NYT Story Re. Opulence In Recruiting & Building Relationships
by Nestor on Dec 27, 2008 8:00 AM PST
in Recruiting
35 comments
In case you missed it, recently the New York Times ran a very interesting article giving us a little glimpse on what goes in the world of college recruiting. Thayer Evans from the NYT tracked the recruiting saga of Jamarkus McFarland, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive tackle from Lufkin High School Texas, who is considered one of the best defensive recruits in America. The article got my attention for couple of reasons. First, it contained some unreal descriptions of what took place in Jamarkus’s recruiting trip to Texas (one of his four finalists which included LSU, Southern Cal, and OU). Secondly, the article contained couple of interesting tidbits wrt to his official visit for Southern Cal. He ultimately committed to Stoop’s OU program.
Anyway, here were the reports on what took place during one of his recruiting trip to Dallas, Texas, during the weekend of Texas/Oklahoma game:
He said he saw everything from flat-screen televisions in Texas Coach Mack Brown’s bathrooms to L.S.U.’s recruiting hostesses sitting on the laps of prospects.
But the best summation of his experience might have come from a paper he wrote for his English class comparing Oklahoma and Texas. The paper, “Red River Rivals Recruit,” includes a description of a wild party hosted by Longhorns fans at an upscale hotel in Dallas after the Oklahoma-Texas game on Oct. 11.
“I will never forget the excitement amongst all participants,” McFarland wrote. “Alcohol was all you can drink, money was not an option. Girls were acting wild by taking off their tops, and pulling down their pants. Girls were also romancing each other. Some guys loved every minute of the freakiness some girls demonstrated. I have never attended a party of this magnitude.”
He continued: “The attitude of the people at the party was that everyone should drink or not come to the party. Drugs were prevalent with no price attached.”
And here was what took place during his official trip to Texas:
McFarland had his official visit to Texas scheduled for two weeks later, the weekend of Nov. 8. Just days before, a false Internet report surfaced that he and his mother might not make the trip. The Longhorns began calling both of them so much that they almost did cancel the visit.
“Mama, I don’t even feeling like going,” McFarland told his mother. “I don’t want to do it.”
Before the visit, Adams called Texas and asked to speak with Brown. The associate head coach, Mac McWhorter, told her that she could talk only to him.
That bothered her because she had wanted to talk to Brown and commend him for the Longhorns’ dismissal of a player who had posted a racial slur on his Facebook page about President-elect Barack Obama.
During the trip, Adams said, she asked Brown about the Obama slur, and was told that the player had to be dismissed because the F.B.I. had become involved.
After Texas beat Baylor that weekend, McFarland and his mother ate dinner at Brown’s home. Flat-screen televisions were in every room, and there were two outside.
“Whose house do you like better, Bob Stoops’s, Les Miles’s or mine?” Adams recalled Brown saying.
Apparently his trip to Southern Cal was even more extravagant:
That opulence (he experienced during his official visit to Texas. BN Ed.) did not touch what McFarland saw on a visit to U.S.C. the weekend after Thanksgiving. After beating Notre Dame, U.S.C. players rented a stretch Hummer and took him to a party. It worried Adams that her son might become enthralled with such luxury.
Wish the report contained more detail on what took place during his trip to visit Petey Carroll’s program but I think we can get some idea if it was referred to as a more luxurious visit than the one he experienced in Texas. Also, I wonder if McFarland’s mom quizzed Pete Carroll about the racist facebook scandal involving the Trojan football program.
Anyway, as mentioned above, McFarland didn’t commit to either Texas or Southern Cal. According to the report he ultimately committed to the Oklahoma Sooners because Stoops and his staff (at least according to the report) did a better job of building a relationship with McFarland and his family early on. Now I am sure there are both sides to this recruiting story as this ultimately turned into an all out recruiting battle between Texas and Oklahoma but what was intriguing to me was the main point of the story which detailed the effort college coaches must put in to build strong bond with recruit’s families. I think this is an area UCLA will be well situated given Neuheisel’s natural charisma, command over details, and unmatched passion (at least on the public front) for UCLA. No doubt schools like Texas, Southern Cal and other programs will not shy away from throwing everything they have in going after elite recruits. For us to have a chance against the heavy weight programs it will be imperative for our coaches to use the power of networking and building relationships. Given what we have been reading this past year, I feel good about where we are headed in both short and long term future.
