Blade article about BG's off-field problems and defections

freefalcon · Post by **freefalcon** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:47 pm

Flipper wrote:I'm waiting for MACMAN to post some Talibanesque diatribe criticizinng Brandon for a lack of discipline..."If we had beheaded the first kid caught with drugs none of these other kids would have tried anything"...

Now that is funny

ZuluWarrior · Post by **ZuluWarrior** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:46 pm

I usually take the road of higher standards, but after reading about the Iowa football program and a sexual assault, it makes GB look like Stalin. That said, I can be okay with the appropriate second chance, but third chances don't fly with me and shouldn't with GB either. Free college educations should be enough for these 'kids' to understand their accountability. I hope to one day become a more active contributor to the program, but only if it holds itself to higher standards than average. I don't think that's too much to ask for.

MACMAN · Post by **MACMAN** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:11 am

You know it is very sad. Sad because a STRONG DISIPLANARY PLAN and real action on past events would have averted this kind of behavior. Face it, with out real consequences there is no reason to not be stupid...we all have this "2nd Chance " safety cord hanging about that we can pull. Think about it, dont stop at a stop sign because your in a hurry and you "looked", and you hit a kid on a bike who actually had the right of way, and they die...kid gets no second chance for doing it right...you get manslaughter at most...out in less than 5. thats minor...not stoping at a stop sign...having a boat load of pot, or testing positive..or drinking under age all minor...offenses...to a point. but all should = mandatory dismissal. why? because they are all illegal and should be a violation of the schools rules.
there is no need to give these kids any chances..they have been given ONE VERY BIG ONE...to PLAY A COLLEGE SPORT and in many cases get a FREE EDUcATION in return. THAT IS THE CHANCE! DONT f**k UP WHILE YOUR HERE, do it better than those who came before you, and set a standard for those who follow. fer cripes sake we need a Head Coach that gets the basics.
Zero tolerance. applie it equally and swiftly to ALL players and frequency of these kind of actions will drop.
there is never a good time so to speak to start fixing a huge mistake of inaction, it would bit the program in the butt....but you have to start some time and there is no better time than now, before things cascade much further out of control as they are now.

JoeFalcon · Post by **JoeFalcon** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:51 am

So much for pro BG bias in the Blade. "Gregg Brandon insists he does not knowingly recruit miscreants to play football for Bowling Green State University."

So, when did you stop beating your wife?

This is getting comical. A similar article could be written about almost every Division I program in America. I don't pretend that BG is perfect, but we'd have to have an off-season like this for the next 15 years to approach the level of some of the other programs that the Standards Police have told us are now off-limits to any and all criticism.

I also love how the fact we take academics seriousely enough to dismiss superstar (or potentially superstar) players is somehow interpreted as a negative.

zeket10 · Post by **zeket10** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:54 am

MACMAN wrote:You know it is very sad. Sad because a STRONG DISIPLANARY PLAN and real action on past events would have averted this kind of behavior. Face it, with out real consequences there is no reason to not be stupid...we all have this "2nd Chance " safety cord hanging about that we can pull. Think about it, dont stop at a stop sign because your in a hurry and you "looked", and you hit a kid on a bike who actually had the right of way, and they die...kid gets no second chance for doing it right...you get manslaughter at most...out in less than 5. thats minor...not stoping at a stop sign...having a boat load of pot, or testing positive..or drinking under age all minor...offenses...to a point. but all should = mandatory dismissal. why? because they are all illegal and should be a violation of the schools rules.
there is no need to give these kids any chances..they have been given ONE VERY BIG ONE...to PLAY A COLLEGE SPORT and in many cases get a FREE EDUcATION in return. THAT IS THE CHANCE! DONT f**k UP WHILE YOUR HERE, do it better than those who came before you, and set a standard for those who follow. fer cripes sake we need a Head Coach that gets the basics.
Zero tolerance. applie it equally and swiftly to ALL players and frequency of these kind of actions will drop.
there is never a good time so to speak to start fixing a huge mistake of inaction, it would bit the program in the butt....but you have to start some time and there is no better time than now, before things cascade much further out of control as they are now.

If you were a head coach man youre team would be tip top shape huh? It's alot harder to do zero tolerance than you make it sound

BGFootball · Post by **BGFootball** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:22 pm

If every team in college football had a no tolerance policy like MACMAN thinks they should then how many schools would be able to field a team?

Dr. Reality · Post by **Dr. Reality** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:30 pm

I'm always wondering why so many of these law-breaking schemes are related to football players. They seem to have a kind of penchant for doing stupid things. Is it because there are more of them? Is it the nature of the game? I rarely hear of swimmers, baseball, basketball, track , or what have you, kids getting themselves into hot water. Somebody said that football was a "violent" sport and this kind of behavior was just a carry-over. I'm not sure I can agree with that since Rugby is equally challenging as is icehocky ---- but you rarely hear of athletes in these sports getting themselves into hot-water with the law. Why football??????????

