Huskies Mutiny in Cyberspace

Last week, Tyrone Willingham told two seniors with a year of football eligibility remaining, kicker Michael Braunstein and DB Chris Hemphill, that they won't be on the team next year.

Not a popular move. Braunstein's father bellyached to the local papers. Hemphill wondered if the distraction caused Saturday's horrid performance vs. Stanford.

And now, players are engaged in some virtual mutiny.

A UW student set up a Facebook group called "I support Braunstein and Hemphill" (here's the link, but you can only get there if you are part of the UW group on Facebook). As of this morning, there are 138 people in the group, including football players Ben Ossai, Jordan White-Frisbee, and Robert Lewis (or people calling themselves by these names)..

At least until Willingham goes apeshit on them. From the P-I:

When asked about several Huskies joining a Facebook.com group titled "I support Braunstein and Hemphill," Washington football coach Tyrone Willingham responded by saying, "Don't go there."

Here's the group's description:

UW Football fans and players show your support for 2 key players that have been wrongfully cut from the program. Kicker Micheal Braunstein and Safety Chris Hemphill were both victims of scholarship "Indian Giving." Washington Football giveth and Coach Willingham taketh away. This action is absolutely ridiculous when you consider the roles that each of these players has played in the past few games. Braunstein has made his last 8 field goals with a top 15 kicking percentage in the nation. Hemphill boasts 24 tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery in just the past 2 weeks. Two players who are actually doing their jobs on the field should never be removed from a team. This not only disrupts team chemistry, but also creates a precedent that no recruit's future at Washington is certain. After that loss to Stanford on November 11, 2006, the coaching staff might want to think about cutting themselves.