GO BRUINS.
UPDATE - N: As I mentioned above there are two sides to this story. The NYT story was certainly written from the pov of a kid who eventually committed to Oklahoma. For the Texas side of the story make sure to read this well thought out post on Burnt Orange Nation. Again for me the most important part of the story was how it's imperative for college coaches to build meaninful relationship with recruits. On that front I think we are in good shape given what we have seen from Rick Neuehisel and his ability to talk up UCLA compared to his predecessors in Westwood from last two or three decades. GO BRUINS.
0 recs |
35 comments
Email
Print
Comments
This Kid Should Be a Bruin
From the little glimpse we have into this kid we know he has his head on straight, can write a good essay and has a mom who understands what is important and what is not. Perfect for our program.
The day will come when we re-establish our program in the Texas recruiting wars and I agree, completely, that CRN will play well in any parent’s living room — and will do especially well in parts of Texas where “family” is extremely important and many kids listen to and respect their elders.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Dec 27, 2008 9:00 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
I had a different take...
How do schools get away with allowing current players to take high school recruits to parties involving drugs and alcohol? I feel like McFarland’s essay should have raised some eyebrows about this seemingly common trend among elite college football programs. Maybe I’m just being naive, but how could a parent in good conscience believe that Texas is the place where his/her son could learn to grow up and become a respectful, self-reliant man. Does anyone else have some information on how common this is and whether or not there is some sort of violation being committed here? It seems that McFarland’s essay would be reason enough for the NCAA to investigate the proper conduct of recruiting. Neuheisel being involved in a college basketball tourney pool warrants NCAA infractions but this kind of stuff gets a free pass? The coaches must know what goes on. Hell, McFarland told the New York Times. How couldn’t coaches know? Come on.
by mdjohns4 on Dec 27, 2008 9:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Colorado
IIRC, Colorado was sanctioned for using “girls” and sex as a recruiting tool.
And, IIRC, this happened under Barnett and was one reason he was dismissed.
It is incredible that the NCAA can overlook Bushgate, and recruiting stories like this but sanction a player who receives an anonymous bag of groceries on his porch.
The bottom line is that the NCAA is a farce. Fox has continuously asked if there is a link between the amount of money the NCAA receives and dirty programs like sc and Texas. (Yes, Texas is dirty - two years ago there was a joke going around in Texas - a chain gang.What do you call 11 UT football players standing around in a circle? -
Just like good people, good schools don’t do bad things. To deter people from doing bad things, we have a criminal justice system which, if it applies sure and swift punishment is thought to deter others from doing wrong. The NCAA is supposed to deter institutional wrongdoing — but there is no deterrence without sure and swift sanctions. Is there any wonder that programs like Texas and sc continue to recruit this way?
sjh
by Class of 66 on Dec 27, 2008 9:31 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Well
I’m sure this happens in a lot of places, just to different extents. I remember seeing Aundre Dean at a party last year. We also have the Blue and Gold organization that helps recruits at basketball games. There seems to be a lot of attractive girls in that group. In fact, when Maarty Leunen took his trip during his recruitment period, he fell in love with one of our girls and almost chose us for that reason.
by lil eg not cs on Dec 27, 2008 11:14 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
im with lil
ive been to parties around campus where ive seen some stuff that prob. shouldnt have gone down, and athletes were actively participating. But given, that was under Dorrell, not CRN. The director for blue & gold from what i heard from someone i know works for blue& gold, actually was getting scrutinized for only hiring attractive girls. Lets not be naive, im sure this happens at all major programs TO SOME EXTENT, im not even suggesting that ours is anywhere close to what we read here, but lets not be naive.
by uclabruin34 on Dec 27, 2008 11:26 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Disagree with both Lil and 34
Lil and 34, I have to disagree.
