Let's face it, you were brought up to believe that the University of Michigan was a "better place", weren't you? Weren't we all? The mainstream media certainly bought the story and have been delivering it for decades. Mighty Meechigan can do no wrong.
But things have changed since Gerald Ford was President. Michigan State University has grown up very nicely. The largest state-funded university in Michigan has moved into the top spot of several key measurements, very often including sports.
Today, we have a case study of two different approaches to accountability and consequences with Max Bullough of MSU and Taylor Lewan of Michigan.
Lewan has behaved like a sacrosanct diva for his whole career, committing scores of uncalled penalties for years, while running his mouth like a beer spigot in a factory bar right after shift change. He seems willing to say, or perhaps do, anything at any time in order to maintain an audience and get his way. He ignored the rule book against the Spartans on November 2, grabbing and twisting and stomping to his heart's content, and not getting called for anything. Then he apologized after the game for his misbehavior.
Now Lewan is under investigation by the Ann Arbor police department for kicking some Buckeyes around on the street after getting roughed up by the Buckeyes on the field earlier in the day. Problem is, these guys were just guys, not wearing uniforms and helmets, just sweatshirts and hats. The inside story on this incident identified Lewan clearly, and noted how the local cops were trying to protect the big guy from getting caught.
Lewan should have been flagged for numerous penalties in Spartan Stadium. Absent that, he should have been suspended by the school or the conference after the game. Now he is under police scrutiny for an assault that was committed only a few weeks ago. Michigan Coach Brady Hoke has done nothing to Lewan, and he even went out of his way to announce that Lewan would definitely be playing in the bowl game. After all, it's the last game of his storied college career.
Meanwhile, Max Bullough has been effectively kicked off the MSU team, for a transgression that we don't even know about. Since we all don't know what mistake Bullough made, we also wouldn't know about it if Bullough hadn't been suspended. In other words, to this point, Mark Dantonio was not forced into doing anything against Max Bullough because nobody knows what he did that was wrong. This was a crystal-clear chance for Dantonio to do nothing, a free pass to just protect his star player at least until after the bowl game. After all, it would be the last game of his storied college career.
But we all know that Bullough has been harshly sentenced to a shameful penitence, for a crime that has yet to be reported. It's an unthinkable scenario in a league that props up the old schools for protecting their big boys from the long arm of the law, at places like Columbus, Happy Valley, and Ann Arbor. We will one day learn what Bullough did - - - or didn't do - - - but that knowledge will almost certainly come after the Rose Bowl game is over on January 1.
Dantonio chose the hard road, enforcing team discipline as a major value over the immediate need to win a game. He walks this path alone, surrounded by peers who save their own skins at every turn, ignoring ethics and morals and values and standards like so many predators on the hunt for fresh meat. He left his most beloved player behind, as a way of stating that the team is more important than any player.
Will this rock-hard lesson in tough love and standards-based leadership be recognized for what it is, a man of power standing up for principles during the greatest moment of his competitive career? Will the clown who coaches UM football ever be held up for what he really is, and compared unfavorably to his in-state counterpart?
Does it really matter that much who wins these bowl games? The biggest plays have already been made by the coaches.
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How can you be such an idiot? Precisely because you don't know what Bullough did, you cannot judge the punishment as harsh.
ReplyDeleteThat's a dUMb comment, making you appear to be "the idiot". Regardless of what we do or don't know about the transgression, it is literally impossible to imagine a more harsh penalty than this one, given all of the circumstances.
DeleteRead it again, nUMbnuts - - - nobody knows that anything even happened, so Dantonio was in excellent position to let it slide.
Just for kicks, to establish a metric for your presumed IQ, why don't you please tell us all what punishment Dantonio had at his discretion that would have been more "harsh" than this one. Do tell.
Wow, so now you resort to potty talk, huh? Are you like 12 years old?
DeleteSince you don't know what happened, and you don't know how many people DO know what happened and may go public later, you can't draw a judgement about harshness. Depending on the violation, the university could have its own penalty forthcoming, not to mention the criminal justice system. And then again, it might not be the kind of violation that involves anything but the football team. You don't know. You also don't know if the coach decided that he had the option to let it slide. Details of violations can come out months later and he may have known that could happen in this case. Then again, the coach may not have had any such considerations because the violation was strictly a football matter. You don't know.
If I were you, and wrote the way you do (sloppy thinking, obsessions, typos, usage errors, etc.), I would not be so quick to question the IQ of anyone.
Glad to see your interest in our web site. You're still not on track with the theme of the article.
DeleteThere are no criminal charges against Bullough, and none are pending. Dantonio was clear to play him, and ignore whatever it is we don't know that happened or didn't happen.
We will find out what "it" was/is, but not until after the bowl game has been played. Therefore, Dantonio had a free pass to play him in the game.
By contrast, there is an active criminal investigation underway against Taylor Lewan. In addition, Lewan admitted to multiple instances of dirty play, at least in the game against MSU, when he apologized for his own actions. Hoke was similarly clear to suspend him, but chose not to do so, obviously in the interests of winning the game. When UM lost the game, it was Hoke's second loss, as he had already lost his chance to do the right thing(s).
That's it, little Anonymous guy or gal. No matter what the offense, nobody (still) knows about it, so the action against Bullough was not a force-play, it was an option-play.
Dantonio chose the hard road to uphold his program standards. Hoke chose the easy road in an attempt to win another game and save his job. Hoke failed and besmirched himself in the process.
(Now before you get back to watching your UM highlight tapes from the 1970's, why don't you find some of those typos you were talking about and point them out.)
Maybre we should post some or all of the YouTube links that show what that thug from the Ann Arbor Charm School football club did during the games.
DeleteWe don't know what Bullough did, but we can rule out anything with the cops such as a fight, brawl, or dui. We can rule out school presumably because he's an academic all American performer in the classroom. I would lean toward the Korie Lucious scenario. Probably weed smoking.
ReplyDeleteI believe it was a Bullough family decision which coach D supported rather the other way around. Maybe a family intervention of sorts. Don't know for sure but if I were betting...
ReplyDeleteI agree. His brother gave us the hint that he would not see Max for a month or 2 while Max was in some kind of (special) training. Sadly there are only 1 or 2 possibilities that fit that clue, if it is accurate.
DeleteIf it is what I think it could be, then the family and the team and Coach Dantonio put Max Bullough's needs above the needs of the team. If this conjecture is anywhere close to being correct, it further demonstrates the integrity that Mark Dantonio has brought to and instilled into the MSU football program.