Did Texas Tech Make the Right Decision in Reinstating Freshman Football Player Nigel Bethel and Suspending Him for Three Games? [POLL]

Texas Tech announced yesterday that freshman Nigel Bethel would be reinstated to the Texas Tech Football program and would be suspended for the first three games of his career. The decision comes after a grand jury decided against charging Bethel after an incident at the Texas Tech Rec Center where Bethel hit Lady Raider Basketball player Amber Battle. In the days after the incident, Battle said she was the one who started the confrontation. Texas Tech released this statement yesterday:

"This is an unfortunate situation with a unique set of circumstances and there are no winners," said Kirby Hocutt, Director of Athletics. "Every decision related to this case has been the right one at that particular time based upon our principles, student-athlete code of conduct and team rules. As I continued to work with Coach Kingsbury and Coach Whitaker, we looked at the totality of the situation and have arrived at this decision. Two talented young people made a mistake, have shown remorse and learned some very valuable life lessons."

The stipulations of his reinstatement call for him to miss 25 percent (three games) of his first season.

"I am thankful for the opportunity to come back to Texas Tech," said Bethel. "I take full responsibility for my actions and I would like to let everyone know that this won't happen again. It's not who I am and I am sorry for the embarrassment this has caused. I want to thank Amber Battle for accepting my apology and for coming forward to say that I deserved a second chance. I would like to thank everyone at Texas Tech, including the coaches, for believing in me and giving me a second chance to show my ability and to receive an education from Texas Tech."

Battle, a senior on the women's basketball team, has been suspended for the month of November (25 percent of the season) for her role in the incident with Bethel.

"I'm relieved that Nigel is receiving a second chance because I believe in second chances," said Battle. "We were both at fault in this situation and I believe our punishment should be equal. This is a good opportunity for us to learn from our mistakes and I think we both have. Hopefully now we can move forward and focus on helping our teams compete at the highest level."

Do you agree with Tech's decision from Wednesday?