Thank you, thank you... that's all for me, goodnight!Okay, no, that's not all for me. Just couldn't save that joke any longer. Those of you who don't get it, clearly didn't study for your science classes.
What I did want to say is something I was talking to Boilerdowd about earlier in the week regarding this whole Sampson mess. And it was brought to my mind again this morning when I heard Jay Bilas (among others) on ESPN radio actually acting like it was silly to fire Sampson over this since they were "just phone calls."
Goodness, I thought Bilas was smarter than that. This is like the morons out there who claimed President Clinton "shouldn't have been impeached for getting a BJ in the Oval Office." He wasn't, you mouth-breathing retards. He was impeached because he lied under oath -- perjury.
And this isn't "just phone calls" -- it's that he then was told not to do it and did it hundreds of more times, creatively skirting the rules (or so he thought) by having assistants do his dirty work. And he then was asked about it by the University and the NCAA and lied and misled them. IU and NCAA no likey this.
Erik Kusillias also said this morning on ESPN radio that he considers these infractions "like speeding tickets." He went on to say if he got a few speeding tickets, he wouldn't be hauled off to jail. Fair enough, but let's say you got 677 speeding tickets. That we know of. I think then you might go to jail. And then it becomes more than minor.
And more than that, I simply cannot understand how these jackasses (especially Bilas) don't get the severity of this. The IU fans, alums and administration all seem to get it -- it makes IU a cheater school and they aren't okay with that. I've never had so much respect for IU fans as when I've seen them booing Sampson despite the fact that he's clearly a good coach. The fact that many of them want him out is impressive. The fact that some of the more unintelligent ones want "Bobby" back does subtract from my respect level, but still.
Getting back to the severity issue, Boilerdowd commented to me that Sampson and Bill Belichick are almost the same guy. Both are so arrogant that it doesn't matter to them what the rules are or even if they are caught cheating... they'll continue to do whatever the hell they please because they've come to believe the rules don't apply to them for some reason. The only caveat I would add to this is that Belichick is the head coach of a professional team, made up of professional paid athletes, mostly grown up into their 20s and 30s. And Belichick's mandate is win. Win, win, win.
Sampson, on the other hand, is the coach of a college team. And if you work for a University in any capacity -- especially if you deal with students, which Sanctions does -- then you are also an educator. And for any University to allow a known cheater and many times repeat offender to educate their young, impressionable students is bordering on criminal.
Sure, phone calls aren't the same as bags of cash. But isn't that a slippery slope?
Hey, honey, a hand job isn't really sex, since I'm just sitting here doing nothing with my hands behind my head.... so technically, I'm not "cheating," per se.
I don't think so.
And once again, it's not just the hundreds upon hundreds of impermissible phone calls. It's the sheer number. It's the fact that he's been caught doing this before and hurt his former program by doing it. It's that it was written into his contract that if he got caught doing this again, he'd forfeit money and/or be fired. And it's that when he was caught again, he chose to lie about it and commit the NCAA equivalent of obstructing justice.
Why? Because Kelvin Sampson thinks the rules don't apply to him. He's special. He's above it all because he's the head coach. And you know what? The kids are listening. They see what's going on. And when young, impressionable people see a person they look up to and greatly respect break the rules and act cavalier about it and basically give off an air of not giving a shit because they think they're superior, well, I'll ask you... what kind of trickle-down effect do you think that has?
We often wonder where athletes get their poor morals, poor values and lack of respect for common decency and law from. Well, in some cases, you look no further than their role models. Guys with no decent parental role models often turn out to be difficult, childish, bratty adults. And when a guy has no chance at a decent role model, well, that's sad and it sucks and it's something we all wish we could fix.
BUT... when you send your kid to play basketball at Indiana University, it's pretty fair of you as a parent -- and the administration, fans and alumni -- to expect the kids to be given proper examples of how to live their life and what is important... such as be honest, have integrity, don't cheat, don't lie, don't be a selfish prick.
At IU, they're getting an example -- and don't discount how huge of an influence these head coaches of major programs can have on these kids -- of precisely the opposite. A guy who breaks the rules, swears he won't do it again (and signs a contract to that effect), then does it again and gets busted... and then lies about it! And then gets defiant about it!
And as I said, the kids are listening. As Boilerdowd pointed out below, they are now supposedly about to mutiny against IU.
Way to go, Coach Sanctions. The kids are listening.
11 comments:
Agreed on all fronts. Very, very well said.
/grinding teeth
See even enginerds and farm hicks get it. ;)
Just kidding, seriously though, good article.
Why do so many people think this is about phone calls when it's not. This is about a cheater and a liar embarrassing my school and making all of us associated with IU look like fools. I'm pissed that he humiliated my school and I'm pissed he made me into a fool.