Dayons_Den · Post by **Dayons_Den** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:42 pm

Dr. Reality wrote:I'm always wondering why so many of these law-breaking schemes are related to football players. They seem to have a kind of penchant for doing stupid things. Is it because there are more of them? Is it the nature of the game? I rarely hear of swimmers, baseball, basketball, track , or what have you, kids getting themselves into hot water. Somebody said that football was a "violent" sport and this kind of behavior was just a carry-over. I'm not sure I can agree with that since Rugby is equally challenging as is icehocky ---- but you rarely hear of athletes in these sports getting themselves into hot-water with the law. Why football??????????

Might want to re-check your blotters over the past few years. I'm sitting at work and off the top of my head I can recall the basketball team having a player arrested for a robbery, members of the swim team busted for stealing school owned computers and hockey has had some off ice hazing issues recently as well.

I don't think it is fair to single out football.

I also think, as GB mentioned, that it is reported as "BG Football player busted" but you don't hear about "Joe English student who got 'popped'".

threestooges · Post by **threestooges** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:22 pm

Joe English Student has always been a problem, though ... who the hell let THAT kid enroll at BG?

cw08 · Post by **cw08** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 11:50 am

JoeFalcon wrote:So much for pro BG bias in the Blade. "Gregg Brandon insists he does not knowingly recruit miscreants to play football for Bowling Green State University."

Do you think the Blade should have a BG bias? I don't. I think they should report things as they happen.

Yes, other programs do have players getting into trouble as well. But the media should still hold BG accountable for its players behavior. It's their job.

JoeFalcon · Post by **JoeFalcon** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:44 am

cw08 wrote:
JoeFalcon wrote:So much for pro BG bias in the Blade. "Gregg Brandon insists he does not knowingly recruit miscreants to play football for Bowling Green State University."
Do you think the Blade should have a BG bias? I don't. I think they should report things as they happen.

Yes, other programs do have players getting into trouble as well. But the media should still hold BG accountable for its players behavior. It's their job.

My comment had absolutely nothing to do with whether I want or don't want a pro-BG bias in the Blade. It had everything to do with the fact that some UT people have grumbled for years about a pro-BG bias in the paper. Their grievences range from favorable coverage and well placed headlines to the fact BG gets any stories published at all. That lone sentence will serve as the key piece of evidence against that theory for at least 5 years by my count.

I'd also like a clarification: is it the media's job to "report things as they happen" or to "hold BG accountable for its players behavior?" One seems to suggest a down-the-line, 'just the facts, ma'am' objectivity while the other connotes a righteous crusader looking to prove a point irrespective of facts, circumstances or context.

1987alum · Post by **1987alum** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:48 am

JoeFalcon wrote:I'd also like a clarification: is it the media's job to "report things as they happen" or to "hold BG accountable for its players behavior?" One seems to suggest a down-the-line, 'just the facts, ma'am' objectivity while the other connotes a righteous crusader looking to prove a point irrespective of facts, circumstances or context.

It is NOT the media's job ot hold BG accountable for its players behavior. That falls to the university.

cw08 · Post by **cw08** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 10:42 am

By holding them accountable, I mean they're reporting what happens and not brushing it aside. And part of the media's job IS to hold people accountable for what they do by reporting it. When you play or coach football, you have to understand that. A ticket for underage is news, whether you like it or not.
I'm not talking Carl Monday investigations here. But some of this stuff is pretty serious, and cause for concern.
When there are two serious crimes in separate incidents, it's got me wondering.
It's not time to purge the program obviously, but it's been a rough year.

NWLB · Post by **NWLB** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:22 pm

I stopped reading the Blade. I won't read it even if it is sitting there for free. I find my life is better for having stopped.

I stopped caring about all things related to Toledo, be it the city or school. It is not as if anything could possibly happen up there, which would change my feelings about the place. I find my life is better for having stopped caring.

Indeed, I brought back from Columbus, a benign apathy for all things north of the Maumee river, and I find that I enjoy a great sense of inner peace thanks to it.

What was the topic? Oh yes, the players.

When you are a coach, and you do bring a kid from one place, to this place, to play sports, there is a responsibility to accept. You accept that this kid will represent you. You accept responsibility for how that kid reflects on your employer, in this case, BGSU, and those who support it.

I do not believe it is possible to know everything about every single kid playing for a 100+ team, least of all when they are a composite of nearly a dozen recruiting sources.

I do not think it need be the case, that any single infraction, or a collection of them, result in any specific penalty for a coach.

Yet, somebody must be accountable. You imply it is acceptable for players to have a certain amount of trouble if you don't raise issues with their doing something. Any organization will become inefficient if you don't hold them to task, and thus, I have no issues with knocking our or another's staff for the problems of their players.

If one of BGSU's players screws up, I do expect the coach to get up there and apologize. It is on his watch, and yes, it is his responsibility. It may not be enough to warrant any action, but the gesture means something. Its a means to follow and track these things. If you start hearing the same excuse often enough, then you know to bring up bigger questions.

In any case, we've seen cycles of issues before, and will see them again. On balance, I'll rip on UT's people first because it is Toledo, second, because we still rate better historically.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Mon Jul 28, 2008 2:58 pm

If you don't care about Toledo...why would you rip on UT?