October 4th, 2014 at 9:23 AM ^
October 4th, 2014 at 9:40 AM ^
October 4th, 2014 at 9:42 AM ^
Maybe libel if it turns out to be false? But it would never happen - suing a fan for libel is not exactly going to win any PR points.
October 4th, 2014 at 10:11 AM ^
after he is let go?
October 4th, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^
and it's awfully tough for a public figure to win a libel case in the absence of malice-- but WD would be the only one who can really answer the question of whether he's setting forth something he knows is false.
October 4th, 2014 at 12:44 PM ^
October 4th, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^
With his jacket pulled over his head.
October 4th, 2014 at 9:39 AM ^
WD says this:
This is a pretty dumb move by ESPN. As far as I know, it's not confirmed.
After saying this:
This is by no means a fake.When you post something, you should be confirming it. Otherwise you're just randomly speculating and we know that MGoBlog is a serious Michigan news source. When you irresponsibly speculate, there are consequences. It's not on other people to confirm your wild accusations. If you can't confirm it, don't post it.
October 4th, 2014 at 4:26 PM ^
October 4th, 2014 at 9:51 AM ^
October 4th, 2014 at 10:19 AM ^
Can we not have 5,000 threads a week about a dead man walking?
October 4th, 2014 at 10:24 AM ^
How hard would it be, if it were real, to call your friend and say:
"Dude, Keith Olberman was talking about this email last night. Can't you get me a copy of the original email from your aunt? This is becoming big time news."
No?
October 4th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
Right, which means that if the email were actually real, someone would have probably produced it by now right?
I guess it is possible that someone took a screenshot of it and then deleted it and the picture is all that is left. That would be impossibly dumb and would have to have been done by someone with zero understanding of how email and computers work since anyone else would realize that a screenshot of an email means absolutely nothing. But those people do exist.
October 4th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^
Crap like this feeds the whole witch hunt & personal attack narrative that helps Brandon and makes Michigan fans look bad.
Brian getting worked up about how he did not report this, it was just on his board, is also BS. Both Brian and Ace had tweets related to it so they knew it was there and being discussed. The board is also moderated and has a history of removing questionable content. So leaving it up is a type of endorsement.
How hard would it have been to take it down and do some basic reporting to confirm? Get the original e-mail and talk to the aunt. If you can't do this then you leave the post down.
Brain spent a lot of time rightfully pointing out how Dave Brandon did not take a lot of obvious steps to manage the Shane situation. It seems like he could hold himself and his staff to the same standard here.
October 4th, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
October 4th, 2014 at 11:00 AM ^
I know everyone is so confused as to how ESPN could conflate a random message board post with a main page "report" but keep in mind that people like Olbermann come from the same school of journalistic mentality as Michael Rosenberg and Mitch Albom, they believe that ALL bloggers are random, anonymous message board posters who have no credibility or journalistic integrity. In their eyes, Brian and WD are on the same level.
October 4th, 2014 at 11:14 AM ^
Then why would he quote it in his piece?
October 4th, 2014 at 11:08 AM ^
And the more bad press tossed Brandon's way the better.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 4th, 2014 at 11:23 AM ^
I'm of the thinking that bad press that is made up garbage doesn't help anyone. It just furthers the thoughts that this entire outrange is being driven by a small percentage of insane, spoiled fans, rather than by a larger more rational part of the fanbase.
October 4th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^
Chicken dinner right there.
October 4th, 2014 at 11:23 AM ^
I think the most likely scenario is this:
That email we've seen is authentic. But it was preceded by an email that was in no way "respectful." WD's friends aunt (Jesus H. Christ) doesn't want to forward along her original email because it is personal and disrespectful, and may reflect poorly on her. And thus we're here left to speculate the authenticity of an email from Mr. Brandon that is most likely very real.
However, I will leave it to WD to defend himself and provide proof.
October 4th, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
This has been on my mind as well. Even to the point that there was probably a series of emails that got more pointed and personal on each side. However, how in the hell WD could call this person his "friend" who won't send him the rest of the email exchange is beyond me.
October 4th, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^
on Olbermann?
If true, I wonder what WD's friend thinks of WD today.
October 4th, 2014 at 12:22 PM ^
That thread should never have been allowed to stand without verification of some kind, much less should it have been posted on a front page article.
October 4th, 2014 at 11:57 AM ^
The lack of verification days after the initial report was put out in internet concerns me. This should be a fairly easy thing to verify. (original email or at least other verifiable emails from Brandon that have the same tone) The lack of any corroborating evidence is a concern.
IF it is shown that this email is a piece of "artistic license" than not other is Wolverine Devotee throughly discredited, but MGOBLOG could take a hit as well. No offense to the young man, but posters who hide behing pseudonyms ought to be scrutinzied much closer than those who use their actual name. I appreciate his passion and desire to do something to bring about needed change, but as so often seen youthful ardor can lead to embarrassing errors that bring unintended consequences.Those who desperately want an end to be achieved will in their haste do shoddy work.
(In my case I have taken a middle course. I am using the name of my great-grandfather. My surname is there so it is searchable. It keeps me honest while still to a small extent keeping my real name semi-secret.)
Part of being a reputable journalist is putting your name next to a story. Any person can write a story and put it on the internet.A real journalist puts their name on the byline so as to not just reeceive credit for their reporting but to stand by their report. They are offering as a sort of guarantee their own credibility as a reporter. Such is not the case for anonymous internet reporters.
I hope for Wolverine Devotee's sake that this email is eventually confirmed, because if not he is in for a blizzard of recrimination and potentially a lawsuit if this is proven to be a photoshop job.
October 4th, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
Took me a minute to figure out "than not other" actually translates to "then not only"...
October 4th, 2014 at 12:25 PM ^
with pretty much everything you said, but in WD's defense (on the identity issue), it's not like he is hiding (even without a last name). I believe he uses his actual picture on twitter and his name Mike.
October 4th, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^
Salvatore, I am a family historian and am always intrigued by the faces of people from the past. I found your grandfather's page on findagrave. Such a distinguished, noble looking chap. You should be proud.
October 4th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^
Thus, Forza Azzuri(Go Blue in Italian) has a special resonance for me as blue(the color of Italy's national soccer team) is also the color of what was the monarchy he served so long ago.(The House of Savoy)
October 4th, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^
with the email running on ESPN, DB and/or the AD PR office need to push back with a press release if it's false. But continued silence on the matter suggests... it ain't false. We may never know.
That Alabama story is continued NCAA bullshit (it's Bama bullshit, too, but ultimately it's the NCAA that has to do something about vindictive coaches and schools). This is why the NCAA is going to continue to get hammered in the courts at every turn. Restraint of trade, cartel behavior, total lack of consideration for the real lives of the athletes... arrrrrrrrrggghhh.
Fire Brandon. Fire Hoke. Fire Emmert.
Ok, that'll do, pig. That'll do.
October 4th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^