Dorsey

http://detnews.com/article/20100717/SPORTS0201/7170392/1131/sports0201/Demar-Dorsey--rejected-by-U-M--may-go-to-Louisville

I was under the impression that Dorsey signed already.   Louisville just doing their homework or are they having trouble getting Dorsey accepted?

This is old news, but sums up the story about Dorsey, Kinard and Jones not joining the team as expected.  This was on the Big Ten Blog this morning and discusses that with the loss of Dorsey, the recruiting class has dropped down a notch.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten (no link to the exact story)

It drives me nuts to see three players, including one with the potential to make a large impact, not showing up.  While we don't lose the scholarships, we lose an opportunity and that is something that should not keep happening.   Plus, I hate the idea that information about our recruiting class dropping a notch becomes even more nationally disseminated. 

Between items like this, the NCAA investigation and our W-L record over the last two season, the hole keeps getting deeper and makes it harder to get great talent.

So rather than read about Trent, I'd like to find out what's up with Dorsey. I did a site search, and a general Google search, but don't see anything definitive.

Is Dorsey forced to go JUCO, or is he coming to MIchigan?

What goes into this decision? Grades? Scores? Other? Is he admitted to Michigan provisionally, or no?

When will we know? Are there dates by which he has to be admitted? Is this another situation like Turner last year, where it takes so long to get approval that the year is essentially lost?

In reading Misopogon's awesome defensive analysis, I get the sense that for the defense to be good in 2010, we will have to be fortunate to have one or more true freshmen step in and make an immediate legitimate contribution. While the secondary now has much more depth than last year, it has very little experience. For Dorsey to come in on time this summer and go through a full pre-season of practice could be one of the crucial difference makers in having a successful season.

I noticed this article over at thebiglead.com, noticed it was written by tyduffy, and figured it would be a hatchet job. Good to know I wasn't disappointed.

The premise is that Birkett should not have been reprimanded for his "snarky" comment regarding Dorsey in the chat a couple of days ago. Now, without rehashing what others have said, I'll remind people that we are talking about a grown man on one side, with a captive audience and the ability to have his voice heard across a broad range of mediums, and a teenager who was just accepted to the University of Michigan to play football but with some skeletons in his closet. Those skeletons were dealt with by the legal system and his record is officially clean, but in the court of public opinion he certainly has a stained and imperfect reputation.

I think what people like tyduffy forget is that we are still talking about teenagers when we rail against recruits, and while this is not necessarily the case with Dorsey, oftentimes they come from less-than-ideal backgrounds both socially and economically. For some reason, we expect these young boys to act like professional athletes, scholars, and good citizens, completely ignoring the fact that many of their peers could barely qualify in one or two of these categories when they step onto campuses across America.

15- and 16-year-olds make mistakes all the time, breaking laws and social norms in ways that are perplexing to the 20, 30, 40, and 50-somethings that love to pass judgment on them. That doesn't mean we should condone delinquency in minors, but we should also not brand them as incurable and cast them off forever. To do so would be an unnecessary overreaction to the maturation process that everyone has gone through in their lives and needlessly imposing draconian punishment on relatively minor offenses; the proverbial "throwing out the baby with the bath water."

It is clear that Demar Dorsey was involved in some activities that, at best immature and at worst criminal. But the legal system took stock of these offenses and meted out a punishment (community service and rehabilitation) it felt was appropriate. Now if you have an issue with the punishment, take it up with the Florida legal system, but don't impugn Dorsey's character simply because he complied with their orders.

Tyduffy counters that while the legal system may be content, society at large should not be some quick to accept Dorsey back:

If someone pled down from convictions in two sexual assault cases and was acquitted at trial in a third, he doesn’t deserve to be treated as upstanding when he applies to coach the girls’ soccer team. AnnArbor.com acting as though he’s wholly innocent is laughable.

Now, beyond getting into the extremely tenuous and misguided logic applied here (comparing a potential rapist to a 17-year-old who stole some electronics), the author clearly is of the opinion that Dorsey is guilty of greater offenses than he admitted to, and that he escaped his "proper" punishment. Now, as an equal citizen under law, men like Tyduffy and Birkett is entitled to their opinions; but so is Rich Rodriguez, the UM athletic department, the admissions office, and everyone else who signed off on Dorsey being admitted to UM. Society allows you to be unhappy, but it doesn't mean everyone else has to share in your unhappiness.

