This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

On the field, the Pac-12 has underwhelmed with a mediocre start to the season.

Off the field, the league is fraught with far more grim problems.

It's a weird week in the Pac-12, as several programs are dealing with legal issues that are individually troubling but collectively mind-bending. Off-field criminal issues are the nightmare for every football coach, and more Pac-12 football coaches are sleeping less soundly this week than usual.

At Washington State, clashing with police • http://bit.ly/2cU3zru";>While there's plenty of discord going on for 0-2 Wazzu on gameday, the biggest fracas is the one the team has with Pullman police.

Not long after ripping his own team for their performance, http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/sportslink/2016/sep/13/mike-leach-issues-statement-recent-arrests/";>coach Mike Leach ripped the local cops for profiling his players. The accusations come on the heels of three incidents since June of WSU players being arrested or investigated for crimes. This week, linebacker Logan Tago was arrested for second-degree robbery and assault, which seemed to be the final straw for Leach — only he didn't take out his frustration on his players, but rather police and media calling it a "double standard."

"We're going to let the legal system take its course," Leach said. "But the system has to be checked if with the number of people involved in these incidents the only ones accused are football players. If that's the case, then something is seriously wrong, which goes far deeper than whatever has even been alleged."

The insinuation of improper treatment by the police didn't sit well with Pullman police chief Gary Jenkins, who refuted Leach's accusations. Ahead of Saturday's game against Idaho, during which one assumes police will provide security, http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/wsu-cougar-football/wsu-president-athletic-director-meet-with-pullman-police-chief/?utm_content=buffer49ace&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=owned_buffer_sports";>WSU's president and athletic director met with Jenkins to iron out some peace.

The Spokesman-Review has had excellent coverage of this story, http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/sep/14/john-blanchette-leach-draws-up-some-misdirection-i/";>including this sharp column from John Blanchette:

But here's what neither Leach nor Moos said: That criminal charges or not, there's a run of bad behavior here they need to address, and that the public is owed better.

Instead, what we got was textbook lack of accountability that we usually hear only from politicians and 10-year-olds: Those other guys did it, too!

Considerable irony there, given Leach's sermon on toughness and accountability the day before. This was the one in which he lambasted three of his inside receivers – speaking of dragging names through the paper – for being afraid of a Boise State defender last weekend, and groused, "We have the atmosphere of a JC softball team.

USC's Osa Masina arrested for rape • Reporter Aaron Falk has been covering this one for the Tribune: The former Brighton star linebacker was arrested and booked Thursday for rape and forcible sodomy.http://www.sltrib.com/home/4356637-155/college-football-former-brighton-star-osa?fullpage=1";> A warning that the details of the police report are very graphic.

Masina and teammate Don Hill had been serving a suspension from games while under investigation for the sexual assault case, but were still permitted to practice. That ended Tuesday, when coach Clay Helton suspended them indefinitely from team activities and Masina was barred from campus.

Coaches have typically alluded to the constitutional presumption of innocence when allowed team members to practice or play while either under investigation or facing criminal charges. But http://www.latimes.com/sports/more/la-sp-college-football-assault-20160913-snap-story.html";>as the LA Times points out, this can have an ethical risk for universities:

No one policy is necessarily better than another — some schools might call for immediate suspension while others take a wait-and-see approach. That's fine with ethicists, so long as administrators have established guidelines.

Problems arise when there is no existing standard or the rules are not applied equally to all students. Stephen Mosher, who teaches sports ethics at Ithaca College in New York, sees inconsistencies across college sports.

"It's beyond muddy," he said. "Sometimes it depends on where the player is on the depth chart or who you're playing next week."

Another potential catch: "You probably don't want coaches making these decisions," Klein said. "They're not in position to be impartial or objective."

Arizona's Orlando Bradford arrested for domestic violence • When it comes to an athletic department applying discipline swiftly, the Wildcats set a different tone than WSU and USC.

After being charged with four counts of aggravated assault and three of forcible kidnapping, running back Orlando Bradford was summarily dismissed from Arizona. He had five carries this season as the team's back-up running back.

Bradford had practiced that morning for the team, but when police notified the program he had been arrested, Rich Rodriguez wasted no time.http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/football/blog/arizona-wildcats-rb-orlando-bradford-arrested-dismissed-from-team/article_b7c1b606-7ac1-11e6-8666-b39bef8add05.html";> Multiple media reports cited that the victim contacted police with obvious injuries, saying Bradford had committed the crimes over several days.

kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon