Dear Braylon
Shut up.
You were a very good player, on a good team. If you had a good time while you were at Michigan, you can thank your dad and decades of Michigan tradition. If you came out of Michigan a better person, you can thank Lloyd Carr for that.
When and if you have something thoughtful, something important, to say, by all means I encourage you to use your public position to do so.
But lately, you seem to be turning into some weird hybridized version of Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco Johnson, which is not a good thing. Is there something about being a wideout for the Bengals and/or the Jets that robs people of their cognitive abilities?
Braylon: Plaxico Burress, Andre Rison; those guys are not exactly career models. They went to Michigan STATE. You want some career models? Try Tom Harmon, Charles Woodson, Desmond Howard. Or more recently, Jake Long and Chad Henne. Tom Brady may not be a pefect role model, Braylon, but the bad news for you is that Brady is looking real good next to you.
Memo
To: Lloyd Carr, Stan Edwards
From: Me
Re: Braylon
Uh, do you suppose that both of you might want to have just a word or two with Braylon, maybe about the subjects of player-introductions for next week's playoff game?
January 4th, 2010 at 1:42 PM ^
Braylon.
January 4th, 2010 at 1:52 PM ^
where former Nebraska Cornhuskers in the NFL say they played for Tom Osborne and Frank Solich, but NOT Bill Callahan, etc.
God. Now it'll never end.
Thanks a lot Braylon. Just what we all need from the NFL right beside the monotonous run-run-pass-punt progressions on offense and fat sissy-sliding quarterbacks - extra adjectives during player introductions.
I was teetering on the edge of hating the NFL a little more last week, but Braylon Edwards pushed me and now I'm in free fall at 9.8 m/s.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:11 PM ^
m/s^2
January 4th, 2010 at 5:28 PM ^
m/s2
(See Basic HTML for Posting.)
January 4th, 2010 at 1:56 PM ^
Where were all of you when Ty Law spent like 5 years introducing himself with the name of his high school?
I guess you can only revoke the "Michigan Man" card when the perceived criticism is levied against Rich Rodriguez.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:20 PM ^
I'm not sure "where I was," but I don't think that it is okay for Ty Law to do the same thing.
But once again, it is all about ego. Ty Law was peeved at Lloyd Carr when Law quit early to enter the NFL draft. And that's what made Law say "Alliquippa High" or whatever. Funny; Ty Law renounced Michigan because Lloyd Carr was there. And Braylon Edwards renounces Michigan because Llloyd Carr isn't there.
Does anybody suppose that maybe it's all about the egos of Ty Law and Braylon Edwards, and not really about Michigan at all?
January 4th, 2010 at 6:10 PM ^
MGoBoard
January 4th, 2010 at 2:00 PM ^
This is dumb. Find something - anything - else to get pissed off about. Just because Braylon played here doesn't mean he has to buy into the "Rich Rod is God" crowd. If he doesn't approve of what's going on in Ann Arbor, so what?
Have those of you who have graduated from U of M only said positive things about your Engineering, Political Science, LSA, etc. programs? Have you never said a bad thing about your high school?
Chill out.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:59 PM ^
I'm with you on "So what?" I think that it is an unimportant and mostly uninformative thing that Braylon said. I expect that Braylon has not seen a lot of film of what Michigan is doing now (I'm thinking of Brian Hoyer's comment that he hadn't seen any film of MSU this year, and just a game or two on tv) and that Braylon hasn't been to many/any practices. And in that regard, what Braylon says isn't very meaningful. And in any event, what sort of meaning does one attach to, "Lloyd Carr's University of Michigan"? Not much. Braylon Edwards might be a highly visible person, but he's hardly an expert on the current Michigan program and its current staff, for whom he never played.
So what is the problem? The problem is that while Braylon's done nothing for himself with this comment, and served no constructive purpose, he's created yet another source for the drip-drip-drip of anti-Rodriguez stories in the national media. And yes, the national media are picking up on this story, such as it is, much as they picked up the badly misreported "Katrina" story coming out of the Football Bust.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:12 PM ^
will now read
BSE, Mechanical Engineering, James Duderstadt's College of Engineering, Harold T. Shapiro's University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
I liked everything about my U-M experience, except the hard classes and lousy grades and 1-2 hotties per IOE graduating class ratio (typically the only hotties in the entire college...that is, until B. Cook hustled his way through the system).
But if I ever endow a schollie, it'll be for another hot chick to enter the college, preferably in M.E. Wearing a #1 jersey.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:24 PM ^
As a (granted) non-famous alumnus of Michigan's political science program, if I used an appearance on national television to distinguish my degree and my educational experience from those currently attending UM or who simply did not go to Michigan during the same brief time span that I did, everyone would think (rightly) that I was acting like a total douchebag and that my actions served no purpose but to harm the current reputation of the school/program.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:22 PM ^
UM Political Science WOO!
January 4th, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
You don't have any information as to why he said that.
Also, praising your specific professor in Poly Sci and saying that I learned under Dr. Soandso does not equal in any way saying the new Poly Sci professor is crap.
January 4th, 2010 at 6:16 PM ^
On it's own, taken at face value I would tend to agree. Taken in the context of Braylon's history with regards to Rodriguez, it's pretty clearly a cheap shot.
Having said that, I think this whole thing is kind of dumb, and basically just masturbation. Yet I comment anyhow.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:59 PM ^
said a few bad things about Michigan over the years to friends/family. I loved nearly everything about my 4 years at UM. However, I would never say anything even remotely disparaging if I was speaking in as large a public forum as Braylon was.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:13 PM ^
Everyone who is against Braylon in this thread (and on MGoBlog) is assuming that his supporting Lloyd somehow equals hating on Michigan and Coach Rich Rod.
Why is this so?
When did this ever become Lloyd fans vs. Rich Rod fans?
That being said, Braylon has given $1 million + to Michigan, endowed a scholarship, and worked his ass off for 4 years at Michigan. He can shout out his coach (Lloyd) however he wants to.
He did not say 1 thing against Michigan. Get over it!
January 4th, 2010 at 5:28 PM ^
Every college football news outlet that is covering this story is headlining it as something like, "Braylon Edwards takes shot at Rodriguez."
And as I've made it clear three or four times in this thread, it is NOT a battle between Lloyd Carr and Braylon Edwards. If Lloyd Carr is the kind of guy I think he is, he is probably SEETHING mad at Braylon right now, for dragging his name into some ego-game of Braylon's.
Yeah, there's a thousand ways for Braylon to "shout out" Lloyd Carr. This method is just about the most idiotic method I can think of. Anybody who doesn't think that this was an insult at Rich Rodriguez, serving no purpose other than Braylon Edwards' ego, is dreaming. Nobody -- NOBODY -- in the whole freaking country is taking it as anything other than a deliberate insult aimed at Rich Rodriguez.
But hey, I'm a generous soul. Let's say, that this entire unfortunate occurrence is just a vast misunderstanding of Braylon's earnest desire to give ol' Lloyd a "shout out." Dandy. All that Braylon has to do is to go back on national television, say that he's sorry for any terrible misinterpretation that he meant any insult to Rich Rodriguez and say that he very much supports the current program.
I just get really tired of professional athletes saying idiotic things, and then apologizing for them in the next news cycle. Some of these guys need to just shut the fuck up. They are great athletes. It doesn't mean that whatever they say is important, or even valid.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:55 PM ^
Do you care what the press says? If that were the case, you should hate RR. There has been more negative press about him than this.
My point is ignore the press. They just want to stir things up and cause controversy (i.e. Freep).
January 4th, 2010 at 3:38 PM ^
Dhanti Jones on Rome did not say much negative about what Braylon said in the intro, and almost seemed to agreed with him. These former players have a right to share their thoughts, and it is somewhat concerning that many of them have no faith in RR.
January 4th, 2010 at 3:47 PM ^
some of the pro-rr faction really needs to calm down a little.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:11 PM ^
"lloyd was better."
It's my right, isn't it? Just like Braylon's "free speech." I don't even know what "lloyd was better" is supposed to mean.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^
That results matter and Lloyd had better results. At some point you have to jump out of "potential" land and back into what matters, wins and losses. I like Rich Rod, I liked his product at WVU, but i'm not taking a bullet for him or longing to rub his feet like a lot of people here seem to want to.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:38 PM ^
Personally, I think that Braylon has done more for the University of Michigan than RichRod. I'm not a fan of RR and am not very optimistic about his being able to turn things around. That being said, I hope I'm 100% wrong and that RR turns into the winningest coach in UofM history (unless he still pipes in the soundtrack from whatever garbage club the kids go to on "Jersey Shore"...then no amount of wins is worth the shame).
Anyway, I'm more concerned that Braylon was upset enough to make the statement. Despite media reports to the contrary, Braylon is a very nice and respectful guy. Saying something like that on national television is indicative of a larger problem in A2.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:07 PM ^
...how?
What did Braylon do to help anything with this comment?
If Braylon thinks Rich Rodriguez should be fired, he should say so. It had better be pretty goddamned good, because that's a pretty extraordinary thing to say. Braylon ought to have a pretty good explanation of himself, too. Last I checked, he's got a job in professional football, playing for another team that requires him to spend his time watching films of NFL opponents, not college games.
Absent that, what has Braylon done to contribute to anything with this particular comment? Nothing, except to get the entire readership of the Free Press, and all of sports radio's listenership, thinking and saying just what you just said; that you are "concerned that Braylon was upset enough to make the statement." Your presumption is that (maybe) Braylon knows something -- something that we don't know about and that he hasn't made clear -- that seriously calls into question the tenure of Rich Rodriguez. And you have made that presumption without any basis other than a throwaway comment from Braylon Edwards.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
I'm confused by your rant. Why is "contribute" in quotation marks? Who are you quoting?
I said that Braylon has "done" more. He has.
He won more games. He set more records (unless you include records for losing, points allowed, etc.). He has donated more money. Etc. What did his COMMENT "contribute" (as you ask)? It certainly got the blind loyalists upset. That is certain. But when you've done as much as Braylon has for the University, you earn the right to speak your mind.
I support his speaking out against RR the same way I supported retired generals speaking out against the Iraq debacle. It's not un-American to oppose the war (despite the screaming of rapid republicans) and it's not anti-UofM to question RR.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:31 PM ^
Don't compare RR and Michigan football to thousands of soldiers dieing. It does absolutely nothing for you point other than make most people disagree with it. They aren't even close to the same situation.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:51 PM ^
I'm comparing the fervor of those who support RR to those who support(ed) the Iraq war. It's not a comment on soldiers dying...It's a comment on reaction to criticism...and how failing to listen to criticism can cause a continued failure. Frankly, thousands of American soldiers (and 100s of thousands of innocent Iraqis) would not have been put in harm's way if dissent were not so succesfully squashed.
Anyway, I'm sure there are a number of situations where dissent was quashed to the long-term detriment. Feel free to highlight any of those if the Iraq example proves too touchy.
January 5th, 2010 at 10:38 AM ^
If we are to believe Braylon now (that he was only paying "tribute" to Lloyd Carr), you got punked. You thought Braylon was expressing valid "criticism." That he was "dissenting." Honestly, I think your interpretation was right, and was the one valid interpretation; Braylon was taking a shot at Rodriguez. But that's not what Braylon now says. Do you feel like Braylon punked you in this one regard?
January 5th, 2010 at 11:47 AM ^
Dude...you need to get out more. See the world. Read a book. Go for a walk (the arb is nice). Anything other than obsess over Braylon.
I don't feel "punked". I only feel pity for anyone who uses that word. Are you 12 or just a big Ashton Cutcher fan?
Braylon is likely covering his ass to avoid the panicked yelps of those foolish enough to drape themselves upon his every word. RR has (so far) failed in his role as head coach. Braylon (and thinking people everywhere) know this. If he wants to cover his statement now; I couldn't care less. He's a good guy and has done great things for the University.
Maybe your next rant should be about Dhani stating (albeit with a bit of poor grammar) the obvious:
“Two years, my patience are running a bit thin," he said. "So next year it’s going to be really a qualifying or disqualifying year for his ability as a coach to get the program in the right direction. And I don’t think many people will stand for it if he doesn’t do a good job next year.”
January 5th, 2010 at 12:20 PM ^
You think that Braylon really did take a shot at Rich Rodriguez, and that Coach Rodriguez deserved it because "RR has (so far) failed..."
And, therefore, Braylon's susbsequent statement, professing that he only wanted to pay "tribute" to Lloyd Carr, and that he is "loyal" to the current Michigan staff, is in fact insincere and untrue.
And that "Braylon is likely covering his ass."
Now I understand.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:44 PM ^
And with that, you lost me. But you got yourself -1 on the way out.
But wait, I can't resist...
This comment from Mr. Braylon Edwards. Does it constitute any sort of valid, thoughtful criticism of Rich Rodriguez? You suggested that "it's not anti-UofM to question RR." Um, okay. What sort of thoughtful, worthy-of-national-television-commentary was this kind of "questioning"?
Or, alternatively, was it the kind of trahtalking that you'd expect between Braylon and a cornerback for the Bengals as the unwind after a broken-up pass play? The latter is hardly an intelligent discussion.
I like to think of Michigan Men as smart on the field and off. This was not smart. There's nothing smart about it. It's about as smart, and as productive, as trashtalk is in a football game.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:59 PM ^
That was indeed a terrible typo on my part. Oh the horror. I couldn't care less about your -1, as my concern (like Braylon) is the program.