Yes, this kind of stuff happens at every university that hands out athletic scholarships, I’m sure. Why? Because recruits are teenage boys. What do (the majority of) teenage boys like? Attractive girls. Let’s be real about that.
I’m have no doubt that our university and this Bue & Gold group bring around pretty sorority girls from Hilgard to entertain these young boys. Do you think when big time recruits come to football or basketball games, they don’t also get a quick meet-and-greet with our very attractive Dance Squad?
It happens. I understand why it happens. Boys are boys.
But there’s a major difference between bringing a few pretty girls to a recruiting event as “ambassadors of the university” or whatever and what McFarland is talking about in this NYT piece.
The difference being is that the conduct described is not just a violation of NCAA rules and an obvious ethical violation for any university, but most of it is plainly ILLEGAL.
Inviting attractive girls to recruiting events is not a crime.
Recruits merely accompanying players to parties is not a crime.
A coaching legend giving a young kid some advice on the game and life is not a crime.
Underage drinking is a crime.
Illegal drug use is a crime.
Prostitution is a crime.
So, yes, there is some similarity, but to even imply it’s so rampant that it’s happening at UCLA is absurd. One, there’s no way the biased a**hole Los Angeles media would ever let any minor infraction slip by while CRN is at the helm. Two, UCLA actually has institutional control.
Yes, we probably use pretty girls to help sway young men. But UCLA doesn’t break the law. That’s what makes us better than those other programs.
by Bellerophon on Dec 27, 2008 4:50 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Of course
My first sentence states that it happens everywhere just to different extents. I’ve seen it first hand with football, volleyball, and even girls tennis recruits.
Yes UCLA doesn’t do anything that is purposely illegal. Here we just have the current and prospective athletes hang out/get together. That’s about as far as the coaches and athletic department’s influence extends. Once they recruit is hanging out with the athlete it is usually out of the department’s hands. The favorite activity of these hang outs is attending off-campus parties. EVERY party that the athletes and the recruits attend has alcohol and/or drugs. It’s not school sponsored but it still happens; it’s just that our athletic department doesn’t set up these parties.
I agree that Texas is doing things illegally but we aren’t that far off.
by lil eg not cs on Dec 28, 2008 8:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I understand all the comments about "not being naive," but...
where does the NCAA draw the line? While on a recruiting visit, official or unofficial, programs should be held to higher standard than the what happens when athletes get to school and start actually experiencing “college life.” There’s a difference between the choices student-athletes make once they get to school, but being intentionally brought by current players, coaches, boosters, fans, etc. during a recruiting trip to a party or social function that essentially sanctions underage drinking and illicit drug use is out of line. This a decision made by recruiters, not necessarily the recruit.
by mdjohns4 on Dec 27, 2008 12:10 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Exactly
I am sure at our school we have our share of parties etc. However, there has to be a line somewhere. Yet given what we have seen from the NCAA it’s clear these guys have enforcement power whatsoever. As a result the schools with real resources who also happen to be cash cows for this institution will always get away with pushing the envelope.
I wish we had known a little more details re. the SC recruiting parties. The report indicated it was more “opulent” than what the kid experienced in Texas.
Now can you imagine the scrutiny on CRN by NCAA and the blowhards in LA’s media if UCLA was engaging its recruits with that kind of opulence?
by Nestor on Dec 27, 2008 12:15 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
No enforcement
Sorry to speak for you – I assume you meant “no” enforcement power.
The disturbing thing is that the NCAA does have enforcement power, but that it elects not to use it.
If the NCAA was truly powerless, then we couldn’t blame it for rogue states like $c and Texas. It is its willful neglect of the obvious in order to protect its own interests that makes the NCAA so despicable.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
by gbruin on Dec 27, 2008 12:36 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
How far should UCLA go?
I knew a few athletes back in the late 80’s and heard some of their recruiting stories (the ones they were willing to share) and there were certainly girls and parties at UCLA, though I heard nothing to the degreee described by McFarland. So I’ve often wondered just how seedy it really gets, both at UCLA and at crapholes like $c, and just how far would I want UCLA to go to compete with the elite programs like OU, Texas, etc?
