Chuck Landon
August 26 2004
Herd's Hill isn't being treated fairly
Chuck Landon
Daily Mail sportswriter
HUNTINGTON -- I am accepting donations for the Stan Hill Defense Fund.
And, no, that is not a reference to Marshall University's immense problem at right offensive tackle.
What I am talking about is Herd fans' habit of asking, "Is Stan staying out of trouble?" anytime the Marshall quarterback's name is mentioned.
If I had a nickel for every time I've been asked that question, I'd have enough beer money for me and Stan to have the sort of party he's accused of attending on a regular-basis.
That's why sometimes I feel like Hill's defense attorney. I'm always defending him. Which I shouldn't have to do, considering Hill hasn't been in any sort of trouble for two years.
Yet, the bum rap persists.
It reared its unfair head again this week during the aftermath of the ugly bar fight incident. As usual, just about everyone suspected the worst of Hill. Actually, just the opposite was true.
According to MU officials, it was Hill who stopped the fight at the 20th Street Bar and Grill. It was Hill who pulled teammates off Ohio State defensive end Redgie Arden. It was Hill who actually absorbed blows intended for Arden. It was Hill who saved Arden from a worse beating and helped him out of the bar.
It was Hill who was the peacemaker.
It was Hill who was the good guy.
Marshall fans need to know this and come to the realization that their quarterback isn't the party-hearty trouble magnet they perceive him to be.
"Half the time people don't even know the true story," said Hill with a shrug in his voice. "That's just how it kind of goes. I've been keeping my nose clean. I learned my lessons when I was young. Sometimes you just get caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"That seems to be the deal with me."
It wasn't the deal last Memorial Day, however. That day he was in the right place at the right time. Just ask long-time Marshall fan Steve Diamond.
"It is Memorial Day and unfortunately I am in Huntington for the funeral of my sister who died suddenly," wrote Diamond, who now lives in Orlando, Fla. "I am staying at the Radisson in downtown Huntington and just walking the streets killing time before the services.
"Anyway, I was at the Marshall football stadium and walked up the front of the entrance off 5th Avenue. The door was locked, but the same time Stan Hill was leaving. I introduced myself and we chitchatted.
"I asked if I could see the field. He said probably not, but then led me down the spiral stairs to the field, put a towel in the door so it would not lock on me as I went on the field.
"I really thought it was a nice gesture. He said he just finished up some summer Internet classes and his knee was feeling good. I wished him luck and went on.
"No big deal to you, but I got a thrill out of it and he surely did not have to let me in. He did it out of kindness."
That is the image that Stan Hill deserves.
Printable Version
Email this to a friend