And I was a fool, I believed Sampson when he said he had changed his ways at his introductory press conference. I believed him again when he said he would do things the right way at his first Midnight Madness. I chanted his name last season when the unheralded team finished 3rd in the Big Ten. I really believed the thought that he wouldn't do the EXACT SAME THING AGAIN, and I thought he knew that IU DOESN'T STAND FOR CHEATING. But he thought he was bigger than IU basketball, and I was a fool for buying his lies.
He didn't do the things he promised he would. He cheated in the exact same manner he had before. But that isn't even the worst part, it's been his behavior since then. Lying to IU administrators and NCAA enforcement staff about what happened, like there went two dozen recruits out there to contradict him. The arrogance to believe that he should come out of this situation okay, and to believe that winning should make me forgive him.
MORON! Winning is nothing new at IU, we've been winning for decades. What is new is the cheating and lying. That hasn't happened in any sport in 47 years at IU, and it had never happened in basketball, ever.
Pack up your shit and leave Sampson. You're not wanted here. The sooner your gone the sooner we can clean up the mess you made.
In all seriousness, I still don't understand what was wrong with Mike Davis. I know he followed a legend and that's what doomed him, but the baloney people say about how he "didn't win enough" is complete BS (not Boiled Sports).
Mike Davis took IU the the championship game! Doesn't anyone remember that?
So he wasn't flashy, he wasn't super-well-known.... but he was young-ish, the kids liked him and he clearly had the potential to build something... and something honest. Reminds me a little of the guy up the road named Matt Painter.
Justin, here's the deal.
The ugly underbelly of the IU fanbase in Martinsville and Bedford had a problem with Davis, they say because he was underexperienced (black).
They say they didn't like the type of players he recruited because they were raw athletes (black) and not cerebral and scrappy (white).
His teams had a different style of play than Knight teams (more black players). And they also said that they didn't appreciate that he wasn't cordial enough with the fans (black) and that didn't respect tradition (buzz haircuts & short shorts on white kids).
Davis did a pretty good job, but probably shouldn't have been hired because of his lack of experience. His race hurt him greatly as Knight-loving racists pulled their support of the program and made him as uncomfortable as possible. His less-than-savvy tactics with the press (blackness) could be overlooked if they were going to the final four...but were unforgivable once the team wasn't a contender...
Hell, even much of the fanbase split on Knight's tactics once he was no longer producing nationally-recognized and powerful, contending teams.
IU has some good fans...but man there are a lot of people in Ass Hall that will tell themselves otherwise, but simply want to see a winner at any cost.
I don't think any of the players will quit. Whether that was fact or fiction, those players will realize that they can keep winning this year. How many stay to play next year is the question.
The problem with guys Bilas and the other talking heads is that they know that most of the major programs are tainted in one way or another. Some may be pretty minor, some more major (cash incentives) - they just haven't seen the light of day. That doesn't make any of it right, but it may make phone calls look small in comparison. But you're right - perjury is never a good thing. Sampson probably got caught because a) people were check on that since he had a history and b) he wasn't very smart about it.
Sampson can always go and coach a semi-pro team someplace.
Very nice write up J Money.
Basically this guy has the audacity to think he can still pull something out of this. Either way, he doesn't make that much money and IU will potentially just buy him out (which sucks, but it could be the best option).
There also has to be a note here that he would not get into any trouble while ON PROBATION. Of course Indiana could allow him to coach until the hearings with the NCAA to save $2 million (and potentially head to the final four). HOWEVER, IU will do the right thing for the future of this program and that is:
1- Avoid post-season bans
2- Clear up the situation as soon as possible (for this year) and for future recruits
I think firing immediately (or buyout) would do both of those things. Hopefully they would lose a scholly or two, maybe recruiting restrictions, and move on with the program.
Yeah, yeah that's great.
Now, where's the fucking sideboobs?
Damn, it's like feeding time at the shark tank on Fridays around here anymore!
Just do sideboobs in the morning and then you'll have our attention for the other posts once we've had our fix :)
I think Davis was also kinda unstable and had a tendency to have meltdowns - often at some inopportune times in a game. I'm not sure he was the best game coach as far as strategy. Definitely a player's coach though, just like our boy KS.
Great post!
Nothing infuriates me more than these talking heads on ESPN trying to say, "its just phone calls." They just don't get it. Its the arrogant nature by which he tried to circumvent the sanctions and the fact that he lied about it. Pretty serious offenses.
Bob Kravitz of the IU Star has a great column today about how uncomfortable he was when Sampson tried to explain away the violations at Oklahoma. Good stuff.
You know, I thought that Zero Kelvin joke was the nuts.
Never appreciated in my own time.
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