It becomes an interesting ethical question – Do you support (or even just look the other way) letting recruits go to an off-campus party and drink, even though the recruits are almost always underage? Plenty of high school kids and college freshmen drink, so is a couple beers allowable? What about drugs? Is it ok to introduce them to some hottie college girls? What about hiring prostitutes (as was alleged at CU but not proven)? Are you willing to lose out on a potential superstar by maintaining a certain level of ethics and character in recruiting, or are you willing to win at all costs? The lines can get a little gray in the middle, and I’ll bet we all have our own threshold.
But I’ll also bet, as UCLA alum/students/fans, we adhere to a higher standard than the majority of schools, trusting that UCLA, its academics and culture, and CRN and CBH and their colleagues will select for recruits with a combo of character and athletic skill that makes decaying into the worlds of money and drugs and prostitutes unnecessary. I don’t think we needed cocaine and prostitutes to get KL, the fab 5, Brehaut, etc to come to Westwood.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
by gbruin on Dec 27, 2008 12:14 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
you read my mind
gbruin can you imagine the scrutiny CRN would be subjected if there were drugs, prostitutes at a UCLA party (thrown by “unofficial” non-athletic dept. boosters)?
BTW we did see that in Colorado … but that took place after CRN left and Gary Barnett entered the scene (a fact conveniently missed by lot of Buffalo fans).
by Nestor on Dec 27, 2008 12:18 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Forget CRN and drugs and prostitutes
How about investigating some sleezbag named Wooden meeting with a questionable character like Kevin Love? They were all set to jump on that. Ridiculous. Yeah, if CRN even sneezes sideways, the NCAA will be all over it. But Bush, Mayo, Senora Ross, Ty’s list of atrocities, meh…. Idiots.
I’m pretty sure what ended up happening at CU is that some assistant in the football program had an escort service’s phone number programmed in his cell phone, but he maintained it was for personal use and not “official University business”. Uh huh…
CRN is still somewhat reviled here – unfairly, because he was very young when he replaced McCartney (quite the character who gets a free pass for getting CU a Nat’l championship – with 5 downs to do so) and more fairly, because he kinda bailed on CU for the UW job. But Barnett’s reign was an absolute mess all the way through, and almost no one here holds him accountable for it.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
by gbruin on Dec 27, 2008 12:50 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
lol at 5 downs
I still remember watching that goal line series against Missouri (it was Mizzou right?) in disbelief.
by Nestor on Dec 27, 2008 5:19 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
There is supposed to be zero tolerance for drugs
How about the same thing for this sort of thing? How about NO PARTIES WITH RECRUITS AND ATHLETES. But wait, you say. Your Junior wide receiver has a brother who’s a senior in high school – are you saying they can’t go to a party together? Yep – exactly. My rule is not an anti-party rule. Just that if any kid goes to any party where there is anything free (including girls) then the kid can still play D-1 ball, just not at that school. And how is that enforced? With the same precision and verve that the ncaa enforces all its rules.
Ho hum. On to the next rant. This whole subject gets relegated to the “Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if …” pile. The ncaa will never do anything until it is forced to. The Chinese Olympic Credentialing Committee has more credibility.
by Fox 71 on Dec 27, 2008 2:29 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
this makes me very sad
I just want to throw up when I read stuff like that. It is simply disgusting. If that is the price for competing for a national championship, I don’t think its worth it.
What does it profit a man (or university) to gain the whole world if he loses his soul?
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Dec 27, 2008 4:05 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
The Upside -- It didn't work with McFarland and his mother
After all was said and done, McFarland and his mom rejected the schools with the disgusting recruiting tactics.
I don’t know how OU recruited and won him, but I do know that OU’s very dirty days are behind it — either by choice or necessity.
McFarland is the kind of kid we want here. No one’s asking for a goody two shoes — but he clearly had a strong enough value system to understand that what he was seeing was wrong, and the character to pass it up.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Dec 27, 2008 4:32 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Brian Price?
