, 'We were told not to give you all nothing. We can't give you all nothing else.'"
Compare that to the heart and soul the undefeated NCAA Division I-AA national champion 1996 team gave to Marshall.
"At the end of the day, Marshall made me who I am today," said Grace. "It allowed me to grow up from a boy to a man. It did so much for me. And for me to stand there with the people who went through that journey with me and for the fans to celebrate us the way they did. ... I haven't played at Marshall since 1999. Going on 20 years since I set foot on campus and played my last game and people recognize me everywhere I go.
"Except for the athletic department."
The entire experience made Beckett turn an emotional corner.
"If I never came back, it would not be a big deal to me," he said. "I never thought I'd feel this way after 20 years."
Chuck Landon is sports columnist for The Herald-Dispatch. Contact him at clandon@herald-dispatch.com.
They can't stop.
The snubbing the players say they received from the Marshall athletic department at a reunion during Marshall's game against Florida Atlantic on Oct. 15 is sticking in their craw.
"The weekend was going great until the game," said B.J. Cohen, defensive end who was a three-time All-American. "We were all thinking we were going to watch the game from the sidelines. But, then, they herded us off the field."
The players say security guards were told to remove the players from the field.
"I was having a conversation with Keith Morehouse (WSAZ-TV sports director) on the sideline," said John Grace, former star linebacker, "and a security guard came and tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Where's your sideline pass? And you need to leave.'
"I told him, 'Hey, look, when I'm through talking, I will get off the sideline.' And he stood there and didn't leave. Are you kidding me? The security guard had just seen me walk off the field, waving my hand and, now, he was asking for my pass and telling me I had to leave. Keith was standing there like 'What the hell?'
"I was so flabbergasted I didn't know what to do. Part of me was instantly angry."
Marshall's athletic department responded to the players' criticism by listing the events that were held for the 1996 team during that weekend. It included a dinner and reception, a tour of the new athletic facilities, a tailgate with complimentary food and drinks before the MU-FAU game, along with the players and coaches being recognized on the field.
As for the players not being allowed to watch the game from the sidelines, MU's athletic department noted it is policy that any individuals involved in on-field presentations return to their seats following their ceremony to decrease traffic on the sideline.
The MU athletic department also says conversations with some players afterward were positive.
Yet, former star safety Rogers Beckett still is bewildered by the treatment.
"As far as game day, it was just a very weird situation," said Beckett, who played in the NFL for five years. "They took us on the field, did the team introductions and all that, then, afterwards we moved to the sidelines and stood there talking and sort of taking in the moment.
"Then, all of a sudden, security starts coming through and saying, 'You guys need to leave the field and move away,' which we did. We moved further down to the end zone. And, then, it was to the point of almost harassment.
"Get off the field. You don't have any field passes. This, that and the other. And I'm thinking, 'Ok, I've taken time away from my family to come up and be a part of this. And, then, the day of the so-called big event, within 15 minutes I'm standing outside the stadium wondering exactly just what occurred.'
"It was almost like a dog-and-pony show. It was very disheartening. Within 15 or 20 minutes, you were forgotten. It was almost like it was a bad movie. I couldn't believe this was happening."
Cohen was so disillusioned he confronted Marshall's Mike Hamrick, as the athletic director was walking toward the press box.
"Yeah, I did," said Cohen, who is a special education teacher in Florida. "I asked him, 'Why is this happening? Whose decision is it? His tone and demeanor was like, 'Well, what do you want?' That is what he asked me. 'What else do you want?'"
The players say what they wanted was respect.
"It was a shame," said Albert Barber, former linebacker. "It was embarrassing. But you know what? It wasn't embarrassing to us. I was embarrassed for the city, for the town, for the fans."
The players seemed to feel a range of emotions.
"The slightness of what they do is so disrespectful," said Grace, who is a regional general manager for Evergreen Industrial Services. "You have a team that filled that stadium, week-in and week-out. We went across this country carrying that Marshall flag with pride and giving the people of Huntington something to be prideful about.
"Yet, we had to beg to get standing room in the end zone away from all the people in that stadium. ... and we were denied. Standing room. To stand up in a place that we built. Not a seat. Standing room.
"We left skin out there on that field. We slid and left skin out there. I've got marks on my legs now. I came to one game this year and I couldn't even stand on the sidelines at my own university. Yet, they're going to send me letter, after letter, after letter asking me for money."
Barber expressed disillusionment.
"Guys are starting to lose hope," said Barber, who is now a special needs teacher in Georgia. "Even when it's not a celebration they don't feel welcome to come back. Just if you want to bring your family down for a good experience and want to show your kids the facilities. Half the time, we don't feel welcome and it's the same facilities that you saw being upgraded beneath your very own feet.
"That's just one thing that seems like a big slap in the face to us."
It's why the players are talking about never coming back to Marshall or Huntington.
"Nobody wants to come back now," said Grace. "Nobody wants to be subjected to that. This is a place that we all love in the bottoms of our hearts. We love the people of Huntington. We love Marshall University.
"But the people that are involved disrespected us and put us on the back burner. We came back to our tailgate that was for us and were told, 'I can't give you another drink.' I shouldn't have to go through that at my university. If you bought drinks for us to have at our tailgate, why would you come and confiscate them.
"As soon as the game started, they took all the refreshments. They took it all. They said, 'We were told not to give you all nothing. We can't give you all nothing else.'"
Compare that to the heart and soul the undefeated NCAA Division I-AA national champion 1996 team gave to Marshall.
"At the end of the day, Marshall made me who I am today," said Grace. "It allowed me to grow up from a boy to a man. It did so much for me. And for me to stand there with the people who went through that journey with me and for the fans to celebrate us the way they did. ... I haven't played at Marshall since 1999. Going on 20 years since I set foot on campus and played my last game and people recognize me everywhere I go.
"Except for the athletic department."
The entire experience made Beckett turn an emotional corner.
"If I never came back, it would not be a big deal to me," he said. "I never thought I'd feel this way after 20 years."
Chuck Landon is sports columnist for The Herald-Dispatch. Contact him at clandon@herald-dispatch.com.
