tOSU LB decommits

[budbarrybob]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/ohio-state-lb-decommits-learning-recruiting-visit-included-163223774.html

Kind of a lame reason to decommit. This is a LB we're talking about right?

OK... Do We want him :glee:

[MamaMia]

No. He's tainted.

[yermom]

his friends were probably asking him to show on the doll where he touched him

[goingoneight]

Urban just lets his players beat up whoever they want to. Or send them "time to die, b!tch" texts.

[Sabanball]

ESPN has now gone with this story. Will be interesting to see how Urban Meyer deals with this...

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7892108/ohio-state-recruit-decommits-convicted-sex-offender-posted-photo-internet-junior-linebacker

[IBleedCrimson]

So, after the Penn St debacle, its weird for a recruit to be wary of sex offenders near a program? Who cares if hes a LB. LB's are too tough to care about sex offenders? I is confused.

[budbarrybob]

Ok, let me clear this muddy water up for you. He's a linebacker 6'3" 220 lbs. A linebacker, associated with tough hitting, being situationally aggressive. Not your typical pediphile target. If he feels squeamish about taking a picture with someone who turned out to be a "sex offender" I have no problem. If he thinks that running away from a program thinking that where ever he goes that: 1. He'll never encounter a "sex offender" or 2. a university will be able to "protect" him from contact with a fan who may be a "sex offender", then he is misinformed and sadly mistaken.
capiche?

[8timechamps]

This story is being stretched so far beyond reality by ESPN, it's incredible.

The real story here is that a 17 or 18 year old kid made his decision too soon, and changed his mind. How in the hell can tOSU (and every other school out there) be responsible for every person that wants to pose with a recruit/player? Not allow photographing of players? No, that's moronic.

I can't stand tOSU, or even Meyer, but this is just dumb.

[Chuck Bao]

I don't care how big the linebacker is and how well he can defend himself, it is still a bit creepy. You'd think that Ohio State would have learned a lesson from last year's tattoo parlor scandal. Exactly how is this guy meeting recruits unless he is paying some of the former players money. Is he waiting around outside the athletes' dorm, the field house, the local watering hole? I guess more importantly, what if there are some very pretty co-eds stalking the athletes. Yeah, that linebacker can knock them all down, but it really isn't a healthy situation.

[budbarrybob]

Exactly how is this guy meeting recruits unless he is paying some of the former players money. Is he waiting around outside the athletes' dorm, the field house, the local watering hole? I guess more importantly, what if there are some very pretty co-eds stalking the athletes. Yeah, that linebacker can knock them all down, but it really isn't a healthy situation.

Pics could be taken at fan appreciation day. If he's the target of a pediphile I doubt the co-eds would be in any jeopardy :disturbed:

[SoonerAtKU]

Yeah, I'm not sure I understand just what Ohio State had to do with any of this, other than the fact that this apparently happened on campus. I'm sure there are shady folks on every college campus in America on almost any given day.

[Chuck Bao]

I may be wrong, but I would have thought that recruits would be given a pretty tightly controlled official tour of the campus, athletic facilities, stadium, meeting with coaches, attend a game, etc. Didn't Colorado get into trouble a few years back with some of the football players taking recruits out to party with the co-eds? I just don't see how recruits meeting the boosters, fans, groupies, hangers-on would end well.

[IBleedCrimson]

I think its perfectly understandable for a recruit to become apprehensive when they meet a sex offender during their official visit. Can the university control it? Probably not. But then again, this a tightly controlled "first date" between a program and an athlete. To a recruit, especial after Penn St, I think its reasonable to have concerns regarding that.

Of course the LB doesn't fear for his personal safety. And there might be people like this in every fanbase in the country. But this guy KNOWS they exist here.

What lame values this guy must have. Pfft. And he's a LB. They're supposed to be tough.

[Chuck Bao]

I think its perfectly understandable for a recruit to become apprehensive when they meet a sex offender during their official visit. Can the university control it? Probably not. But then again, this a tightly controlled "first date" between a program and an athlete. To a recruit, especial after Penn St, I think its reasonable to have concerns regarding that.

Of course the LB doesn't fear for his personal safety. And there might be people like this in every fanbase in the country. But this guy KNOWS they exist here.

What lame values this guy must have. Pfft. And he's a LB. They're supposed to be tough.

The dude could be really tough on the outside, but it doesn't mean that he is yet as tough on the inside and essentially susceptible to some of the temptations of big college sports. Parents of some of the recruits must realize that although they raised their kids right, their kids are away from home for the first time and that they may not have yet matured enough and are most vulnerable. Obviously, I am not talking about only allowing pics with a sex offender, but drugs, women and well just bad elements. Pics with a sex offender on a recruitment tour is just not a good place to start if I were a concerned parent.

[IBleedCrimson]

I agree. Some weird sentiments going on in this thread.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

What are the parameters to being a sex offender?

[SoonerNomad]

What are the parameters to being a sex offender?