Wasn’t he offended when sc came and picked him up in a limo
by lil eg not cs on Dec 27, 2008 4:44 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
OU landed McFarland by
steadily keeping in touch with his mother. I’m going by memory now because the NYT has made it so you have to register to read the article (pah!).
I see three main things that sent McFarland to Oklahoma:
1) McFarland established a quick rapport with a black OU coach. This coach kept contact with McFarland’s mother even though she told him to his face, “I like Texas.”
2) Bob Stoops acted like a genuine human being when he paid a visit to McFarland’s house. He was respectful, answered all of the questions McFarland and his family had and acted nicely and did simple things like bring the food out for everyone. Contrast this with Mack Brown talking about “Whose house do you like better?” and going on and on about all the flatscreen TV’s in his house. It sounded as though UT and Brown recruited at McFarland instead of to him.
3) OU didn’t have a bunch of ho’s/ prostitutes parading around completely nude. I wonder how many recruits this tactic actually nets. I remember a few years ago a 5 star Mormon offensive lineman from Utah was completely offended when he made a recruiting trip to Oregon and was taken to a strip club. I wonder if this tactic is even worth it, or is it a case of sleazy boosters who own strip clubs?
It all boils down to Stoops & Co. taking a personal interest in McFarland and behaving like a big time coach who really, really wanted a big time recruit.
by Seanny Rotten on Dec 29, 2008 1:15 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
nestor
i wasnt lecturing anyone on being naive that really wasn’t my intention.
by uclabruin34 on Dec 27, 2008 4:35 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
The continuing deterioration or if you will,
what’s become “acceptable”..makes me sad too Silver lakebruin! This Ol’ world has become much too crass and vulgar for this old timer. The lack of standards or what’s unacceptable is growing smaller by the decade!
This “win at any cost” does indeed carry a price…
by GogetemBruins on Dec 27, 2008 4:50 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Where's UCLA basketball when you need it?
Oh yeah! Tomorrow at noon!
And here’s to Cal giving Miami (I refuse to call it “the u”… university of what?!?!?) a run for their money.
by mdjohns4 on Dec 27, 2008 5:24 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I always assumed "The U" was meant as a joke
Remember that no one actually thinks that Miami is actually a university, not even people who attended there (note I didn’t say Miami alums or grads, because it’s not clear whether there are any). I always assumed that when Miami people insited on calling it “The U,” what they were really doing was thumbing their collective noses at every other real school with real academics and all that.
It’s sort of like the “u” in justsc. Everyone knows it’s a joke.
by Fox 71 on Dec 27, 2008 5:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Hello Bruins!
This is my first visit to your sight and as such I say hello. I am a die hard Texas fan who lives in Texas and went to hs in Oklahoma. I tell you this so yall understand my point of view. I have read some good points on your site and would like to defend the Universities and the NCAA. Yes all things like that go on at all universities across the nation. I have seen them in my recruiting process. I have seen them in visits to friends at other schools and yes I have seen them at parties in Dallas. Now I have never seen the drugs that they said were present but as far as the alchohol and girls. Yes! Hell LSU turns their recruits loose on tailgating Sat in Baton Rouge. Ive had jello shots with em. Ive sat their in Norman and Stillwater and played drinking games with these recruits on Sat nights after they have watch the courting schools play. Ive watched recruits in Madison Wisc go into frat parties and do keg stands on the front patio. The point is it happens. Also do you honestly think that Mack Brown would say do you like my house better than Bob’s. Come on people that is retarded. Hell I’ll tell you that Charlie Weatherbee has a better house than all of them. Mind you that house is in Pensicola, Fl and is right on the beach. Extra benefits I wont comment cause I never got them as far as that is concerned, but when a certain school in Texas pulled a scholarship offer that was offered to me when that coach was fired. Their head coach sent a coach to Oklahoma to tell me. They didnt do it over the phone. They gave me a visit. That head coach called me later that night to again tell me he was sorry but he did what he thought was best for the football program and that I wasnt what they were looking for at the time, and even asked me to come out and be a walk on. Now people I only tell you this because I personally have seen the amount of class that Mack Brown and his coaching staff had shown me in the past. Why does the NCAA not investigate the alligations that have been stated in this post. Simple! If the NCAA investigated every alligation of a party with drugs, girls and alchohol. They would spend more $ than what comes in. Thats why they now investigate confirmed violations. The “Big Red Imports” scandal with Rhett Bomar and other players was a confirmed violation. Hell everybody in Oklahoma knew that was going on for years. That isnt the only dealership in Oklahoma that does that by the way. That happens all over Oklahoma form Lawton to Tulsa. UCLA have a happy New Year!
by LEMILES on Dec 27, 2008 8:27 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I see...
