Freccero flees amid suspicion, but returns to play

TheYale football team almost had to begin its season down one varsity running back as two-time letter winner Craig Freccero, TD '99, was reported missing to the New Haven police last Monday. Freccero received a scare after speaking with University officials regarding questionable academic behavior in a class he was taking at Yale Summer Programs, and, as the Orlando Sentinel Times reported, "dropped from sight after school officials erroneously told him he would be expelled."

National news media jumped on the story as the search for Freccero intesified.

Dean John Loge, Summer Master in charge of summer school programs and dean of Timothy Dwight College, told Freccero that, "he faced expulsion for a questionable summer class."

Dean Loge and Dean Penelope Laurans, the head of Summer Programs, were both unavailable for comment.

In every university, the penalties for academic dishonesty are severe. Expulsion, however, lies at the extreme end of the punishment spectrum. As for Freccero's penalty for the class in question, the Yale College Undergraduate Regulations states that academic dishonesty ordinarily results in suspension, which usually lasts two terms.

Shorter or longer penalties, or even permanent expulsion, are possible, but depend on both the severity of the offense and on the offender's previous disciplinary record. Whatever the case, a finding of academic dishonesty usually results in a failing grade for the course.

Yale reversed the ruling in Freccero's case, but he had disappeared before officials could inform him of their decision. According to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "When officials went looking for him he was nowhere to be found and hadn't been seen by anyone, including his family."

Freccero left New Haven alone and headed south. Sources close to Freccero say that after reaching Virginia, he found himself in more trouble when he ran out of money.

But as luck would have it, Freccero stopped in a convenience store and purchased a scratch-and-win ticket that resulted in a $200 windfall. This good fortune enabled him to continue his journey into Tennessee, where he began working at a gas station.

At the time, friends and family at home and at Yale were still uninformed as to Freccero's whereabouts.

He called two days after he was reported missing to assure his parents that he was safe. One week after his disappearance, Freccero contacted a friend at Yale and returned to campus. He is currently enrolled for the semester and remains eligible to play football in the fall.

Athletic Director Thomas Beckett denied knowledge of any problems with Freccero's academic status or enrollment eligibility. "He is on the team, back practicing. He was part of the squad in the spring and played baseball. Everyone assumed he was coming back," he said.

Freccero's presence could prove to be important for the Bulldog team this fall. In the 1996 season, he started twice at tailback when Jabbar Craigwell, JE '98, fell victim to injury, and was second on the team in kickoff return attempts and yards.

As a freshman, he led the team in kick return average. Freccero had his career best game against Columbia as he rushed for 95 yards. Unfortunately, both his game and season were cut short that day as he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second half. He finished with 126 yards on 42 attempts. Freccero also spends his spring season as an outfielder for the varsity baseball team.

While the exact details of Freccero's summer school situation remain unclear, he has returned to Yale and is ready to play ball.

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