the whole PR department at UCLA should be fired. This is ridiculous. It shouldn’t be up to fans to look out for stuff like this.

By and large, the response to this story has been, “The parent of a player that isn’t getting much playing time is upset that his son isn’t getting that time. And this is unusual….how?” It’s all much ado about nothing.

That being said, the OCR blog post should at least be amended with an update that Mr. Theriot claims his FB acct had been hacked into.

does not include the right to free food and free seats.

Our AD our to bar these idiots, along with slimers.

Of course they can see our games and write whatever they want about us — but we don’t have to give them free tickets and cocktail weenies. (Actually, a cocktail weenie may be the most manly thing about these losers.)

Nobody has held them accountable for this egregious example of poor journalism. I thought we mobilized pretty well when Meb’s nationality was questioned. But no call to action was issued for this slight.

I agree that the PR department at UCLA has been caught sleeping. But, in my experience this lack of action is exactly par for the course. It should not be the fans that have to police our reputation, but as the last couple of days have shown, it is the only way it’s going to get done.

Isn’t this "news"paper in bankruptcy? When can we expect them to shut down for good? It makes me sick to think that with all the competent people in SoCal that are jobless right now, that someone incompetent like Maya isn’t among them. Hopefully that will change soon.

When this hadn’t been updated last night, I thought maybe they hadn’t seen it yet.

It’s now a day later. What’s going on over there?

Something tells me you’ve already sent an email or two to Marc Dellins, etc.

While I normally ignore the idiots who write this sort of drivel, the downside is that those who don’t know any better will read this blurb and may take it seriously. Recruits may read this. Recruits’ parents may read this. Sports reporters across the country will read this. False opinions will be formed by those who don’t have all the facts, and it can and will hurt our program.

We need to pound the editor with emails, shoving the truth in his/her face, and demand a retraction: letters@ocregister.com

We need to buzz up this article from BN so the national media sees the truth.

Here’s my letter to the OC Register editor:

Dear Editor,

    Adam Maya’s article regarding the alleged Facebook comments by Brian Theriot regarding the coaching staff at UCLA should be retracted immediately. Mr. Theriot wrote to BruinGold.com, a UCLA web-based sports site, and stated that the words attributed to him were not his. Here is the content of his letter:

I am Brian Theriot and a loyal Bruin. My Facebook was hacked over 13 times in 72 hours with my password being randomly changed then sent to me via email on a reset code.
My facebook is very fun for me and my family but not given to comments or statements that were posted on it over the weekend. I have, as an NCAA Champion and UCLA Captain, a devoted love to UCLA Football And Track. I am a big fan of Coach Rick and the direction of the program.
In no way, shape, or form do I agree or condone what was put on my facebook.
And, for anyone that would like to speak with me personally: [redacted – BN.]. My last post on my facebook prior to this mess was about my favorite…..Brett Favre.
I have spanked the Register and asked for a retraction. Frankly, I am just a dad riding out four more games and enjoying a great UCLA experience. Nothing more and nothing less.

    Why Mr. Maya published this story in the place, without speaking to Mr. Theriot or ascertaining the accuracy of the Facebook post, certainly questions his credibility as a reporter. That the story still exists on your website with no corrections questions the credibility of you and your entire newspaper. The national media is linking to your article, so your paper’s inaccurate and unprofessional reporting will now be exposed nationally.

    You owe Mr. Theriot and the UCLA coaching staff an apology. You owe Mr Maya a pink slip.

Sincerely,
Greg Burcham
Highlands Ranch CO

… and WOW. I remember being on the high school paper, and if I had written anything as, um, snarky as that, I’d be re-writing the article from scratch. This guy smacks of rank amateurism. I’m done complaining about his writing because I’m done reading it.

And, therein, lies Maya’s failure and OCR’s complicity.

Even if the Facebook postings were those of the Dad, where is the story? That a parent who wants his kid to have more playing time wrote something on Facebook? That’s not a story.

There probably is not a sports program in the country where there are not “disgruntled” parents trying to get playing time for their kids. Has anyone, anywhere, seen a story like this sourced to a Facebook post? I’ll bet not. It is not a story.

And, if the editors disagreed and thought it was worthy of space, they had an obligation to verify it.

Tom Payne must be turning over in his grave.