Bruce Feldman profile of William Gholston
Bruce Feldman did a profile on William Gholston today, most of it focused on his acts in the Michigan game last year and suspension that followed. Some interesting Michigan related notes:
1. Feldman fails to point out that Gholston used an illegal armbar to injure Lewan on the first series. Someone should send him some video of this.
2. MSU coaches claim that Gholston was just responding to repeated cheap shots by Michigan (yet ignoring the Gholston armbar).
3. MSU coaches claim 2 other schools documented cheap shots made by Michigan. All anonymous claims by MSU.
"Some around the Spartans program reasoned that while Gholston was wrong for his reaction in the Michigan game, they also noted that after studying the game film that he lost his poise after he repeatedly was cheap-shotted. They'll tell you how two other Big Ten programs contacted Michigan State after the Michigan game to inform them about cheap shots by the Wolverines that they also documented."
This can only be from the following teams if it did indeed occur the week after the game: Minnesota and Northwestern as they were the only Big Ten teams we played before MSU. This sounds fabricated to me.
4. No mention of the false claims made by MSU immediately after the game that Lewan used racial slurs to try to justify Gholston's actions.
This post seems extremely unnecessary.
I mean frivolous msu bashing makes us all feel better. Who cares? Done and over with, move on. What has happened for the last hundred years won't matter come octo 20th.
The only way to beat a program like msu is to stay calm, execute and out play them in every phase. Afterwards, shake hands, smile and don't say a word. Wash, rinse and repeat.
It was an article that made significant mention of the Michigan football program and an incident that involved our team. I thought it was interesting to hear their justification of the action and reason for not punishing him. So no one should talk about this article at all?
It's a very good comment. I honestly think that Gholston's punch at Taylor Lewan was the least of his offenses that day. The neck-twist on Denard (a move intended to injure that was barely short of assault and battery) and the original arm-bar on Lewan (also with intent to injure) were far worse.
Don't forget Marcus Rush's personal foul roughing the passer penalty on Denard, which would surely have earned Rush a fine were it committed in the NFL.
Feldman nicely glossed over Gholston's friend mentor coach fixer "guy" Archie Collins, who steered Gholston to MSU and promptly got a Spartan job for his efforts.
Will Gholston; quite possibly the only only extravagantly-talented 5-star whom I am glad went to MSU. A sociopath.
It is a thug program that Dantonio and Narduzzi are running. "Sixty minutes of unneccessary roughness." Feldman missed that charmer of a quote; Jim Delany didn't. I just wish that a videographer from the Saints could get to spend more time with Sparty.
Feldman was barely correct; the punch thrown at Taylor Lewan really 'doesn't tell the whole story'; but the neck twist of Denard, caught on national television when Gholston thought he'd get away with it, really does tell pretty much the whole story.
Sociopath?
Really?
Don't you think it's just a bit more likely that he went into the biggest game of his life, charged up by a coach that urged his players to play recklessly to the echo of the whistle, and just lost control of his emotions? Immature and struggling to control his emotions sure, and that describes about 50% of college students in general.
He should have been ejected from the game. His suspension should have been longer. His coaches don't do him any favors in their attempts to explain away his actions. But there's no reason to pathologize his actions or label him a sociopath. That label actually makes no sense within the logic of your post, given your description of his path to MSU. If he's a sociopath, how is he so easily manipulated by others to go to MSU and manipulated by his coaches once he gets there?
And I'd love to have him in blue. He's enormously talented. And I trust that our coaches would help him mature by cracking down on stuff like this rather than trying to explain it away.
We'll have the answer to that question soon enough. I read the whole article. Apparently Gholston apologized for the incidents and wishes to be thought of as a person of high character. If Gholston turns into a goon and purposly tries to injure our best players again this year, he is a sociopath. If he can play clean, he's not.
First, I entirely agree that Ghoslton's supsension for his early play on Lewan and his neck-twist on Denard should have earned him an ejection and a longer suspension. I personally think the punch was trivial, at least in terms of an intent or a capability of causing injury.
What got to me about Gholston as much as anything (with "the punch" being a basically trivial matter), was Gholston's post-game behavior. Three things come to mind:
- As the game ended, Ghoslton approached Brady Hoke, surprising Hoke to some extent, said something to Hoke, and ran off. Gholston later said that he was "thanking" Hoke. Asked by a reporter what he was "thanking(?!)" Hoke for, Gholston mumbled something about thanking Hoke for turning around the programs at Ball State and SDSU.
- Relatedly, Gholston has claimed that he would have thought seriously about attending Michigan, but for -- what? They didn't recruit him? Insulted him? Didn't have a coach living with him?
- Finally, the video of Gholston in the locker room (see #1) after the Michigan game in E. Lansing is chilling, if anybody thinks Gholston had the slightest remorse over a series of acts that (I agree with you) merited a lengthy suspension. Nothing sums up that interview like the word "remorseless."