You now want Braylon to sit down for a lenghty interview discussing the problems with RR. Since you support RR to no end...and are wildly upset with any criticism...what's the point of that? You feel he should have said nothing...but now...the problem is that he didn't say enough?
His comment was short, concise and got the point across perfectly well. On the other hand, what intelligent statements come from the mouth of RichRod? C'mon...don't even head down that road. Our coach cites from the Lion King...a children's movie. Again, I hope I'm wrong and that RR becomes a legend; but for now, his legend is failure...and Braylon has earned the right to say whatever he wants.
January 4th, 2010 at 6:33 PM ^
Rich Rodriguez is the current Head Football Coach of our program.
Braylon Edwards was a letterman, 2001-2004, who now lives in Cleveland, I think.
My problem with Edwards is that his comment wasn't a clear and thoughful comment, and wasn't delivered in a clear and thoughtful way. You've got about a dozen poeple on this board saying, it wasn't a criticism of Rodriguez at all. (Baloney.) You've got another dozen or so people saying that it was appropriate criticism. (Yeah? How? A single, cryptic, one-liner?)
If Braylon has issues, he should talk to the people who matter. Not a Sunday Night NFL audience.
The reason that I'd ask him a lot more questions if I had media access is to force him to be clear, and to expose him for what he is if he can't back himself up. "Why, Braylon? Why this method of voicing your displeasure? What's the basis? What do you hope to accomplish? How many of Coach Rodriguez's Michigan practices have you been to? When? How many of Michigan's games have you seen in the last two years? You've never been a head coach or a coach of any kind; do you feel like you have the credentials to criticize a coach in this manner?"
You guys REALLY have your priorities screwed up very, very badly if you think ANY current or former player rates above the current head coach.
January 4th, 2010 at 7:00 PM ^
Maybe you should spend more time worrying about why our team finished last in the Big Ten and less time worrying about how Braylon chooses to introduce himself during an NFL game.
Further, the reason you don't have media access is because your questions are pointless. They evidence nothing other than blind loyalty.
Final note...Braylon has a home in Royal Oak. You "think", but you really don't know shit about Braylon. Frankly, you don't need to know the guy to realize that you're making a big deal about nothing. The guy earned his right to say whatever he wants.
January 4th, 2010 at 7:46 PM ^
Having earned the right to "say whatever you want" does not mean that you should actually do so. Unprovoked insults usually don't go over too well on national TV unless you are Braylon Edwards apparently. (I think it is absolutely and certifiably insane as well as ridiculously stupid to think that because he donates a scholarship every year, he can say whatever he wants, whenever he wants, without anyone being able to say anything to him about it, but that is another topic). This was not only an insult to RichRod, it was also an insult to every player on the team the past 2 years as well as every coach and player at UM for the 100 years before Braylon was on the team. He basically said he doesn't care about Michigan other than the years that he went there (or I guess the 13 years Lloyd coached). If RichRod wins a national title, will Braylon be upset because Lloyd's was better or will he be a proud alumnus?
January 4th, 2010 at 9:13 PM ^
Dude...you really need to take a step back and relax.
You disagreed with Braylon's statement, and that is your right. I think Braylon did more for UofM football (and the surrounding community) than you have though...no?
Nothing Braylon said insulted current or former players. Further, he said what he said because he cares, not because he doesn't. You post comments because you care. One of the two of you has more insight than the other. I'll stick with the record-setting wide receiver who has donated a shitload of money to the University and otherwise been a solid member of the community.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:23 PM ^
I'm changing my name to TayTay9.
/sarcasm
January 4th, 2010 at 5:30 PM ^
Can somebody please explain why former players SHOULD believe in Rodriguez? I'm not saying Rodriguez is destined to fail. But some of you are down on these former players for not fully supporting Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is 0-4 against our biggest rivals, and he's had 2 losing seasons. And, whatever the reasons, he's chased off about 20 players and incurred a lot of negative press.
Just because it's their alma mater doesn't mean these players have to be all rah-rah for a guy they never played for. If I were a former player, I'd be pretty pissed about my former program being in the dumps, too.
My high school had a winning program when I was in school and a couple years later, when my coach moved on to bigger and better things, they hired a scumbag who drove the program into the ground - losing seasons, undisciplined players, bad stuff (that I won't detail) going on in the locker rooms. You bet I was pissed off about it and every time I talked about it, I'd make sure to point out that I played for a different coach and that stuff didn't happen when I was in the program.
If we start winning again, this will all blow over.
And if we keep losing...well...the guys we're talking about have a point.
January 4th, 2010 at 6:41 PM ^
For instance, I can think of that time, that Braylon Edwards said his college was "Lloyd Carr's University of Michigan." Pretty much proves it right there.
