USC beat writer: Bottom line is, I’m pretty ill of the Weslye-is-a-victim stuff.

General17

This is a great read from Travis Haney. Go here for the full blog entry. It will be very interesting to see if Barry can resist responding.

The perception will always be he did something wrong, yes. Because he did something(s) wrong. Outside of the NCAA stuff, he lied to his coach (more than once) and was also suspended in January.

Those are wrong things. As Steve Spurrier likes to say, we all have track records and we cannot escape the record of our actions. Even if Weslye didn’t take a thing from an agent, he’s created this perception for himself. He doesn’t need me, or anyone else, to “vilify” him. This is his own prison.

Great reward and responsibility go hand in hand. I’m held to a standard of behavior. So is Weslye. So is everyone. Just don’t be all shocked and appalled when you get called for doing silly things that include public reprimand by your authority (Spurrier, in this case).

Heck, I heard this week the players had to vote in January whether to keep Saunders, a senior, on the team. Track record. You’re allowed to slowly make up ground on your track record (see: Garcia, Stephen), but not when you pull stunts like Saunders did Saturday, lying on top of lying.

Also, J.P. Giglio has an article out highlighting a potential conflict of interest in regards to the NCAA investigation of UNC’s football program:

An NCAA investigator asked South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders about his friendship with North Carolina senior defensive tackle Marvin Austin, his online interaction with Austin via the social media site Twitter and a trip to Washington, D.C., according to Saunders’ father.

Barry Saunders, a metro columnist for The News & Observer, said Wednesday that the NCAA’s assistant director in charge of agents’ activities, Marcus Wilson, interviewed his son twice this summer. Wilson, a former University of North Carolina football player, is one of seven members of the NCAA’s enforcement staff who works in the area of Agent, Gambling and Amateur Activities.

This conflict of interest has already been discussed by Statefansnation here, here, and even potentially here.

General

17 Responses to USC beat writer: Bottom line is, I’m pretty ill of the Weslye-is-a-victim stuff.

  1. PackerInRussia 08/26/2010 at 6:55 AM #

    Obviously the author of that article is a Nazi racist pig.
    Good article, though. And his last sentence is the real solution to Saunders’ problem. As soon as there’s some actual football to write about, all of this won’t be forgotten, but it will have some stiffer competition in terms of newsworthy items.

  2. packplantpath 08/26/2010 at 7:05 AM #

    Daily, check the last link “potentially here”. It asks me to log in to view it, then says I’m not authorized to edit it. I think it must be an Admin link.

  3. Daily Update 08/26/2010 at 7:13 AM #

    Thanks! It is fixed now.

  4. wolfonthehill 08/26/2010 at 7:23 AM #

    Weslye is a victim just like Gandhi was a war-monger.

    Good riddance, kid…

  5. waxhaw 08/26/2010 at 7:26 AM #

    I’m starting to get my hopes up that Christmas will come early this year.

    Is it possible that UNC-CH loses Little, Austin and at least some future bowl trips?
    Is it possible that Barry (who can’t spell Wesley) Saunders will end up not only looking like an ass but being proven to be one?
    Is it possible that UNC-CH loses black santa and possible BD in the process?

    If all of that happens and we could beat them again and make at least some level of bowl, I’d ride into basketball season on the biggest wave of optimism in a long time.

  6. choppack1 08/26/2010 at 8:28 AM #

    This thing really stinks – it will be really interesting to see how the NCAA reacts to the latest revelation.

    The allegation that UNC grad and huge fan interviewed Saunders – ABOUT UNC tackle MARVIN AUSTIN – is a bombshell. The investigation is NOT indirect if you are asking about the actions of another player from the school you had a relationship with.

    Of course, this is par for the course for most in the media. They routinely cover/investigate stories that they have vested interests in the outcome – yet will show from the highest hill “We’re objective – and how can you reasonably question our objectivity???”

    So, probably, to most in the media – not named JP Giglio – this is akin to the CEO buying a meal at the company cafeteria.

  7. Alpha Wolf 08/26/2010 at 9:04 AM #

    Hate to sound like Debbie Downer, but I expect the NCAA to act in its own economic self-interest and let the guilty get off with a slap on the wrist. That keeps their big-market teams in play (literally) and makes them appear to have “done something.”

  8. Mr. Wuf 08/26/2010 at 9:05 AM #

    Too bad old racist Barry did use an “i” instead of a “y” when he and Weslye’s mother were attempting to name their son. WesLIE would be much more appropriate right now. Good job raising your son you N&O piece of garbage.

  9. highstick 08/26/2010 at 9:44 AM #

    That whole article ticked me off this morning! If Wilson(the NCAA investigator who was a former UNC football player) was talking to these guys related to this case, the NCAA should get the death penalty!

