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Alford Apologizes For Pierce Comments Again...To the Albuquerque Journal This Time

USA TODAY Sports

-Bumped. BN EDs.

Well, well, well....

We have another Pierce apology coming from the FFBC. This time, he was actually speaking with someone. The "someone" here is Geoff Grammar, staff writer for the Albuquerque Journal.

From that article:

"I made a mistake. I think it was 12 years ago, in a press conference - at the Big Ten media day," Alford told the Journal. "I did. I regret those remarks very, very much because that was never my intent to be disrespectful in any way, and I apologize for that comment."

Alford's apology came after Los Angeles, Iowa and national media skewered him for him saying at his UCLA introductory news conference that he just did what he was told to do by Iowa officials.

Asked whether he regrets not apologizing earlier, he said that's not what bothers him most.

"I just wish I could have went back 12 years ago and changed what took place," Alford said.

While the Pierce situation was reported by both the Journal and the now shuttered Albuquerque Tribune at the time of his 2007 hiring, it was not scrutinized during his six years at UNM to the degree it was in just one week at UCLA.

The last sentence in the quote from the article is the most telling in my book. Great job, Bruins.

These statements certainly seem more sincere than last week's apology-by-press-release, simply because he had to utter the words and someone was there to ask (at least one) follow-up question(s). But I wonder why this occurred in NM and not in Los Angeles.

Hmmmm.......Could it have anything to do with the fact that the folks in NM including the Albuquerque Journal never scrutinized the Pierce situation in the first place?

Oh, and I almost forgot this little nugget:

Asked about the media and fan reception since being hired at UCLA, Alford focused more on the internal welcome he's received at UCLA as opposed to commenting on the media coverage, which has been largely critical.

"It's been terrific," Alford said of the UCLA administration, boosters and players. "My bosses have been terrific. The community has been great. ... The neat thing about UCLA is everybody is together right there on the campus, from coaches to the student population and everything else."

The community has been great? What community, Steve?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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