Rich Rodriguez, Michigan, the Detroit Free Press and NCAA Rules Violations
“As a parent of a Michigan player I will say that the Freep is full of shit. Michael spent more time this summer on class work than any thing eles, he came home to visit, there were no Barwis police chasing him making him pratice, he played basketball, goofed around with other sports athlets at the dorms, like all college kids do. To say that these kids are training or being made to train over the NCAA limits is untrue…what my wife and I like about Michigan Football was there committment to education first. Some thing the Freep dose not belive in.
GO BLUE”
Ok so you’ve digested that, feel better? Now that positive reaction to the report from a current player’s father needs to be channeled to a credible media outlet like the Detroit News.
The report from Michael Rosenturd.
I have several issues with the way this report has been written and released. Timing is one – I am a bit skeptical of something like this being released 1 week before the first game of the season. Right before the players need to be more focused than ever on nothing else but getting prepared for that first game against Western Michigan. That being said, I do understand that I would have griped about timing whether it was during the first week of camp or some games into the season – nevertheless – the timing of this bothers me.
Could Michael Rosenburg be any more vague in his sources? A good piece of journalism would find some balance in what he is reporting. Why didn’t Rosenturd make an effort to bring up whether or not there are players and parents that do not agree with his take and his report? No balance from the turd on this. We all know that there have been players that have left the program that were not happy with the transition from Carr to Rodriguez and RR’s style of coaching. That is fine – it happens with any major coaching change. So because of that reason – the report would be much more credible if the sources were at least distinguished beyond “current and former” players. I’d love to know exactly how Rosenturd positioned his questions to the “former” players that have agreed or not disagreed with the allegations. It’s similar to those freshman that were talking about how tough and intense the workouts were – they had no clue their words were going to be used for an awful piece of journalism and a story that really isn’t even a story.
The Difference Between “Mandatory” and “Voluntary”
I played high school football and basketball and you better believe those “voluntary” workouts were essentially mandatory if you wanted to see any time on the playing field. Much of Rosenturd’s story isn’t even relevant due to the significant gray areas of what a “voluntary” workout means. I can’t imagine how different the voluntary workouts are in college, but these players have most likely received a scholarship to come play for the University of Michigan. In high school, you went to the voluntary workouts because you were committed to the team. You stayed after lifting to work with your position group for some light drills with no pads. No coaches were around but I can tell you that they were aware of the time being put in for the players to get better. Same goes with a MAJOR D1 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PROGRAM, where these players put in the time because they want to perform on Saturdays and do their best to make it to the next level.
There was mention of players falling asleep in class because they were spending so much time on football. So, I wonder what made me fall asleep in class – or all the other kids I knew that would fall asleep in class. Seriously? Did Rosenturd mention the fact that last season Michigan players set a football-team class record GPA? Yet another piece of bad journalism here. Again I’ll talk about my experience in high school, football is a very demanding sport. Preparing yourself for the battle on the field isn’t easy. It’s tiring, it’s taxing on your body, it’s why they call it “paying the price”. So if in fact players were “falling asleep” in class – it’s because they have made a commitment to themselves, their team,the University of Michigan and to the American “gladiator” sport of football.
Rules are Rules
Rules are rules and Michigan and Rich Rodriguez should be punished if they have not been abiding by the rules set forth by the NCAA. Here are some links to NCAA rules – notice the many exceptions that the Free Press fails to mention: here, and here.
LET’S WIN SOME BALL GAMES – GO BLUE – BEAT WESTERN MICHIGAN IN 6 DAYS.
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