  10. baxter 08/26/2010 at 10:10 AM #

    Alpha, the USC ruling didn’t seem like just a slap on the wrist.

  11. Alpha Wolf 08/26/2010 at 10:15 AM #

    ^ That was a far different scenario than what we are talking about happened at any of these schools here. Go and read the history of how the NCAA and USC sparred and fought the whole time the investigation was going on, for example.

  12. Plz2BStateFan 08/26/2010 at 10:16 AM #

    What money do you think the NCAA is making on UNC football????

    This is FOOTBALL, not basketball

  13. Alpha Wolf 08/26/2010 at 12:33 PM #

    ^ They are still one of the main “brands.”

    Don’t mistake what I think WILL happen with what I think SHOULD happen or what I WANT to happen.

    What I think WILL happen is based on Carolina’s having a guy “inside” the investigation — someone who professes their love of UNC football, and on Carolina’s ability to deflect attention away from their problems throughout history. For example, Roy’s brushes with the rules, which on the surface may seem minor…at Carolina. At East Podunk State U, they would be the basis for a major investigation and harsh penalties. In other words, there is a double standard and that will help them here.

    What I think SHOULD happen is a microscopic examination of not only agents, runners and their relationships with their cupcake, Starvin’ Marvin Austin, but also the recruiting practices, finances and activities of their known-scofflaw coach John Blake. I really don’t see the latter coming down the pike.

    Call me a pessimist, but we’ve seen different versions of this movie before. Just because it’s a bigger production that doesn’t mean the plot is any different.

  14. ADVENTUROO 08/26/2010 at 12:35 PM #

    This whole thing reminds me of the Clinton Bubble or the Technology Runup of the Stock Market in the late 90’s. I watched companies hype a “new concept”….some of which were as logical as putting on a raincoat when you see it raining outside BEFORE you walked out. The market would buy into the BS and the “jargon” but never checked out the business model.

    The young lads involved in this are like those stocks….they ran up so quickly in value that they lost sight of the fact that they did not have the basics. These boys would have been WAY better off to have signed for their bonuses this past spring instead of holding out for the “big bucks”. In addition, the folks who (alledgly) decided to throw a few perks their way are going to get NOTHING (except maybe a visit from Ms. Marshal and the authorities) out of their investment in them.

    Like I said about the tech bubble stocks I SHOULD have sold, ain’t nothing to do but get on with your life.

    One would think that the MORE perks that were thrown at them, the more it impacted their ability to think straight. Reminds me of the two thugs who shot James Jordan (Michael’s dad) and then rode around in his Lexus and used his cell phone without figuring out that someone could find them….

    This will be an interesting affair….and one can ONLY hope that the NCAA will act in a reasonable manner and punish those who broke the rules….to the fullest.

  15. choppack1 08/26/2010 at 12:45 PM #

    Alpha – I think the UNC grad working the investigation could end up being a negative if the right people get ahold of it. That’s a big “if” – but at least Giglio has broadcasted this fact.

    We’ll see if it becomes part of “the story”. If Sports Illustrated didn’t have such a strong UNC prescence, you’d probably see some articles about it there.

  16. TAEdisonHokie 08/26/2010 at 1:43 PM #

    Believe me, I dislike programs that cheat as much as anyone here. I want to see UNC get skewered to the full extent allowable under the NCAA’s rules and regulations.

    But, having stated that, I would personally be a lot more concerned if Marcus Wilson was working directly on the UNC investigation. The NCAA has a total of seven investigators to cover the entire country, so it is logical to me that Wilson has to be put to work investigating one or more of the other programs with agent issues. He’s currently working on the USC-E and UGA investigations and as such, he’s required to ask questions about the possible/probable involvement of those players with UNC’s Marvin Austin and Greg Little.

    We’ve also previously read where Wilson is not working directly on the UNC investigation. Two other NCAA investigators have been named as the primary investigators for UNC. Wilson is directly assigned to two other investigations covering the same broad topic…improper agent contact. I personally don’t believe that the NCAA would be so stupid as to open themselves up to any potential charges of conflict of interest by having Wilson visit Chapel Hill and/or question any of the UNC principals. I also don’t believe Wilson would jeopardize his career with the NCAA by doing anything that would make people believe he was somehow helping UNC escape punishment.

    The NCAA did a very good job with the USC-W investigation…let’s give them the time to conclude their UNC investigation.

    Speaking of which, we’re hearing on the Hokie boards that the NCAA has successfully connected all of the dots on the UNC investigation involving improper agent contacts.

  17. choppack1 08/26/2010 at 2:35 PM #

    TAE – what exactly does “successfully connected the dots” mean? Does it mean that they are done?

    Does it mean that there’s the potentially explosive link to Blake?

    Or does it mean that it’s more than Austin and Little?

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