Which brings us to Dr. Robert Hare and his work in defining the clinical term "sociopath." It really isn't a medical term that is used much anynore insofar as it is no longer a recognized disorder in the DSM-IV. And I am in no position to diagnose William Gholston or to allege a specific, real psychological disorder on his part. Only a psychiatric professional with access to records and a detailed history could do that. My position with regard to Gholston is just an ordinary social judgment based on what was seen in public.
But among Hare's recognized traits of "sociopaths" are things like remorselessness, no regard for the feelings of others or injuries to them, glibness and superficial charm, covert hostility and domination alternating with manipulation and conning, pathological lying, and impulsive rage and abuse.
Some of Gholston's traits are significantly inconsistent with a DSM-IV diagnosis, insofar as he has no known criminal record, and he demonstates a very good work ethic (both things inconsistent with any serious diagnosis). The other thing is that Gholston is still young; clinicians would be hesitant to place an adult diagnosis on someone who is still so close to their 18th birthday.
Here is the Gholston postgame video, which isn't as clear as I'd like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7OYRO7aiIY
How is that video chilling? That seems like a fairly standard interview with a player who's happy that his team has just won a big rivalry game. He addresses the personal fouls as mistakes and says that he, and his team, needs to grow and avoid them. What level of remorse would you expect him to display in that setting? If anything, his response is more honest and direct than D'antonio's or Narduzzi's. I don't see him trying to explain the fouls away or to say they didn't happen.
I do wish someone would have asked directly about the helmet twist, as that was on another level than the Lewan punch. (I don't think anyone knew about the arm bar when this interview occurred). But they didn't (and for some reason that I've never quite gotten, the media focused far more on the punch, than the helmet twist, which, as someone below rightly points out was an exceptionally dirty play).
His response to the Hoke question sounds reasonable to me as well. He pretty clearly says that he was thanking Hoke because he believed Hoke had turned Michigan around, that he'd previously turned programs around, and that he welcomed Michigan's improvement because he liked competition. I know you deeply disagree with the "turn around" story he's telling but it's certainly neither unreasonable nor mumbled.
As for "sociopath," words have meaning. Beyond its place within the DSM, "sociopath" is not an "ordinary social judgement," it's a description of someone so dangerous and deceptive that he/she requires high level psychiatric care and even suggests that such care may possess no path to mitigation of their psychological problems. If we take a word like "sociopath" and twist it to mean, "failing to display the level of remorse I deem appropriate," it loses its meaning.
Just to be clear, I'm not trying to defend Gholston. I think he's been coached to play dirty against Michigan and did so. I just don't see the need to pathologize his behavior or to see anything, apart from the helmet twist, as particularly aberrant. It's something we've always seen from MSU.
"His response to the Hoke question" was perfectly bizarre. I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that the true motivation was to get in Hoke's face and say, "Thanks I am glad your team didn't sign me because I was here to fu- some shi- up today!" And yet Gholston went into that elaborate deception about how Hoke has done something for the rivalry and yadda yadda.
We can agree to disagree; I think the kid is a freak (and I mean that in not the nicest way) and will be a perfect human weapon for the NFL. And I am glad that he's not a Michigan Wolverine.
traits of "sociopaths" are things like remorselessness, no regard for the feelings of others or injuries to them, glibness and superficial charm, covert hostility and domination alternating with manipulation and conning, pathological lying, and impulsive rage and abuse.
Had the neck twist incapacitated Denard for several games or cause partial paralysis, which it most definitely could have, would your head still be so far up Gholston's ass? That the article was written is what has caused this issue to rehash. I for one respect players like Cousins for how they compete on the field, but kid or no kid, that Denard neck twist put Gholston in my seventh plane of hell in terms of players I despise the most.
That was a criminal act by Gholston and now we're supposed to vehemently oppose Sec. 1 for making an accusation that makes a decent amount of sense? Gholston is a thug - I don't see anyway around it. There's a difference between playing hard / physical and playing with an intent to injure.
And I hate the "he just lost control of his emotions in the heat of battle argument." Bottom line, he could have broken Denard's neck. I wish nothing but the worst for that kid.
for a lot of us, OP posts it. What am I missing?
Are you really still all worked up about the after the whistle happenings from a game that took place 8 months ago?
Actually, yes I am. And I will think of that fucking cowardly "neck-crank" on Denard whenever I see Gholston on TV or see his name in print forever. And, I don't think a one game suspension was a sufficient deterrence from seeing this kind of play again. And I don't think D'Antonio got the message either.
Anyway, mostly it should just be fuel to the fire for next years game.
