Fewer than 24 hours after being charged with open lewdness and disorderly conduct, Penn State basketball player Stanley Pringle's name was plastered all over the Internet.
ESPN.com, celebrity gossip site Perezhilton.com and sports blog Deadspin.com all posted the story, placing Pringle at the center of discussion on message boards across the Web.
All of this occurred despite the fact Pringle has not been found guilty or even been arrested in connection with an incident involving public masturbation that occurred last week in Pattee Library.
The complaint cannot be made public until Centre County District Judge Jonathan Grine, who is out of the office this week, can sign the criminal complaint. Without the signed complaint, Pringle, who is the first Ed DeChellis recruit to have a run-in with the law, cannot be formally arrested.
"I was just really shocked, and I didn't know what to believe, and I think it's still pretty hard to believe," said Justin Ogden (freshman-labor employment relations), a member of "Stanley's Pringles" a group that dressed up as Pringles chip cans in honor of Pringle at the men's basketball games last season.
"I think he's still a great basketball player. He deserves a second chance. I really hope that he gets to play next year," he said.
Pringle has not been suspended from the basketball team, but if he returns to the team next year, he will likely face a firestorm of disparaging comments from opposing fans when Penn State plays on the road.
"It's definitely going to be a negative reaction," said Matt Lake, president of the Paint Crew, the basketball student section at Purdue. "This is stuff that they [student sections] thrive on. This is the type of stuff students love to read about."
However, Lake said he and other members of the Paint Crew generally try to keep their cheers under control and respectable.
Jason Kaye, a member of the Orange Krush executive board at Illinois, echoed similar sentiments and said the Orange Krush usually avoids jeering athletes with criminal charges when the details of a situation might not be fully disclosed.
"One thing going in his favor is that he won't be going on the road until next year," Kaye said. "There will be schools that will be absolutely brutal to him. At Illinois we try to stay away from guys with criminal charges."
In February, the Orange Krush drew national attention for its treatment of Indiana guard Eric Gordon, yelling "liar" at the McDonald's All-American for reneging a verbal commitment to Illinois in favor of the Hoosiers. Kaye said the Gordon issue was personal for many people at Illinois, and he doesn't expect Pringle to receive similar treatment.
George Beatty (sophomore-business), the president of Penn State basketball fan group Nittany Nation, doesn't expect the incident to affect support for the team.
"I don't really think it will hurt support," he said. "By the time next season rolls around, most of it will have blown over."
-- Collegian Staff Writer Lauren Boyer contributed to this story