This is an interesting question that I grapple with occasionally in my job. Here is a pretty detailed look at who has to register in the State of Arizona.

http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/an-overview-of-arizonas-sex-offender-and-registration-laws-and-community-notification

Each state has different standards, but as you can see if you look at the list it casts a pretty big net. It would probably shock you to do a web search of registered sex offenders in your neighborhoods.

Every sex offender must register and must do so quickly and must do so everytime anything about their status changes. I have seen many many cases where the only charge is Failure to Register, which is class 4 felony in Arizona, the same level as Burglary of a non-residential property, Forgery and Negligent Homicide.

[budbarrybob]

What are the parameters to being a sex offender?

getting busy with your 17 yr old girlfriend could put you on the list.

[8timechamps]

I think its perfectly understandable for a recruit to become apprehensive when they meet a sex offender during their official visit. Can the university control it? Probably not. But then again, this a tightly controlled "first date" between a program and an athlete. To a recruit, especial after Penn St, I think its reasonable to have concerns regarding that.

Of course the LB doesn't fear for his personal safety. And there might be people like this in every fanbase in the country. But this guy KNOWS they exist here.

What lame values this guy must have. Pfft. And he's a LB. They're supposed to be tough.


It's not that tightly controlled. The schools/coaches have parameters they have to respect, and in almost every visit, the recruit is paired up with a current player or two. The coaches can hope they have the right players with the recruit, but that doesn't guarantee anything.

Here's the thing, how many 17 or 18 year old kids (recruits) wouldn't feel special if fans asked to take a picture with them? It happens at OU. It happens everywhere. There is no way a school can prevent that from happening.

I have no issue with the kid committing, or de-committing. I think many recruits make their decisions too early in the process anyway. My issue is that folks in the media are trying to tag this as an Ohio State problem. Again, outside of banning photos of players/recruits (which would be impossible), there is no way to ever ensure that this never happens again at tOSU, or any other school in the country.


Also, Chuck mentioned the CU incident a while back...what happened there is that the players that were hosting the recruits decided to take them to a topless bar in Boulder. Not only was that a bad idea, it was also against the law.

[Chuck Bao]

It's not that tightly controlled. The schools/coaches have parameters they have to respect, and in almost every visit, the recruit is paired up with a current player or two. The coaches can hope they have the right players with the recruit, but that doesn't guarantee anything.

Here's the thing, how many 17 or 18 year old kids (recruits) wouldn't feel special if fans asked to take a picture with them? It happens at OU. It happens everywhere. There is no way a school can prevent that from happening.

I have no issue with the kid committing, or de-committing. I think many recruits make their decisions too early in the process anyway. My issue is that folks in the media are trying to tag this as an Ohio State problem. Again, outside of banning photos of players/recruits (which would be impossible), there is no way to ever ensure that this never happens again at tOSU, or any other school in the country.


Also, Chuck mentioned the CU incident a while back...what happened there is that the players that were hosting the recruits decided to take them to a topless bar in Boulder. Not only was that a bad idea, it was also against the law.

I agree with you for the most part, 8timeschamps. I also think a better effort can be made to ensure that a recruit's campus visit can be as trouble free as possible, starting with their current player guides who should be drilled in the letter of the law and protect the recruit against anyone who he wouldn't take home to meet mom and pop.

I find the comments in this thread very interesting and not as a knock-on on Ohio State. I really have no clue what goes on when 4-5 star recruits visit the campus of a big football school. If it goes on everywhere, that is probably not a good thing, if I were a parent. If I were a high school student, hell yeah, bring it on.

I don't guess an athletic department could stop boosters or fans from taking pics during the campus tour. I am wondering, however, how these boosters or fans know where and when the recruits will be on the campus tour. Is that public information or could there be leaks within the athletic department? I don't visit any of the recruitment forums or know whether pics of the recruits or an impromptu interview would be something worth to brag about.

Okay, forget all of that. These are high school students and, if they are 4-5 star recruits, they probably already have their facebook friends and fans and tweet even about their most recent meal. So, of course their visit is all public knowledge.

For the record, I just don't like where this is heading.

[8timechamps]

I agree with you for the most part, 8timeschamps. I also think a better effort can be made to ensure that a recruit's campus visit can be as trouble free as possible, starting with their current player guides who should be drilled in the letter of the law and protect the recruit against anyone who he wouldn't take home to meet mom and pop.

I find the comments in this thread very interesting and not as a knock-on on Ohio State. I really have no clue what goes on when 4-5 star recruits visit the campus of a big football school. If it goes on everywhere, that is probably not a good thing, if I were a parent. If I were a high school student, hell yeah, bring it on.

I don't guess an athletic department could stop boosters or fans from taking pics during the campus tour. I am wondering, however, how these boosters or fans know where and when the recruits will be on the campus tour. Is that public information or could there be leaks within the athletic department? I don't visit any of the recruitment forums or know whether pics of the recruits or an impromptu interview would be something worth to brag about.

Okay, forget all of that. These are high school students and, if they are 4-5 star recruits, they probably already have their facebook friends and fans and tweet even about their most recent meal. So, of course their visit is all public knowledge.

