Finally, back online. Not that anyone really cares, but school starts on Monday for my kid and apparently (according to the wife) we didn’t have absolutely everything we should for her first day of kindergarten (a flask of bourbon for me apparently wasn’t on the list. So, it took ’til this point to have some quiet time and a chance for me to get away.

Joe Clermond deals — somewhat with his arrest and subsequent dismissal of marijuana possession charges.

Pitt junior quarterback Bill Stull said Clermond had the unwavering support of his teammates all along.

“We know Joe Joe,” Stull said. “He’s not that type of person.”

That’s what mattered most to Clermond.

“That really felt good, that they had faith in me,” he said, “that they believed I was innocent even before I was proven innocent.”

Vindication came nine days later, after Clermond showed proof that he wasn’t the owner of the SUV in question. The charges were withdrawn before a scheduled hearing in Pittsburgh Municipal Court.

It was a valuable lesson for Clermond, who is being held as a different example to Panthers players: Beware not only of what you do but the company you keep.

“They already know what type of person I am, and they know it could happen to them,” Clermond said. “They know they better watch out. Just being a ballplayer, it could be with other ballplayers, with friends or family. You’ve just got to try to put yourself in the right situation.”

What impressed Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt was Clermond’s character in reacting to the arrest. He showed up at Wannstedt’s office at 6:30 a.m. that Monday and volunteered to do whatever it took to clear his good name.

“Joe dealt with an unfortunate situation the way we would hope that any of our players would deal with,” Wannstedt said. “You’re not doing anything wrong, not committing any crime. You get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people, and you handle yourself the right way. That’s what he did.

“During that whole episode, he handled everything the way we would have wanted him to. It didn’t affect anything he was doing as far as the football goes.”

I’m very glad the charges were dropped. And the rumors of how Clermond did anything he could to clear even the perception to the coaches that he was  smoking is great.

I’m also glad that he gets that the bigger lesson, may be to beware of with whom you hang and what they are doing. It happens far too often — and not just with the Michael Vicks and those extremes. It happens with hanger-ons even with potential 3d or 4th round draft picks.

I’m still a little troubled by the whole thing. I don’t know what team punishments were given — if any.  Maybe there shouldn’t be any. I don’t know. I’m really undecided at this point.
Clermond, though, is a 23-year old redshirt senior. A presumed team leader and captain. I can’t shake the feeling that there should be some consequences.