Was Timing of Franklin Interview Just Coincidence or More?

[AUChizad]

Why did Franklin decide to rehash old news?

Media bias is nothing new in America. Ask any Republican and they will tell you the media has been slanted against them for more than 100 years. Democrats will tell you that all Fox News reporters are Ronald Reagan worshippers. It's a fact of life. And don't think for one minute things are any different in the state of Alabama when it comes to college football.

Let's quickly look at last week's events around the state and you can judge for yourself whether the state media is manufacturing stories to help a particular program to the north.

It started last weekend when Auburn got tons of publicity from Big Cat Weekend. Stories were everywhere around the South lauding Gene Chizik for the attention he was bringing to the Auburn program and for hosting some of the top prep players in the country.

Alabama quickly countered by gaining a public commitment from the state's top cornerback, Demarcus Milliner. Did Nick Saban plan this announcement? He almost certainly did - nothing wrong with a chess match between two rivals.

The following day, Auburn countered by getting a commitment from the top wide receiver in Alabama, Jeremy Richardson. Did Chizik plan this announcement? A logical person would guess yes. Again, nothing wrong with competition between two schools.

Then something odd happened on Friday and again on Saturday morning. Out of the blue, former Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin appears (again) on The Paul Finebaum Show to rehash his problems with former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville. If you didn't know better, you'd thought this was the first time the story had been told.

But things didn't stop there. On Saturday morning, The Montgomery Advertiser runs a long, in-depth interview with Franklin, again retelling the story of his struggles with the coaching staff and problems within the Auburn Athletic Department. For the record, there was no substantive new information revealed by Franklin.

When did this story become news again?

Why not do a reunion with Mike Price and the girls from Arty's or maybe do a best of with Gene Jelks and Antonio Langham? For that matter, let's invite author James Kirby in and have a discussion on whether Bear Bryant and Georgia's Wally Butts really fixed the 1962 season opener between the two schools.

Is it just me or is it ironic that just days before the NCAA is expected to come down hard on the Alabama program for player violations, Franklin is brought in for an encore? Since when does retelling a year old story with no new information warrant front page headlines and a prime time spot on the state's most listened to radio show?

Is it possible that Chizik and his staff are having an effect on recruiting - enough so that some believed Auburn's dirty laundry needed to be rehashed? Is it possible the NCAA might be dropping the hammer harder than some in Alabama circles originally thought? In light of the ramped up attacks on Auburn this past week, what are the chances the NCAA goes public this week?

Maybe this is all just a big coincidence. Maybe people around the state enjoy catching up with Franklin and really are interested in what his Middle Tennessee State offense is going to do this season. And I believe that both, Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann are fair and balanced.  Call me hypersensitive, but the events of the past few days just don't pass the smell test.

[AUChizad]

By the way, he was also on The Opening Drive this morning...

[Godfather]

By the way, he was also on The Opening Drive this morning...

Whos that story by?

[wesfau2]

Good article, but that dude needs to know that the correct spelling is "Arety's".  It is pronounced "Air-tees".

[Snaggletiger]

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing myself; however, all of this stuff is mainly about the old regime.  This is a whole new staff and a whole new direction.  Why rehash all this?  And if you notice, Franklin is the only one I've ever heard mouthing off about it.  Unless I've missed it, from Tuberville on down, there hasn't really been one word from any of the other coaches.  They've moved on, why hasn't he.

I got a kick out of the quotes he had about coming down the hall and no one would speak to you etc. Memo to Franklin.  This is the SEC.  No one gives two rips if you lose at Troy or MTSU.  When you freakin' stink up the joint the way you did at an SEC school, I don't imagine people want to have coffee and croissants in the break room with you.  People's jobs are somewhat dependant on what you're doing.

[AUChizad]

Whos that story by?

Sorry. Here's the link.
http://www.trackemtigers.com/

[Townhallsavoy]

Is the timing of Melick's article just coincidence or more?

NCAA should require athletes to read those textbooks

Posted by Ray Melick -- Birmingham News June 08, 2009 5:45 AM

It's been a busy spring for the high sheriffs of the NCAA.

They've had to make a ruling in a case of academic fraud at Florida State involving 61 athletes from several sports who received "improper assistance" in an online music course.

They met Saturday to discuss allegations that a top player from Memphis' NCAA "Final Four" team, identified by media as point guard Derrick Rose, had someone else take his college entrance exam for him. (As they met, similar allegations were being reported regarding Rose's former teammate, Robert Dozier).