I totally agree. A little extracurricular’s understandable for a rivalry, like woofing, stare downs, dances, gestures, poses after tackles, etc. All nonsense, but understandable. The Woodson/Boston helmet slappalooza comes to mind. Then there’s the next level - punching, spitting, eye gouging, twisting fingers under the pile, etc.. Unacceptable. Yet that all pales next to a DE intentionally cranking the neck of a defenseless QB 90 pounds lighter him, that if not for good fate, could have incapacitated Denard for several games, or worse, crippled him for life. Refs flag a team for even the slightest inadvertent grab of a face mask due to how severe the injury from a neck twist can be. But this?
To this day I remain bewildered that the neck crank was just lumped with the rest of Gholston’s actions when it was magnitudes more egregious. Watch the replay and note Denard’s good luck that his helmet swiveled 2-3 extra inches around his head when it twisted. Had it not, Denard could have easily been very seriously hurt.
Yeah, yeah, Denard was unhurt. But that Gholston intentionally put Denard in a position where he had to test luck to avoid a very serious, potentially life threatening injury, is enough for me to not so easily, if ever, forgive/forget.
If I saw a Michigan player do this, I’d despise him just the same.
A couple of things about L'Affaire Ghoslton.
One is let's not forget that Gholston really tried to get away with the helmet-twist. I really believe that he thought that he was sort of at the bottom of a pile, and that as his body skidded over the pinned Denard, nobody would see what he did, but of course there was (fortunately) a low-level camera (endzone, it seemed) that caught it perfectly. Gholston wanted to hurt Denard, and he wanted to do it without getting caught.
Second, this business about how "Denard was unhurt..." I'm no so sure. He wasn't taken out of the game. He popped back up onto his feet then as well as after a few more hits. But on the replay, Denard can be seen rolling and rubbing his neck after the Gholston attack. He had been hurt; just not enough to leave the game.
Later, of course, the vicious personal foul by Marcus Rush, one of the numerous 15-yarders on MSU, did take Denard out of the game. And I simply cannot understand how that hit did not result in a suspension for Marcus Rush. Again, I think it is perfectly silly for Gholston to have gotten a suspension for a wild swing at Taylor Lewan, but the really serious fouls with intent to injure (Rush, and Gholston earlier) did not draw suspensions. Both Gholston and Rush should have gotten two games each.
tom
edit - damn, missed it by that much!
Wait, what?
Hey Tom... how far over the line were you trying to paralyze a player?
C'mon Tom.....Use your words... like we taught you....
Tom Gholston plays with barbie dolls, true story.
NOT A TRUE STORY.
I've never seen a more despicable act than I did last year. I bet State fans would have stood by their goons even if Tom had seriously injured Denard on that play.
No, I wouldn't have. While I may feel sorry that he has had a rough life to date, it doesn't excuse his actions on the field. I could never support a player that was making such egregious fouls. Couple that with the fact that Nardidiot was in fact incouraging the acts. I would be calling for that coach to be fired and for the suspension of that player for the rest of the season.
thank you. im really more like a gentle giant then anything else. ppl just dont understand.
on the roster who grew up in a less than stellar environment? I didn't see a lot of M players attempting to snap Cousins neck last year.
I don't care if you're Bill Gates Jr. or homeless, intending to injure another player the way Gholston did with Denard is unacceptable and deserves public rebuke and on-field consequences.
Given Feldman's history with James, I'm thinking this is some kind of double bankshot sarcasm, but I can't figure it out.
Dear Tom Gholston,
There is nothing wrong with your sportsmanship.
Sincerely,
Ron Artest.
"That Ron Artest guy was a real jerk."
-Metta World Peace
"Can we stop this nonsense please? His name is and forever will be Ron Artest. I mean how silly and ridiculous to change his name to Metta World Peace."
-World B. Free
"Can't we all just get along"
- He Hate Me
"I'll just slip into oblibion"
- Mike Tyson
in the form of a Jim Rome Show email?
Tom Gholston is a bitch.
/Jalen'd
Lets not forget people from many schools, even UM, have thrown punches in games. Even in recent history (RR era). Crap happens on the field and that's why I say they should all settle it out there. Forget the media and the internet garbage, let the players handle themselves.
The helmet twist on Denard was one of the worst football plays I've ever seen. Cowardly
Or the play that actually injured Denard (not by Gholston) in which he was slammed to the ground long after he'd thrown the ball.
The whole game was shameful on Sparty's part.
Cousin.
The NFL tests for them, with some effectiveness. The NCAA doesn't.
There's a reason Vernon Gholston can beat a number one overall pick for multiple sacks in college, then fail to even sniff the field for a NFL defense desperate for pass rush help.
about Tom
Why are we still bringing this up? Should Gholston have kept his cool? Yeah, probably. But if I was in his position and Taylor Lewan was keeping me on the ground, I'd want to punch him too. Not that I would ever actually want to punch Taylor Lewan.
Seriously, none of this shit will matter come game day. This was 6-7 months ago. Its done and overwith.