My Letter to D. Sharp (Ex D-1A Recruit)

I know that others have been posted.  But, I wanted to share my letter as well.  Thank you for reading.  I did not go to UofM, but I am Michigan fan.  Meaning, I root for anything positive in OUR STATE!  One of the things that we take most pride in is Michigan football and to watch a "newspaper" continue to attack one of the last things that we still cling to as a community, especially with all the economic turmoiL is rather disheartening.  Anyhow, here it goes:

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First and foremost, I am 26 years old.  So, for as long as I can remember I have been reading your articles.  For the most part, I am usually indifferent about your viewpoints.  However, as an Ex-Division I-A athlete I am exponentially disappointed in your most recent article  titled, “Michigan takes chance with Dorsey, but why?”  They real why is…Why on earth with some “news” reporter take it upon himself to take the time to deteriorate THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT DAY  of this young man’s life?  I for one, do not understand this.  Thinking back to signing day 2002, when I signed my Letter of Intent to go play for Urban Meyer at Bowling Green State University, I could not imagine one thing that could have ruined that moment for me.  Until, I read this article.  I could only imagine this kid’s disgust and angst with the surrounding cities and state that should be providing him the most support over the next 3 to 5 years of his life.  Instead, we take the first opportunity we can to pass judgment on an individual, that realistically, we don’t have the authority to do so.  

Maybe instead of questioning the University of Michigan’s Head football coach, as all your readers know that you enjoy doing at every opportunity to do so,  or their administration maybe you should consider taking the time to do your due diligence and find out the kid’s background.  Obviously, there are some tremendous individuals that have done their research and believe that the kid is worth taking a shot on.  Florida and Urban Meyer, Florida State and Jimbo Fisher, USC and Pete Carrol/Lane Kiffin, only to name a few. Not to mention, before any school extends a full athletic scholarship to any potential student-athlete it is usually pre-approved by the athletic director.  Demar Dorsey had scholarship offers from essentially everyone in the Nation and he chose to the University of Michigan, because of the support system that he believes will be best suited for his success as a young man.  Now, he can personally thank you for showing him the warm welcome that he will receive once he is here.  He trusted that university and our community to extend his talents to our region for the next four years of his life.  The least that we could do, is not pass judgment and give him a fair shot at being successful.  In NO SENSE, was he ever convicted of any crime.  The court of law has proved him to be innocent, the court of public opinion should not take it upon themselves to assume that this young man is going to be a lifelong criminal.  Instead of attacking every move the Rich Rodriguez makes, you should take the time to get to the know the STUDENT-athletes that you continuously attack verbally through means of your newspaper.  This is a high school kid that is in question, I could only imagine what his parents would say to you if they had the chance.  I understand that controversy sells your newspaper, but this is an off-based article that has done nothing more than diminish a remarkable accomplishment that this young man will remember for the rest of his life.  PLEASE DO NOT FORGET, where “we” come from that it’s a blessing and a privilege to even have the opportunity to go to college let alone an institution like the University of Michigan.  We should be celebrating his accomplishments until the day he has let our community down.  Look at the MSU incident for example, some of them are really good kids from incredible families.  I know them personally, but they made a dumb mistake.  WHY? Because, they are young men still growing and learning about life.  As adults, it is completely irresponsible of us to assume that the thousands of diverse young men playing football across the country are going to be immune from adverse incidents as they journey not through school, but LIFE.

I am done with my rant, but I really hope that you take what I said into consideration.  Maybe you do not care what people think about you, but please don’t take it upon yourself to determine this kids future.  As a “news” reporter you are highly influential, the things that you write about people can carry with them for the rest of their lives.  I for one, do not believe that this kid deserves that treatment at this time.  If he does fail his peers, family, university, coaches, community, and MOST IMPORTANTLY himself by squandering away a million dollar opportunity due to any future troubles then take to the time to accurately report his failures.  Let’s celebrate his accomplishment as I am sure that he has defied the odds to be where is today.  Everything else we should not concern ourselves with and in this case it would be safe to assume that 40 plus top-tier universities that show interest in this young man and his abilities did their due diligence to ensure that he has the capabilities of being a model citizen.

Thank you for reading,