This is really sad for a former Sooner....

[sooner59]

Eric Thunander has had an extremely difficult life. This story breaks my heart because I have been pulling for him. It sounds like all the abuse as a child has affected him in ways that hopefully none of us will ever know first-hand. If you read his book, this story is very disheartening. :(

http://www.koco.com/news/20557118/detail.html

[Gresho Murford]

that is no excuse to do that to a 9 year old kid

[starclassic tama]

the only thing sad about this is nobody has murdered the guy yet

[sooner59]

No, you are right. I am by no means making excuses for him. I'm just sad about the whole situation. I read his book and I see why this wouldn't come "out of the blue". This doesn't shock me, but it is disheartening and sad. It sounds like he has a lot of problems. I was just saying that after reading his book, it is obvious where these problems stemmed from. Being sexually and physically abused as a child will mess a person up. Now, if this is true, another child may have to deal with the same type of problem for the rest of their life. It just makes you sick that this stuff happens in the world.

[En_Fuego]

Not everyone lives in a perfect world

[unbiasedtruth]

he could have choose to break the cycle, but he didnt.....

[LawtonBoy74]

Terrible

[SoonersEnFuego]

Well, I have a signed book written by a child molester....great.

[theresonly1OU]

I'm a Sooner fan 'till I die and all, but I'm a father first.

There's no excuse for what he did; many grow up in horrible homes like his was, and they don't turn to molesting children.

But yeah, my condolences to the family and the girl this predator preyed on. May he get everything he deserves.

[StoopTroup]

Sad for the nine year old girl.

You have 18 years to learn right from wrong. Eric was surrounded by a lot of right and yet he chose to follow the wrong path. I hope he learns a lesson and I hope the girl isn't scarred for life because of his actions.

Eric needs to do some jail time it seems. On top of that...he's destined to live an even harder life now that he'll soon be a convict who needs to registrar everywhere he goes.

May God have mercy on his soul.

[soonersam]

Its always sad when a persons life is destroyed but destroying another person life and blaming it on his problemed past is worse!!!

[Sooner24]

http://www.newsok.com/former-ou-player-silent-thunder-author-faces-felony-child-molestation-porn-charges/article/3395839?custom_click=headlines_widget

Sad.

[StoopTroup]

Think we did this one already 04.

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133526

[Boomer.....]

He's 24.


:D

[Boomer.....]

Horrible!

[rainiersooner]

He's 24.


:D

That makes him 60% a man!! [hairGel]

[soonerfan28]

Hope these charges are not true, but if they are then he deserves what he gets and from past convictions it usually isn't enough. I feel bad for the childhood this guy had, but in his adulthood he has been given many opportunities to succeed, so he has no excuse.

[CK Sooner]

lol

[goingoneight]

I agree it's sad he had to deal with that crap as a child. And only to a certain extent do I agree that your upbring shapes who you'll one day be. Still, even the most violent and messed up people know child molestation is WRONG.

[PhiDeltBeers]

That's too bad.

[StoopTroup]

CsZ5Qz-TZXY&feature=sub

[Petro-Sooner]

Throw the book at him! What a sicko.

[GottaHavePride]

I'm'a merge these two...

[JBIILonghorns]

the only thing sad about this is nobody has murdered the guy yet

so you want him to die? :confused:

[theresonly1OU]

so you want him to die? :confused:

Want is a strong word.

More like OK with the idea of locking him up with cold-blooded murderers who LOVE to shank child-molesters with sharpened toothbrushes.

[Collier11]

Yahoo story about the life of Thunander, really sad the way this turned out...hopefully the kid(s) he did this to turn out better than him

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=uwire-elementsofformersoonerslin&prov=uwire&type=lgns

Elements of former Sooners linebacker's past resurface with molestation charges
By Peter Davis, The Oklahoma Daily


NORMAN, Okla.—Eric Thunander stepped on campus for the first time in June 1999 as a football player. After years of dealing with multiple forms of abuse, he wanted to change perceptions about hearing-impaired athletes.

In “Silent Thunder,” a book Thunander wrote in 2008, he claimed to have been emotionally, physically and sexually abused by his first stepfather. He had been forced to participate in child pornography and forced to clean up a homicide scene he claimed his stepfather had committed. Coming to OU was supposed to be the new beginning he was hoping for.

Flash forward to a little more than 10 years later, and he is now being accused by the Cleveland County District Attorney’s office of child molestation and possession of child pornography.

In the book, he detailed many of his own accounts of being abused. In one instance, he described a childhood exploitation with another young female child in vivid detail.

OU offered Thunander a chance at redemption not just once, but twice. After a devastating hit during the 2000 OU-Texas game that would cause many problems throughout the season, he would learn in the offseason that his career as a defensive end was over.

