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MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota football coach Tracy Claeys doubled down Sunday on his support for players who boycotted practices and threatened to skip a bowl game if 10 teammates suspended after a sexual assault investigation werent reinstated.Speaking publicly for the first time since a standoff between 110 Golden Gophers football players and the administration, Claeys said he understands the players frustration with a Title IX investigation that they felt was inherently unfair to teammates who were accused of assaulting a woman at an off-campus dorm in September.As kids, they have no problems being held to a higher standard than the university requires and should require, Claeys said after Minnesotas practice. This is all about the due process.Claeys also clarified a comment he made on WCCO radio on Sunday morning when he said he was risking his job by supporting the players. The coach said he was just advising his players of possible ramifications during a team meeting on Thursday, before the team made the announcement to boycott.I was a sounding board for them and it was their decision, Claeys said. I made sure to make sure that they knew what the possible fallouts could be and we went through all those things. ... I was there to make sure that they were doing it for the right reasons and they knew what the consequences could be.The boycott ended Saturday when the team backed down and said they would play in the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl against Washington State in San Diego, even though officials declined to reinstate their suspended teammates. The players agreed after getting assurances that those accused will get a fair hearing next month.After the entire team announced the boycott Thursday, Claeys publicly backed his players.Have never been more proud of our kids, Claeys tweeted at the time. I respect their rights (and) support their effort to make a better world!Claeys said Sunday he wished he would have chosen his words more carefully in the tweet, but said he did not regret sending it.If you just show support for the players behind closed doors, youre going to have a group of them that dont believe you, he said. I needed to do that in a public way and I tried to do it as short as possible. ... It was all about me supporting their actions to try to improve the due process. Not just on this campus but other campuses.Claeys said his players were not condoning sexual assault or harassment in any way. But they believed their suspended teammates were denied due process.Officials announced the suspensions Tuesday after an internal investigation determined the 10 players violated school conduct codes in an encounter involving a woman and several players on Sept. 2.According to the police report, the woman told police she had consensual sex with two men that night, but that she did not consent to sexual contact with other men who were present, including players. According to universitys more detailed internal report, she told university investigators that she believed 10 to 20 men had sex with her that night, though she wasnt sure because she had memory gaps from drinking. Prosecutors declined to press charges, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but the university uses a lower bar in student discipline cases.Linebacker Nick Rallis told WCCO the players believe the boycott succeeded, even though nobody was reinstated, because they believe it will ensure that athletes at Minnesota and other colleges who are accused of misconduct in the future get fair hearings.The Title IX investigative process has become a hotly-debated topic on campuses around the country. Opponents argue that school investigators are often not professionals and do not have subpoena power or the ability to put a witness under oath.Proponents say the problem of sexual assault on college campuses is too important, especially after the Department of Education threatened to pull federal aid for public schools if they did not increase their efforts to address the problem.Minnesota President Eric Kaler said Saturday that he understood that Claeys position.Coaches are in a challenging position, Kaler said. They need to support their players. They need to motivate their players. At the same time, they need to be responsible for their actions, and there are times in which those two demands put coaches in very difficult positions.And I think some of our coaches around this issue were in that very difficult position and well talk about that with them and try to improve both their understanding and our understanding.Claeys said he has spoken with athletic director Mark Coyle several times since Thursday and is not concerned about his job at the moment.I understand why (the suspensions) were made, Claeys said. But as for the players, the due process part was the part I did agree with on the players.---Associated Press Writer Steve Karnowski contributed to this report. Kyle Lowry Jersey . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Toronto Raptors Jerseys . 