For the record, I just don't like where this is heading.

I think we're on the same page with this.

And as you mentioned, I think this particular case had some Facebook involvement. The recruit had been talking about his visit (I think on Twitter too), and the sick-o that took the pic posted it on his Facebook.

Besides the social media outlets, most of the recruiting services list when a player will be on campus, so it's all public.

Now I love my Sooners, and I follow recruiting, but there is no way in hell I'm gonna ask any player/recruit to take a pic with me. That's just kinda weird at my age. But apparently there are plenty of folks that would.

Chuck, do you mean you don't like where the current recruiting environment is heading? If so, I agree 100%. Given the current information available to pretty much anyone, there is potential for some pretty bad things to happen somewhere down the line.

[Chuck Bao]

I think we're on the same page with this.

And as you mentioned, I think this particular case had some Facebook involvement. The recruit had been talking about his visit (I think on Twitter too), and the sick-o that took the pic posted it on his Facebook.

Besides the social media outlets, most of the recruiting services list when a player will be on campus, so it's all public.

Now I love my Sooners, and I follow recruiting, but there is no way in hell I'm gonna ask any player/recruit to take a pic with me. That's just kinda weird at my age. But apparently there are plenty of folks that would.

Chuck, do you mean you don't like where the current recruiting environment is heading? If so, I agree 100%. Given the current information available to pretty much anyone, there is potential for some pretty bad things to happen somewhere down the line.

Exactly that. It is getting more than a bit creepy. Social media is just making it 100 times worse.

We like to say that if a recruit wants to be a Sooner, they have to work for it. But so many of the new top recruits already have stars in their eyes and a social media following to egg on their ego. This is all sad when they should be very proud that they get a chance at a free college education.

[8timechamps]

Exactly that. It is getting more than a bit creepy. Social media is just making it 100 times worse.

We like to say that if a recruit wants to be a Sooner, they have to work for it. But so many of the new top recruits already have stars in their eyes and a social media following to egg on their ego. This is all sad when they should be very proud that they get a chance at a free college education.

Didn't mean to leave you hanging Chuck.

I agree, recruiting now is unlike ever before. The advent of social media is just throwing fuel on a raging fire. I too am afraid where this is all heading.

[fadada1]

big story up where i work. many of the members at our club know him and his family, as were only about 10 minutes away. very interesting decision on his part. most are saying the new PSU coach is quietly doing an amazing job. getting some of the same comments from family that live in state college. be interesting fall coming up for folks in happy valley.

[Landthief 1972]

Ok, let me clear this muddy water up for you. He's a linebacker 6'3" 220 lbs. A linebacker, associated with tough hitting, being situationally aggressive. Not your typical pediphile target. If he feels squeamish about taking a picture with someone who turned out to be a "sex offender" I have no problem. If he thinks that running away from a program thinking that where ever he goes that: 1. He'll never encounter a "sex offender" or 2. a university will be able to "protect" him from contact with a fan who may be a "sex offender", then he is misinformed and sadly mistaken.
capiche?

The issue isn't really that this guy is a sex offender, it's that the university allows this type of character to get this close to the program. If a pervert can slip through the cracks, who's to say a psychotic freak with several guns couldn't as well? I think it's fair for a student to expect reasonable measures are taken to keep those kinds of people away from the student body. I don't mean throw convicted offenders out of very public venues, I'm referring to giving said pervs the kind of access that this guy had.

[OULenexaman]

getting busy with your 17 yr old girlfriend could put you on the list. good thing I never got caught...

[8timechamps]

The issue isn't really that this guy is a sex offender, it's that the university allows this type of character to get this close to the program. If a pervert can slip through the cracks, who's to say a psychotic freak with several guns couldn't as well? I think it's fair for a student to expect reasonable measures are taken to keep those kinds of people away from the student body. I don't mean throw convicted offenders out of very public venues, I'm referring to giving said pervs the kind of access that this guy had.

The hard part is that at some point these kids will be on their own (on a recruiting visit, out to dinner with their host player, etc.), and have this kind of thing happen. Now, if the schools are providing an avenue for people (with sketchy back-grounds) to spend time with recruits, THAT should be put down...fast!

[Jason White's Third Knee]

What are the parameters to being a sex offender?

getting busy with your 17 yr old girlfriend could put you on the list.

I think there needs to be a distinction when things like this take place. Sex offender doesn't always mean pedophile or rapist, but that's where our mind goes. If this guy was nineteen and had sex w a 17 yo this should be a nonissue. In some cultures 13 is no biggie. Arkansas for instance.

[12]

At some point during all three of my recruiting trips, I became VERY intoxicated.

On one, the player assigned to me watched barnyard pron with a room full of other players.

I didn't choose that school.

[BoomerJ]

I think there needs to be a distinction when things like this take place. Sex offender doesn't always mean pedophile or rapist, but that's where our mind goes. If this guy was nineteen and had sex w a 17 yo this should be a nonissue. In some cultures 13 is no biggie. Arkansas for instance.

Arkansas IS a culture, isn't it?