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July 22, 2009 in Sports
Pellum: Cougars coaches treated him unfairly
PULLMAN – Romeo Pellum wants to set the record straight.
Though the former Washington State University defensive back admits he left the Cougars’ program this spring because he had been “indefinitely suspended” and reinstatement didn’t look likely, he wasn’t dismissed.
He left, he said, because he wasn’t being treated fairly and he didn’t want anything more to do “with Paul Wulff’s program.”
The decision to leave was his, Pellum added, and he was given his release and a letter of recommendation from Wulff and cornerbacks coach Jody Sears.
Wulff, for his part, would not go into depth about Pellum’s situation, saying Pellum’s departure was a mutual decision and that he was doing everything he could to make it easier for Pellum to find another place to play.
“We agreed that it was in his best interest and our best interest that he find another place to play,” the coach said.
The April 28 letter of recommendation, which Pellum supplied, calls Pellum “hard working, punctual and accountable when it came to practices and meetings.” It states Pellum has grown as a young man “on and off the field,” in the 13 months he was coached by Wulff’s staff, and lists his football attributes.
Pellum said he was suspended before spring practice along with four others, after the coaching staff learned of thefts that eventually led Pellum, Kevin Frank and Tyrone Aire Justin to be charged with felony burglary counts in Whitman County. The other two players Pellum referred to but wouldn’t name were never identified or charged with any crime.
Pellum, Justin and Frank have a court date July 31, with Justin and Pellum scheduled to start trial on Aug. 17, according to the Whitman County prosecutor’s office.
Pellum is charged with two counts of residential burglary, a class B felony in Washington State, and two counts of second-degree theft, a class C felony. Frank is charged with one count of both while Justin’s charge is second-degree possession of stolen property, a class C felony.
Maximum sentences for class B felonies are 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine while class C felonies carry a maximum of 5 years and $10,000.
Justin has been reinstated to the team and Frank transferred.
Pellum said it was how the punishment was handled that led to his decision to transfer.
“It was a real unfair situation,” he said. “You have five backs, four get reinstated on the team and one is still suspended for the remainder of the spring. Has to work out alone. It was a real unfair situation. I didn’t feel like I could trust the coaches at that point.
“Even with me still being on the team I would have still transferred. I didn’t want to play there at all after everything happened. I just wanted to go somewhere new, get a fresh start with new coaches I could trust, teammates I could trust.”
Pellum is home in California and said he will be attending a school in the East this fall, though he declined to identify it.
“I don’t want to say right now,” Pellum said of his new school. “I start camp Aug. 10.”
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ericdx on July 22 at 7:23 a.m.
Hmmm, he gets charged with the most crimes, and quits, upset that he was singled out. The other player with class “B” felonies has transferred, probably because he was going to be in the same position as this punk. I will be honest, I do not agree with reinstating the third player. This punk makes a comment that 4 of the 5 people involved were back on the team, with him being the only exception, but 2 players were never identified or charged (because the 3 criminals did not reveal the other 2 identities, just like you would expect from some punk thieves), 1 identified criminal left the team already, and 1 identified criminal is back on the team. Maybe there was a weakness in the case against the one that is still on the team, but I do not think he should have been reinstated until the end of legal proceedings, but the other 2 unidentified criminals are off scott free only because the 3 punks did not tell the truth about the other 2 being involved. To bad, so sad, go be a criminal on some other campus, punk, if you do not end up in the Whitman county jail, that is.
Jobu on July 22 at 11:19 a.m.
I am confused on something. Pellum says he’s going back east to play football, he starts camp August 10. But he has court, also he’s facing prison time, not just 30 days, but years. Same goes for Justin, how can he be reinstated, but is still facing a trail, with jail time.
Just don’t know how teams can committ to players when they are facing jail time.
larrymfive on July 22 at 2:44 p.m.
Why does this sour grape rant on the part of a bad apple like Pellum deserve above the fold front page of the Sports section. Why does he deserve a story at all? What has Wulf done wrong here? He suspended the kid who, based on the charges, was the ringleader of a felony criminal activity. Pellum still had his scholarship and he still had a chance to return to the team. Wulf has been getting heat that he’s not tough enough! Now he gets burned in the SR because he’s unfair.
Will the SR give equal prominance to today’s story that the bicycle heist charges have been dropped? Somehow I doubt that.
coreyb on July 23 at 9:03 a.m.
So Pellum says “ I just wanted to go somewhere new, get a fresh start with new coaches I could trust, teammates I could trust.” It seems more like he is the one that no one can trust after he stole things from his own team mates and is facing jail time. The only real question is why Tyrone Justin was reinstated when he has the same trial coming up. I think that is the only legitimate argument Pellum has.
rufus on July 31 at 7:21 a.m.
always someone else’s fault - might as well blame g. bush