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Not a single South African player knows what it is to lose a Test series in Australia. Not a single Australian player knows what it is to win a home series against South Africa. For a pair of transitional teams, that is a significant fact.Add to it another: Australia have been clean swept in their most recent Test series in Sri Lanka, then swept again - by the Proteas no less - in an ODI series in South Africa. Throw in a pair of underdone Australian pacemen, a porous middle order and a fielding side far less formidable than many who went before them, and the picture is clear: this is not going to be easy for the hosts.South Africa, of course, are not the side they were. For the first time in more than a decade they are not being led to Australia by the commanding figure of Graeme Smith. AB de Villiers isnt here, and Morne Morkel is not yet 100% fit. But there is a sense of regeneration about the side, of setting new goals and forming a new identity. In junior years Faf du Plessis was often captain of the same teams de Villiers played in. Having gained his chance through injury, du Plessis, first seen by Australians with his serenely dead bat in Adelaide four years ago, now looks a natural leader.For Steven Smith, this is the series in which he faces a first major test at home. Well as he and his teams have performed against India, New Zealand and the West Indies, those sides boasted not a single series win down under between them over the past 23 years. South Africas methods are suited to Australia, much as the reverse is true on the other side of the Indian Ocean. Smith has taken solace in a wider record of home success - unbeaten since the Proteas last visit in 2012.Traditionally we have played well at home and its about us knowing what we do well here, he said. We have scored big first innings runs and that is going to be crucial for us this year again.Bowling aggressively to the tail, not being afraid to get it up there and intimidate them a little bit. To the top order consistently bowl good areas and challenge them on wickets that traditionally bounce a bit more than they are used to. It is important for us to do that this summer.Obviously we havent come off the back of much great cricket, South Africa was disappointing and Sri Lanka was as well, thats gone, weve left that behind and we are focusing on what we have can control now and that is this summer.Much talk has centred upon the mental battle, whether it be Dale Steyns familiar refrain about cutting the head off the snake in reference to Smith, or David Warner hoping to see the visitors pacemen losing their collective rag with a flurry of short balls at the WACA Ground. Smith has reiterated his desire to see his men strut around the middle like they own the place, not retreating into themselves as happened in Sri Lanka.Its about making sure that each individual can get the best out of themselves and have a presence about them, Smith said. Everyone does it differently, for someone it might be about getting into a verbal contest with a bowler to get themselves going. Or with a batter as a bowler.For me I donnt like to say a great deal its more about making sure that my body language is right and Im puffing my chest out and looking like Im out there and I own the place.dddddddddddd Its about each individual knowing what gets them going, and when they do that its going to be best for the team as well.For well over a decade, that approach tended to unnerve the South Africans in Australia. Both sides knew who had the edge when matches reached their pointy end, and it was the team of Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. But du Plessis leads a generation unfamiliar with that kind of mental block: as uncomfortable as the Australians will try to make things for the visitors, they will know how to push back effectively. We are a team that respects the opposition, no matter where we go in the world, du Plessis said. If its gets to a tough stage in the game, which is what Test cricket is all about, and it gets a bit loud out there in the middle, its just about soaking it in and understanding that you have to work your way to get the momentum on your side again.Thats Test cricket, thats normal for me. I think thats more the thing people forget to focus on, that Test cricket is like that. Its up and down. Then you are on top, then you are under pressure and you just got to soak it up and ride the wave until it gets on your side to put some pressure on the opposition.But the most pivotal factor in this series, and its opening match at the WACA, will be Mitchell Starc. Starc knows it, South Africa know it and Australia most certainly know it. Still nursing a deep cut to the left leg from a training mishap, Starc will push through some discomfort to try to be near his best and fastest. Smith said he will likely be using his most explosive asset in short bursts a la Mitchell Johnson.Id say there is a good chance of that, Smith said. He has traditionally done pretty well here at the WACA, I thought he bowled beautifully last year on a slow benign wicket, I would prefer this one to have some more pace and bounce to assist him out there.The Proteas are braced for impact, knowing that the ability to see out his spells will more than likely tell the tale. He is a fantastic bowler, du Plessis said. A guy that swings the ball and bowls quick, any captain would say thats something they would want in their team. Its important for us to make sure he doesnt get his tail up and doesnt get wickets. That would mean we put a big threat for Australia aside.Its important how we play him. If were going to win this series its going to be how well weve played him in those short bursts. Hes a wicket-taker so he needs to come on and get wickets. We as a team understand that. We need to make sure we get through those periods.Happy history down under should make a difference to the Proteas, and recent failures will trouble Australia. It remains to be seen how much all that will matter in the fraction of a second it takes for Starcs missiles to reach the other end of the pitch. ' ' '