After fielding a number of calls, texts and e-mails the past 24 hours or so regarding the Kelsey Barlow/D.J. Byrd situation, we've gotten enough information here to feel compelled to elaborate, because what a number of eye-witnesses and other sources have told us, it would seem as if there are some holes in the police report in relation to what was really going on.
Not really sure how to handle this, because a police report is official record and certainly a lot more than we personally witnessed, which is nothing.
But multiple sources have told us that just because at least three basketball players happened to be on the scene at that time doesn't mean they were together. You can see how that would be presumed, though, because that two separate groups of players happened to be at or around the same bar at the same time.
The notion that Kelsey Barlow sought out Robbie Hummel and D.J. Byrd as his muscle, for lack of a better term, to get back into Where Else just isn't true, and anyone with an understanding of team dynamics probably wouldn't believe that, either.
The accounts portrayed to us basically go like this: Barlow started it, getting kicked out of the bar in the arms of two bouncers. Outside he ran into Byrd, who'd been in the bar with a group that included Hummel.
As Barlow tried to get back in the bar looking for his wallet, Byrd became involved, maybe getting dragged into the situation simply by association given that a large majority of people on this campus would automatically recognize the two as teammates. I don't know about that part.
A brouhaha ensued obviously at which time Byrd went at it with a bouncer and persisted after WLPD showed up. Ultimately, an Indiana State trooper just happened upon the scene and made the arrest for public intoxication after Byrd momentarily resisted. Given the volatility of the situation, it's probably fair to say things could have ended up worse. It was unfortunate that the situation got as far as it did, but once it hit its peak, I do believe bar security and law enforcement took steps toward cooling off the situation before the hand cuffs came out.
Robbie Hummel was there amidst some of the conflict, but from what witnesses have told us, he was inside the bar during its escalation and played no role in it. Neither he nor Byrd were with Barlow. Again, there aren't all that many bars at Purdue and the one in the middle of all this, according to the kids these days, is a popular one for finishing the night off. Guys cross paths.
As the drama outside was unfolding, someone in the bar went to get Hummel to inform him of the situation. He went outside and tried in vain to play peacemaker.
Message board culture is apparently turning this story into some extravagant and colossal 21st birthday bender put on by teammates for Barlow, when in reality that was not the case.
And truth be told, as wild as things may be perceived to have gotten early Friday morning, these sorts of things are what have built Barlow's well-known reputation on campus. I am not taking shots here at a player who's just been removed from the team, but background is necessary here. We despise Internet rumor mongering and social-life spying on message boards, but I'm guessing any readers here tied into the night life on campus at Purdue will back up this comment.
So why was Barlow kicked off the team when he wasn't arrested early Friday morning?
Well, in my blog the other day, I think there was some background. As it turned out, I flat-out forgot that prior to the IU game a couple weeks ago, there was a fraternity house incident that involved Barlow.
At that time, multiple sources have said the past couple days, Matt Painter nearly kicked him off the team. He didn't.
Why not?
Painter told people afterward he didn't want this to happen to this team's seniors, which begs the question of whether or not Barlow would have made it to next season had this last incident not occurred.
But it did and by the time players got to the arena for practice at 1 p.m. yesterday, Barlow's locker had already been cleaned out.
I do just want to point out that we are not going to make a habit of going all-out to cover every bar-room scuffle that takes place involving Purdue athletes on campus, but given the magnitude, timing and notoriety of this particular one, it seemed appropriate to give you the story as best we could.
We are not terribly comfortable providing information that contradicts a police report, an official record that must in most cases be accepted as true. But in this case, with the sheer volume of information given to us - and the confidence we have in those people - we are comfortable in this particular instance.
There's not going to be any absolving of anyone of any guilt here. At the most, some players were guilty of terribly poor judgment and displays of liquid courage that damaged their team. At the very least, other players were guilty merely of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but at an hour when a lot of places are the wrong place at the wrong time. But they are college kids, after all.
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