In California, the NCAA still hasn't quite figured out what to do with allegations that former USC tailback Reggie Bush broke rules by accepting cash, a car and free housing while he was an underclassman, or what to do about similar allegations of payments and gifts to former star Trojan basketball player O.J. Mayo.

At some point the NCAA will have to deal with the University of Toledo point shaving indictments, in which six former athletes -- three from the men's basketball team and three from football -- were charged with conspiracy to influence, or attempt to influence, the final score of both football and basketball games.

Perhaps as soon as today, the NCAA is expected to hand down its ruling in the University of Alabama textbook case.

Compared to the above cases, this one seems rather lame: a number of athletes in several sports are accused of receiving an "extra benefit in the form of non-required textbooks, materials or supplies for themselves or for family members, friends, or other student-athletes," according to a report filed by university officials.

Do not misunderstand what I am saying. Alabama athletes broke NCAA rules and received extra benefits. At the very least, the offending teams deserve probation, which could make any future violations more severe. Almost certainly there will be some sanctions for the non-football teams involved. And since it is impossible to predict the ways and means of the Committee on Infractions, there could be additional penalties, even for football.

But over textbooks?

This is, quite frankly, small potatoes for a school the stature of the University of Alabama, which set a modern standard for impermissible benefits in the Logan Young-Albert Means case. Remember allegations of the $200,000 defensive lineman? One of the charges in the textbook debacle was reportedly for as little as 35 cents.

NCAA officials will tell you the two things they are most concerned about when deciding a major infractions case is whether a team received either a competitive advantage in the playing of the game, or a recruiting advantage in attracting athletes.

You know, things like $100 handshakes based on performance, or cars given to recruits, or grades given to athletes for work not done in order to stay eligible, or housing provided to an athlete's family.

It's hard to see where there was a competitive advantage gained by athletes receiving too many textbooks (unless the baseball team stuffed bats with copies of "Jane Eyre"), just as it is equally hard to imagine the potential to receive extra textbooks being used as a recruiting inducement.

Something along the lines of, "If you sign with us, kid, we'll make sure you get all the textbooks you ever dreamed of!"

If the allegations are what Alabama says they are, Alabama has a long way to go to rival the recent magnitude of the USC Trojans. Somehow, it's hard to imagine Trojan stars like Bush and Mayo even knowing where the campus bookstore is located, much less being induced to accept extra books.

If I were the NCAA, here's what I'd do: require every athlete to read every book he or she got, and write a detailed report on each one.

That would teach 'em.

What about this one?

http://www.tidesports.com/article/20090607/NEWS/906079977/1011?Title=UA-has-used-act-to-limit-disclosures-in-textbook-case

UA has used act to limit disclosures in textbook case
 
Tuscaloosa News

Saban suspended five players who had impermissible textbook charges, but the NCAA later alleged that UA committed “potentially major” rules violations by “failing to monitor” its student-athlete textbook distribution system.

By Tommy Deas Executive Sports Editor
Published: Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 12:17 a.m.
TUSCALOOSA |

The University of Alabama released 160 pages of documents in March relating to its response to NCAA allegations in UA’s textbook disbursement case, but wide black bars obscure much of the information.

With the NCAA’s notification of penalties looming, possibly as early as this week, many questions about the matter are still unanswered about the depth and level of the athletic department’s textbook disbursement problem. The number of student-athletes involved and the monetary value of the improperly distributed textbooks are among the items blacked out by UA officials citing the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.

Of 25 exhibits listed in UA’s response to the NCAA’s notice of allegations, eight were not released to the public citing the privacy law and two others had significant portions blacked out, or redacted. In fact, the entire title of one of the exhibits was blacked out and the document was not released, citing FERPA.

The university also refused multiple requests by The Tuscaloosa News for a list of secondary NCAA violations reported by UA in the last five years, including requests to provide the list with the names of any student-athletes redacted.

UA blacked out which athletic teams were involved. Also redacted were the number of interviews with student-athletes during the course of Alabama’s internal investigation of the matter.

Below the summary of UA’s response to the NCAA allegations on the Web page linking the documents is a disclaimer:

“Federal privacy laws limit the information the University can release about the student-athletes involved.”

While not releasing the names of involved student-athletes may fairly fall under FERPA, other redactions and withheld documents seem to have little to do with student privacy.

Deborah Lane, assistant vice president for university relations, didn’t provide specifics as to why certain items were not released or were blacked out in the NCAA documents, but explained the school’s policy in an e-mail:

“As we do with every record request, UA officials evaluate the request, often with advice with legal counsel, and make a good faith decision whether or not UA is permitted or obligated by law to release requested records or information,” she said. “As we have stated before, federal privacy laws prevent the university from providing the media with personally identifiable information related to its students.