But whether or not this has become the standard, it seems unacceptable. When did this become the trend? Why do coaches promote this sort of behavior? And by promote, I mean turn a blind eye. They’re essentially the same thing, since they know it happens and choose to ignore it. Just some thoughts for more debate.
by mdjohns4 on Dec 27, 2008 8:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
There is a lot of it happening, so it must be OK
Sorry, LEMILES, but that sort of thinking is unacceptable. We have a little different way of looking at things, I guess. The question is not whether a lot of it is happening, but whether it is right or wrong. I don’t mean whether it is a violation of the rules. A violation of the rules might not technically be wrong. But bribing athletes by offering illegal booze (to underage guys), drugs (always a violation) or sex (always wrong) is just wrong. It shouldn’t be done even if the ncaa weren’t there turning a blind eye.
As I mentioned, we have a different sort of standard here. We have a guy who is a big part of the Bruin ethic – Coach John R. Wooden. Do you think Coach Wooden would turn a blind eye to that sort of thing? Are you aware that he was prepared to kick the best player in the country off his team because the best player didn’t want to abide by the rules he had set for hair length?
I would rather not have the top recruits if this is what it takes. Funny, we manage to get character guys in basketball.
by Fox 71 on Dec 28, 2008 11:23 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
You are talking about an age that was over 30 years ago.
Yes I am well aware of John Wooden and what he did to Mr Walton. I will not disagree with the perception that Mr Wooden was and still is a good man. To be honest I think he is an extrodanary human being. Do you honestly think that UCLA hasnt cheated to get a recruit. My friend do not fool yourself! Every school across the country does it and again I will not say that I am saying it is right. I am saying that everytime someone cries foul the NCAA can not afford to investigate unless there are strict penalties againest the person committing the foul. Since most of these seem to be CEO’s of companies and banks they can afford to pony up the $ if found guilty. Until then this will be the standard at EVERY SCHOOL! Prob without the knowledge of the athletic department and its coaches to boot. To be honest I believe that if a booster does get caught “cheating” he should have to pay whatever money is lost because the school is on probation. If a team Wins its conference and cannot go to a BCS bowl gam that school and conference will loose $15 million. That my friend is the standard the penalties should be!
by LEMILES on Dec 28, 2008 7:05 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Your heart is in the right place, but your argument isn't.
I do not know of any recruit at UCLA who was bribed. I only know about bribery of athletes by what I read, and I suspect that you and I have read the same stuff (or at least basically the same stuff.)
But I also believe that reputations are warranted, and inferences may fairly be drawn from those reputations. For example, Bill Walton was quoted as saying that he watched UCLA when he was in Junior High and High School and said that’s where he wanted to play. He recruited UCLA, but not exactly in the same way that OJ2 recruited Timmeh at justsc. I am content to say that Coach Wooden NEVER bribed any kid to attend UCLA. I am confident in saying that because of his persona, which all Bruins have been privileged to see (some of us more first hand than others. I am equally confident that the guys across town in both basketball and football are paying tons of money to their “student” athletes. The reggie bu$h story has been well-publicized, as has that of Jarrett. Try this – try to google Clarence Reece, a receiver at justsc in the ’70’s (at the same time as John McKay’s son). Reece wrote a lengthy expose of what he knew and what he got from justsc. Naturally, justsc has never ever had any adverse consequences of the lengthy and well-documented violations of the “anti-bribery” rules. Those are documented facts. That they happened thirty years ago is relevant now just as Coach Wooden’s integrity then is relevant now.