But the author goes on to argue the rather obvious:

Demar Dorsey is receiving a second chance, because he’s a talented football player. As a mere student, that marred past most likely would have kept him from being admitted. Apparently, improving the football team trumps kids feeling safe with their laptops in the dorms.

Yes, Demar Dorsey received a second chance because he is good at football. And guess what - this favortism has been going on since the beginning of organized sports, and will continue well after Demar Dorsey leaves UM. Of course, if both his parents were alums, he was a valedictorian from a disadvantage region, he penned a popular or critically-lauded short story, or was a genius programmer, perhaps his transgressions would also have been overlooked. We have no idea how often such "exceptions" are made for other students because those stories aren't bandied about on talk radio, dragged out in excruciating detail by talking heads on ESPN, or haphazardly vilified by largely anonymous bloggers. They occur behind closed doors and in dusky admissions offices across America, and those individuals go on with their lives. Some surely fall into recidivism, but others learn from their mistakes and become upstanding members of society. They are given second chances because someone, somewhere decides that just because you make a mistake when you were 17 shouldn't define who you are for the rest of your life.

Now this post has gone on for far longer than I expected, so I'll be brief - Birkett's comment probably wasn't meant to be as offensive as it appeared, but it was also immature and unnecessary. This was acknowledged, and both sides would be best served to move on. But as for authors like Tyduffy who demand their pound of flesh from everyone who seems to have "beaten" the system, remember that just because you choose not to give someone the benefit of the doubt doesn't mean they shouldn't be given a second chance to prove you wrong.

I wish I could just ignore all the anti-Dorsey nonsense coming from the Freep, but Mick McCabe's piece was the last straw for me. Not only is he a bit tardy-to-the-party (if you're married, you might get that obscure but still funny reference) but he either purposefully ignored some facts or is just clueless.

I don't want to urge anyone to read the Freep, but he basically said that despite his history with prep sports, he can't think of any other athlete with such a past as Dorsey. He then asks what UofM fans would have said if Dorsey went to MSU. So, I put on my big dork loser hat and wrote the following:
__________________

Hi Mick-

I don't believe I've ever written the author in response to his/her story before, but I feel compelled to chime in with my two cents. I understand you're a busy man and greatly appreciate your taking the time to read my thoughts.

You ask what the reaction would be if Demar Dorsey committed to MSU, but then fail to acknowledge an amazing double standard. You write, "I cannot recall a high-profile prep athlete in this state who had so many known run-ins with the law." How could you not recall MSU star Roderick Jenrette? You couldn't make up a better comparison. He faced the same charges as Dorsey (even in the same state). The difference between the two is that Dorsey was only fifteen and hasn't had trouble since. Jenrette was charged while being recruited to MSU and then, for another burglary (a 15-year felony), while on scholarship at MSU. I don't believe that you and/or the Free Press were so horrified by that set of facts. When Dantonio lied about Jenrette's absence from East Lansing, saying that he was tending to personal matters, did you and/or the Free Press call him out? No. Was there a seven-page investigative report into the crimes and Dantonio's reaction to the same? No. What about after the potluck attacks? Barely a peep.

You ask what UofM fans would think if Dorsey went to MSU...Mick, he did go to MSU. His name was just "Jenrette" instead of "Dorsey". What was the reaction of Michigan fans? Crickets. The reaction of this Michigan fan, today, is to take offense with the nonstop parade of Free Press articles hypocritically bashing Dorsey. Michigan has decided to give him another chance and assumes the risk in doing so. If he blows it; he'll rightfully be removed from the team. The opposite would be true in East Lansing where the coach would drive him from prison to practice without answering a single question on the subject.

If the Jenrette coverage (or lack thereof) was fair; the same silence should have applied to Dorsey. If the Dorsey coverage is the norm; why silence for Jenrette? This isn't at all about second chances - which can fairly be debated. This is about journalistic integrity and fairness. Two similar subjects deserve to be treated in a similar manner. Of course, Dorsey didn't just participate in a mob attack at a potluck dinner...so maybe they aren't so similar after all.

Thank you very much for taking the time to listen.

Seriously, I hate everyone on this website right now!

In the words of Eric Cartman: Screw you guys! I'm going home!