Kokanee said:
PlayerRep said:
Kokanee said:
BW, how am I supposed to argue if you use facts

. It seems to me there have been a lot of other issues. Home invasion, assaults, pot growing etc. These people are thugs and I agree with PW that Mt should do their best not to recruit them. PW audience was wrong but his idea is right. I know you can’t predict how a recruit may turn out, but is there any sort of background check going on now? I am not sure how the recruit process works maybe they are doing due diligence in recruiting. Maybe they could do more.
Why would someone working for the university even use the word "thugs"? Why would that someone say UM "recruited thugs"? To me, that shows an agenda, as well as a lack of knowledge of the situation. That comment is getting repeated all over the media. It has also resulted in some female observers at trial referring to players in attendance as thugs, to their faces. "Here come the thugs."
One home invasion, yes. That was in 2007. It's now 2013. Assults (mainly just fights and punches), yes. Pot growing? Who did that, other than a former player from about 2004 who got charged for growing medical marijuana (which was legal under state law)? You really think that some who grows marijuana is a thug? Some who gets in a fight is a thug?
Point taken on Pat Williams.
A while back someone posted a list of Griz and ex Griz who had been arrested. Seemed like a lot to me. You can try and lessen the serverity of the offenses all you want, but they have still been arrested and by doing so tarnish the program. Are they all thugs? Of course not.
That list was completely inaccurate. Many of the people listed had done nothing wrong, many had never been arrested, some were listed based on rumor, multiple arrests/charges had been dropped or reduced, many of the issues were dui's or disorderly contacts, and some were former Griz long since departed from the program. The reason that Pat Williams comments are so harmful, is because many people, perhaps yourself included, don't bother to check or understand the facts.
That being said, everyone agrees that there has been too much bad behavior in the past 8 or so years. UM and all of its coaches have gone out of their way to recruit character and avoid taking anyone who could possibly be or become a thug. A few chances were taken, after serious checking, and most of those turned out okay. A few mistakes were made, judged in retrospect.