Irish won't be fighting across the border on Brian Kelly's watch

I don't know if Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is a fan of journalist Charles Bowden's dogged, illuminating work on the subject, but you don't exactly have to be plugged into humanitarian reading lists at this point to know that Juarez, Mexico, is probably the last place on earth you want to find yourself. The city just counted its 3,000th murder of 2010, making this the deadliest year in its already bloody history. It is not the place to make a quick hop for tequila with the locals.

Kelly knows this. But just in case any of the testosterone-fueled adolescents under his watch during this week's stay in El Paso for Notre Dame's upcoming Sun Bowl date with Miami happen to get a little adventurous so close to the border, he's taken the extra step of confiscating their traveling papers. Per the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette:

Kelly is also making sure there is no chance his players will wander into Juarez, Mexico, which is plagued by drug-related murders, by taking their passports.

"That's serious. Don't go over the border, or you may not come back, simply," Kelly said. "Now I know El Paso is the safest city in the country, but it’s serious. This isn't, 'Hey, let's give it a shot, guys, and jump in the car and see what it’s like.' You can’t go there, or nobody is going to be able to help you. There’s just been too much turmoil. … You take the passports, they can't get back. These guys are smart enough to know that."

The Journal Gazette also published travel tips from U.S. Border and Customs Protection, which reminds fans of both teams that "there are a number of border crossing requirements they need to be aware before venturing across the international boundary," by which it really means "YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN IF YOU CROSS THAT LINE, COWBOY."

Kelly's right, though, El Paso is totally safe. Maybe the teams can make it up to the missile range while they're in town?

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Hat tip: SBN.
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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