When I heard from a very reliable source that Michael Robinson had been involved in an altercation just a day before, I thought there was no way it could be true.

Even coming from one of the smartest, most connected people I know, this news was too surprising. Robinson has always been one of the good guys. He's funny and willing to talk, which, as sad as it is to say, puts him in a minority on the Penn State football team.

But I knew I had to look into the fight, and did. This began two Sundays ago, and as the story started cracking apart, it got blown open by a letter from Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the group that sponsored the ice skating party where the fight occurred.

The letter didn't specifically point out Robinson, but did say that foot-ball players were involved. After speaking with police and officials at the Greenburg Ice Pavillion, the site of this donnybrook, we decided this was important enough to get in the paper, and ran the story without identifying any specific football players.

Anytime between 15 and 20 people throw down in a university-owned building and cause damage to both body and facility, it's likely to show up in the paper.

But the Collegian simply reported that the letter claimed football players were involved. It also reported the official statement from football spokesman Jeff Nelson, which was that student-athletes were involved but strictly as victims.

Right there. Both sides of the story.

The Friday after the fight takes place, The Centre Daily Times breaks the news that Robinson received 24 stitches after being thrown through a trophy case during the fight. It does not cite specific sources, other than to say the hospital confirmed it had treated a Michael Robinson.

Once the story is out, Robinson confirms this news for the Collegian, which runs a page-one story on the following Monday about how the backup QB and most-talented athlete on the team came to have a gash above his left ear that required 24 stitches.

Then, to make a long story short, head coach Joe Paterno says at his Wednesday press conference to announce several coaching changes that the Collegian had been unfair to Robinson.

His quote: "I think whoever put that story together in The Collegian has made it appear as if it was Michael's fault."

The first three paragraphs of the story in question: "Penn State quarterback Michael Robinson has confirmed to The Daily Collegian that he was involved in the fight that occurred at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion Feb. 7.

After the fight, he needed 24 stitches behind his ear after being pushed into a glass trophy case.

Robinson, the redshirt sophomore who is expected to compete with Zack Mills for the starting job, declined to elaborate on his role in the fight but said he might be making a statement soon."

For a man who claims at least once a press conference to "never read the papers" and not "care what they say," Paterno has an awfully strong opinion on how the Collegian handled the Robinson case.

I've heard similar complaints about the way the Collegian handled Tony Johnson's drunken driving charge last semester and the sexual assault charge against Anwar Phillips last spring (which he was acquitted of). Some people thought that the coverage unfairly convicted both parties.

What it really did, though, was rely on the information released by police.

It had no statement from Tony Johnson or Anwar Phillips because they were not available for comment.

As with any story, when one side has more detailed information than the other it usually sounds more convincing, whether it's right or not.

That is often the case with these stories. It is the Collegian's duty as a newspaper to report the news, and in most cases it is impossible to get Paterno or any of his players to offer their side of the tale.

So in exchange for their privacy they in effect give up the right to defend themselves.

Which is exactly like standing in the spotlight, singing a song at the top of your lungs, doing a jig and expecting no one to even take a second look at you.