Thirty years is basically a generation. It is a generation built on and based on integrity at UCLA, the integrity that courses through Coach Wooden’s veins, and which has infected all of UCLA. That same generation at justsc has gone in a totally different direction.
The divergent courses taken by UCLA and justsc is not the point. The point is that it is NOT all right if everyone does it. When I worked for a big company, I had to sign a statement saying that I was not in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and did not know of anyone who was. The FCPA made it a crime to take a bribe from a foreign national, such as a dinner from an insurance broker in London. I did not violate the FCPA, so I didn’t have to worry about the consequences of signing the statement. I know of no one who was actually prosecuted, but I was nonetheless not going to take a chance. Everybody else might have been doing it, but I wasn’t. (I’m not noble – I don’t think it was morally wrong to have the broker buy a dinner, because he just buried that charge in his invoice back to my employer.) Given that the ncaa has no inclination at all to enforce its own rules, I would like to see existing or to-be-invented leglslation handle it. For example, Whistle-blower lawsuits have helped detect and stop rip-offs of the government. Why not that same sort of suit on behalf of a public school such as UCLA which misses out on lucrative TV deals because TV would rather show schools with a better win-loss record even though the world knows that cheating is involved. All it would take is ONE lawsuit with the opportunity to undertake discovery to put an end to all of the crap-ola from justsc and its counterparts in other conferences.
I know you share the same desire we all have to compete on a level playing field. But from my perspective, I would rather have to overcome cheating from others than participate in that sort of conduct. It is NOT all right that everyone else is doing it.
End of sermon and end of rant. (There will be a meeting of the Board of Deacons right after the service.)
by Fox 71 on Dec 29, 2008 7:39 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Sorry Mr. Texas/Oklahoma, your poor reasoning and excuses don't make sense.
In particular, you erroneously assert that "If the NCAA investigated every alligation of a party with drugs, girls and alchohol. They would spend more $ than what comes in. "
Have you ever hear of fines? If the NCAA were serious about enforcing its rules, it would heavily fine offending institutions which would serve the purpose both of paying for its enforcement operations and likely deterring other institutions from such bad behavior.
Also, to answer your question “do you honestly think that Mack Brown would say do you like my house better than Bob’s,” the answer is: YES. Class, tact, ethics, and the like are not always the personal strengths of people like that.
by PeterUCLA on Dec 27, 2008 10:29 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
You are taking what I am saying out of context.
That is prob my fault. I am not saying that in any shape or form it is right. It is not! What I am trying to state is that this goes on at every university in the nation that has any sort of booster support. It goes on at USC it goes on at Rutgers and if you think it doesnt go on at UCLA then my friend you are fooling yourself. Should it be stopped? Yes! But until the federal government makes it a serious punishible offense that cant be overlooked by law enforcement. It will be the standard practice. As big as the NCAA is they cannot afford to investigate everytime someone cries foul! When you think about it, why would they these schools are their money pot. I do not claim it is right but until the people that have the power put heavy penalties on the person and not just NCAA sanctions againest the university then it will be the practice. Sorry that’s just a fact of life! In response to Peter’s statement that yes Mack Brown would say that about his home. That is crazy! He is taking a financially strapped family and telling them look at my house I am better than you and the people that you wnt to visit! That is flat out dumb to state. I also will let you know that there are media outlets in Texas that are trying to get the gentleman that wrote the article and the parents of the athlete to come on the air live and will give them the chance to validate their statements. When that comes about I will post it on your site and I hope you will listen and judge when the accusers are being confronted. I will keep you posted. Good day!
by LEMILES on Dec 28, 2008 12:46 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Booster "support"
Therein lies the rub, my friend. UCLA Boosters are more concerned with the school’s image and doing things the right way than some other boosters who have no scruples and are only concerned with winning. Oh, and UCLA actually frowns upon inappropriate behavior from a booster…instead of encouraging it like other schools do. And in case you hadn’t noticed (and you haven’t), there is a very high academic requirement even to play sports at UCLA. That puts us on a different recruiting field than most of these football factories, and we don’t have to compete with limos, we just use our brains…or helicopters.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Dec 29, 2008 8:46 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
