Wow, I take a couple days off the keyboard and all hell breaks loose. I wanted to take a moment from our normally scheduled Sunday programming to provide a place for thoughtful discussion and comment.The Detroit Free Press has posted a major story about alleged NCAA violations within the Michigan football program. This is quite a change from all the "fluff" you see from the Detroit papers. As you would expect, it was also picked up by ESPN, CBS Sportsline, and others. All of the allegations seem to revolve around the time spent working out both off-season and in-season. Michigan and Rich Rodriguez deny any violations. After reading the article, the key issue seems to revolve around the definition of "voluntary".
The timing on this could not be any better with the season less than one week away. The bandoliers of Michigan haters and RR hunters are full of new ammo this morning. I don't even want to look at the comment sections on any of the blogs that have picked this up. All the off-season talk about how "hard they worked" and how "everyone is on the same page" seems to be a little less inspiring this morning. On the bright side, Sru has something other than Larry Harrison to talk about.
The Michigan football program has never been found guilty of a major NCAA violation.
Posts
10 comments:
You can bet that Mack Brown, Bob Stoops, Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll and every other major college football coach is huddling with his AD today, coming up with damage control scenarios should allegations like this arise at their school.
Michigan might be the nexus of this story, but it won't be the last place you hear about this.
I agree with Rittenberg, "You're naïve if you think every FBS program practices for no more than 20 hours a week or no more than four hours a day. You're naïve if you think members of the coaching staff don't attend voluntary 7-on-7 scrimmages during the offseason -- or receive direct reports about what happened. You're naïve if you think players aren't strongly encouraged to spend more than the required eight hours a week working out during the winter and summer."
While this is completely disconcerting from a team chemistry/on the same page standpoint, this surely occurs in some form or another at every school. Being a collegiate football player is a full time job which has no time for every NCAA rule.
That doesn't mean that I'm OK with this or the status quo in any respect for that matter.
I don't subscribe to the weak "everyone is doing it" defense.
I find it hard to believe that RR and company don't know how the manage these rules after 20 years or so in college football coaching. I will be surprised if anything actually happens from the NCAA. I agree with Brian, this story ranks up there with the "academic investigation" performed by the AANews a couple of months ago. When all is said and done I hope it will be just another non-story lumped into the rough post-Carr transition. It sucks, but it is there.
My real concern is the fact the allegations came from players inside the program, including a current starter. That is just incredible.
"My real concern is the fact the allegations came from players inside the program, including a current starter. That is just incredible."
Sounds like a breakdown in family values.
(nudge, nudge, wink, wink)
There is family, and then there is FAMILY.
With so many players quitting during RR's regime, he had to have known that they would use any excuse available to justify them leaving the team, so I can't imagine anything more is going to come out of this.
What concerns me though, is that players in the program are saying this. I am not sure if I am dissapointed in the player or RR more. On one hand, the player may need to man up and accept what it takes to play football at Michigan. On the other, if RR is really pushing his players too hard, something needs to be done. The player/coach relationship is so important, and they need to have eachother's back. When you look at all the stories of coaches defending their players and vice versa, it is obvious that is not what is going to happen with this player(s).
It sounds to me like RR and crew established a new norm and the kids merely discussed it with 'reporters'...not that they were trying to 'narc' on the program or criticize it. So, I don't blame the kids at all.
I've been hearing about Torture Tuesdays for months now. Not a great moniker, and from what it sounds like, not a fun workout either.
What is more concerning to me is the physical risk that these kids may be incurring. Recall the tragedy of Jeffrey Reese who died in 1997 while trying to make weight.
http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/1997/dec/12-11-97(special)/news/news1.html
The workouts border on dangerous and no one wants another tragedy or career ending injury.
I'm all for getting rid of the Boren-bodies, but the rules are the rules and must be followed. I'm betting that the story is all true---and that the HYPERBOLE OMG THE SKY IS FALLING WE ARE ALL GONNA DIE tenor is a pathetic attempt to sell papers and get attention.
Looks like it worked.
The fact that the story came out in the Free Press, holds little water with me, they continue their smear of everything Michigan.
I also agree with Andy, any defense of "it happens everywhere else" is lame and should never be an option.
I hate that it came out a week before the season starts, I am not pleased that it seems to include current players (Boren and others whom have left, have motivation to smear the program).
I am saddened that loyalty to a program seems at risk, If the allegations are true, I hope that something is done, more importantly, that a trust can build within the program.
Another reason for me to HATE the Free Press, they went digging and spun it to their liking, seriously why don't they publish their paper in Columbus?
can your coach give a press conference without crying?
is he the new dick vermeil?
jesus
I am a little bit late in posting my comments so maybe no one will read them but they also need to be said. This is a witch hunt, largely by players no longer in the program who have an axe to grind and quite simply are a bunch of spoiled cry babies.
Those of us who were in Bo Schembechler's first off season conditioning program and subsequent off seasons and years will recount the massive quiting that went on by players unable or unwilling to pay the price of excellence. The Michigan football team went from 150 members to less than 75 for the 1969 season...many of the casualties were scholarship players. The drills we went through would make water boarding seem like a walk in the arboretum! This year in Michigan football is what generated the team motto "Those who stay will be Champions". Bo was trying to do anything to stem the tide of quitters...but he wouldn't change the way he coached and drove us harder.
The result was that we did become Champions...and we loved it. Nobody died, everyone (mostly) kept up their grades and those of us who made it through became closer and more dedicated to the ideals of Michigan football and the University.
Everyday...before crossing the "Blue Line" guys with names like Seymour, Brandstater, McKenzie, Taylor, Darden, Seyferth, Grambeau, Oldham, Gusich and Murdock plotted on how we would quit the team and hang out on the Diag with the coeds. It sounded so wonderful compared to the Schembechler torture regime. The fact is none of the above ever quit and they led a team that won almost thirty games in three years and played in two Rose Bowls. "Nuff said".
Let Coach Rodriguez, his staff and the players who want to stay, work as hard as they want!
Mike Keller
Post a Comment