According to his book, when Thunander returned home to Kansas City that summer, he married and divorced in a short span of time. He eventually hit a new personal low and attempted suicide.

Thunander reached out for help, contacting coach Brent Venables. Almost a week later, coach Bob Stoops called and offered Thunander a chance to return to school with his support.

“We’ll do anything for you, Eric,” Stoops said, according to Thunander’s book. “You are important to us. Anything I can do, I will do.” Thunander accepted Stoops’ offer and returned, graduating in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in communication.

He stayed in the area after graduation and began working on his book and doing motivational speaking. He also researched the quality of education for deaf students in rural America and how to improve it out of personal interest.

In May 2008, he finished writing and publishing his book and it looked like Thunander was on the path to a better life.

On Aug. 10 of this year, everything came crashing down.

According to court affidavits filed in Cleveland County, Thunander confessed both verbally and in writing to the Norman Police Department to child molestation after a monitored phone call between Thunander and the victim’s father. Thunander also claimed he downloaded child pornography from the file-sharing software Limewire, according to the affidavits.

Many calls and e-mails to local psychologists and to the Oklahoma City Police Department left questions unanswered due to the ongoing investigation into Thunander without full knowledge of him or his background.

Mark Chaffin, a professor in the department of pediatrics at the OU Health Sciences Center, offered some general insight into child abuse.

“Child abuse should not be stereotyped,” he said. “Abused children are not ticking time bombs; that’s an old wives’ tale.”

In contrast to what Chaffin said, a study done by the Abel and Harlow Child Molestation Prevention Study published in 2001 by Xlibris Corporation suggests that almost 47 percent of molested boys go on to become molesters later in life.

Harry Wright, psychology professor, said the effects of child abuse are complicated, but that the effects of abuse can cause further trauma.

“Our understanding of the psychological dynamic with child abuse is very murky,” he said. “We are still trying to find cognitively what’s going on. What are the dynamic processes that lead to this?”

Thunander was optimistic about his future; he had hoped he could change opinions.

“I will not succumb to the dark path,” he stated in the book. “I will not lose my mind. I will not become a statistic.”

[stoopified]

Uh what happened to innocent until PROVEN guilty?I do recall Eric from Sooner days and by ALL reports he was a stand-up guy.I have heard only an accussation and no facts as yet.If he IS guilty put him away, HOWEVER if he isn't his life may never recover as the stigma of even being accused of child abuse/molesting is hard to overcome.

[Collier11]

It said in the article that he admitted to it

[StoopTroup]

Yep.

[stoopified]

In that case THROW AWAWY the key.

[olevetonahill]

Ill just pray fer him hows that ?

[beer4me]

Ill just pray fer him hows that ?

Think I will join ya

[Collier11]

save the prayers for the kids he hurt first, then him

[olevetonahill]

save the prayers for the kids he hurt first, then him

Bro thats a Foregone conclusion.
Hell tho Ive heard of this kinda stuff fer a long time.
Sad to say I DONT even want My Granddaughters around me alone.
The accusation is to easy to make and So Hard to refute.
Hell Ive Patted em on the *** before with a Love pat
Inappropriate, Prolly in todays world :eek:

[sooner59]

Bro thats a Foregone conclusion.
Hell tho Ive heard of this kinda stuff fer a long time.
Sad to say I DONT even want My Granddaughters around me alone.
The accusation is to easy to make and So Hard to refute.
Hell Ive Patted em on the *** before with a Love pat
Inappropriate, Prolly in todays world :eek:

I hear ya. And I hear ya on the prayin for him. By no means do I feel "more" sorry for him than the kids. But I do feel a little sorry for how his life transcended to this. Those who know his life story can see that he never recovered from a psychological disorder that his abusive childhood gave him. No excuse, though. Everyone can change, but he didn't. But its still not like any of us with "normal" childhoods did this. The guy was given a raw deal, he didn't recover from it, and we need him off the streets and away from children. But that doesn't mean we still shouldn't pray for him.

[ouduckhunter]

First pray for the poor molested child and that his life has not been irreparably damaged, and then pray for Thunaders soul! It is a truly sad, disgusting, and horrible situation.

[olevetonahill]

First pray for the poor molested child and that his life has not been irreparably damaged, and then pray for Thunaders soul! It is a truly sad, disgusting, and horrible situation.

Im sorry but "Inappropriate Touching " doesn't translate to a young childs Life irreparably harmed .
Thunaders on the other hand is so far in the shathouse he will never see str8 again
Yes the Children NEED protection
But where was his ?:pop:

[CtheB]

I believe he has already confessed to the crimes he has been accused of.