“The federal definition of personally identifiable information includes information that is ‘linked or linkable to a student’ and information that is requested by someone who the ‘institution reasonably believes knows the identity of the student to whom’ the record relates.”

UA also withheld squad lists, or rosters, that were provided to the NCAA, presumably because that would have identified which sports were involved in the allegations. The Tuscaloosa News has reported that athletes in the football, men’s and women’s track and cross-country programs and one women’s soccer player were involved in textbook violations.

Reach Tommy Deas at tommy.deas@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0224.

The timing is perfect.  Smear Auburn as much as possible because UA is about to actually get hammered by the NCAA.  Whether that hammer is hammering a small nail or a large one, Bama is the one with real off the field issues right now - no matter how many secondary violations the newspapers say we committed or how religious and mean Tony Franklin says we are. 

[RWS]

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing myself; however, all of this stuff is mainly about the old regime.  This is a whole new staff and a whole new direction.  Why rehash all this?  And if you notice, Franklin is the only one I've ever heard mouthing off about it.  Unless I've missed it, from Tuberville on down, there hasn't really been one word from any of the other coaches.  They've moved on, why hasn't he.

I got a kick out of the quotes he had about coming down the hall and no one would speak to you etc. Memo to Franklin.  This is the SEC.  No one gives two rips if you lose at Troy or MTSU.  When you freakin' stink up the joint the way you did at an SEC school, I don't imagine people want to have coffee and croissants in the break room with you.  People's jobs are somewhat dependant on what you're doing.

Translation: Quit being such a fuckin pussy.

[Townhallsavoy]

Translation: Quit being such a fuckin pussy.

Exactly.  I saw a bunch of AU fans on Rivals saying "Why don't they get Lance Thompson to do an interview?"  Tony Franklin is the only one who is dumb enough to open his mouth.  He's an easy target and unfortunately for AU, he had a bad experience with us. 

[AUChizad]

Here's a post from an Auburn fan regarding the issue on the Auburner's comments section:

Here are a few observations…Franklin’s assertion that none of the coaches trusted each other flies in the face of even Tubs’ ardent critics that the “BBQ Bunch” were TOO tight on and off the field. Either 100’s of other people’s accounts of the interpersonal dynamic among Tubs and his staff are wrong - or Franklin is wrong. It would be illogical to go with the former.

Secondly, one of Moon’s teasers at the end (which, of course, is designed to extract 50 cents from suckers willing to overpay for this terrible paper…and I can say that with authority, I lived there 40 years) is the religion “crutch” and how “fake” some of the people are at Auburn regarding their faith. To start with, it does take a certain amount of gall to criticize another person’s walk with Christ as part of a news story. But beyond that - and the fact we live in a fallen world with no perfect people - the proof is in the pudding. How many kids were on the police blotter during Tubs & Chette Williams’ time on the Plains? How many walking train wrecks did you notice (i.e., players playing with utter disregard for their opponents, teammates, rules, or common decentcy)? How many times did you see a fallen opponent on the field and Auburn players immediately gathering to pray for him…without some orchestrated effort by the coaches or Chette to get them to do so? None of us can peer down into the soul of another person to see all that’s in there, but from my perspective I certainly hope Chizek and his staff (including Chette Williams) keeps up this effort.

Finally, at the risk of being accused of “shooting the messenger” I have my reservations about the angle Josh Moon would take on an Auburn piece. I have spoken with him in the past and spoken also with a friend of mine that is one of his current colleagues, and taking all that into perspective I’ll just say that he should get on with the NY Times. Judging from the last two “features” done on the Plains, that paper seems reliably anti-Auburn and welcomes “creative” writers (e.g., Jayson Blair) to further their “causes.”

:thumbsup:

[Tiger Wench]

The former Auburn and Troy offensive coordinator views fame as a burden that inhibits his straightforward, matter-of-fact personality. He's the kind of guy who doesn't want a pat on the back or to be told that he's great. He just wants a little privacy.

OH... so THAT's why he gave interviews to these reporters... gotcha. 

 

[Catphish Tilly]

So I'm sitting in the car killing some time during lunch break and I caught the opening of finebuam.  Did anyone else hear that shithead commenting on Franklin?  Mentioned he spoke with him privately after the OD's interview this morning. Said Franklin wanted to be clear that he did not say that all of the coaches or coaches families were dismissive and shunning towards him. He said he wanted to make it very clear that Suzanne Tubberville was VERY friendly.  Then the fuckstick leaves for commercial break with, "make out of that what you will..."

I loathe those two assholes.