Look, I never said there was any requirment for rah-rah loyalty from former players. (Although I would think it would be there automatically.) I didn't start this controversy; Braylon Edwards did. And Braylon didn't just depart from "Rah Rah" status. Braylon took a real shot at Rich Rodriguez. A needless, and a pointless, cheap-shot.
As I said before; I predict significantly more stupidity from Braylon in the future if this is his current operating mode. I'm willing to bet that there will be another self-destructive Braylon-eruption long before the Rich Rodriguez era at Michigan is over. Braylon really ought to watch out for the business of Braylon. He's supposed to be a professional now, whatever that means in this day and age.
January 4th, 2010 at 6:59 PM ^
Rodriguez brought on a lot of negative press on his own. Ignoring that fact won't make it untrue. The Braylon thing is a symptom of the losing and bad press, not the main cause.
January 4th, 2010 at 8:03 PM ^
Like what?
Not "family values," which was a malilcious fiction of the Borens.
Not Justin Feagin, a sad story that Rodriguez handled as well as any coach in the nation facing similar circumstances. (See, e.g.; Winston, Glenn; Blount, LeGarrette.)
Not the "Free Press Investigation," which is a monstrosity of journalistic malpractice.
Not the West Virginia contract dispute, in which the wild personal allegations against RR were shown to be a joke, and the meritorious contract allegations were resolved inasmuch as RR was a pawn of the lawyers in a pretty routine buyout-clause claim.
Not the South Carolina real estate swindle, in which Rodriguez happens to be the only collectible defendant, who was criminally defrauded along with a bank and about four other innocent victims of the same criminal fraud. None of which had anything to do with coaching football, by the way.
Not the transfers of Mallet, Boren, Clemons and Wermers; in each case Rodriguez did the right thing after kids decided on their own to leave. He did what Bo or Lloyd Carr would have done. He didn't defend himself in the press. He just said, "I only talk about Michigan football players." Period.
And certainly not the monstrously mis-reported story by Mark Snyder of the Free Press from the Football Bust, where Snyder completely omitted any mention of the fact that Rodriguez's polite, one-line reference to his time at Tulane and the resilience of the Saints following a hurricane was in response to a rambling discourse by Regent White, who explicitly mentioned "Katrina" when Coach Rodriguez did not.
So Magnus; what exactly is the negative press that Coach Rodriguez brought on himself?
I have to say this, Magnus -- the matter of Rich Rodriguez and the press really is important. He's the public face of the program. He has to be there for big donors, he has to be the "Buck Stops Here" guy for program discipline, and for the NCAA. He has to recruit, and sell the program to recruits. He has to lead more than a hundred 18-20 year old student-athletes. Oh, and he has to win in a brutally competitive environment. So yeah, one more needlessly damageing story, one more "impression" in the press is significant, and is not helpful.
January 4th, 2010 at 8:27 PM ^
And that's not even getting into buyouts, foot in mouth disease, or other events which may not be entirely his fault, but he did contribute.
January 4th, 2010 at 8:44 PM ^
so, we could have a detailed, nuanced discussion of contract issues, of player discipline, of the byzantine nature of NCAA countable hours, about the inner workings of spread offense and about the competeing philosophies of defensive coordinators.
But we wouldn't be satisfied to leave any of those discussions to a snarky and hurtful one-liner. Which is what Braylon Edwards did.
January 4th, 2010 at 10:51 PM ^
Yeah, I didn't and don't want to do that, because it was not my desire to create a bash Rich Rod post by listing all his mistakes, a couple of which Magnus pointed out (who lawyers work for, etc.), but was really trying to point out the obvious answer that you create negative press primarily from losing (and winning covers a lot of sins). Is all the losing completely his fault, and none of it circumstance? Of course not, but as head coach the bottom line of it falls at his feet, and to say he has NO responsibilty for that is not something I think you believe, and it's really probably the biggest contributor to his negative press. It's what's causing this incident; the losing. Likewise, all these little piddling things disappeared when we were 4-0.
We win, he'll have good press. Even with my other reference...the fact that my man is not the least bit PR smooth. It has an endearing quality to it, to be sure, but it can make you cringe a little at times (and doesn't help himself with it).
January 4th, 2010 at 9:15 PM ^
Well, first was the matter of the #1 jersey. Whether he just didn't want to go with tradition or he just didn't know about it, either way, the bad press was kind of his fault.
Regarding the contract dispute...I mean, if you're going to excuse him completely from that, then I guess you're not going to be convinced by what anyone says. It's his LAWYERS' fault? The last I knew, lawyers worked for their clients, not the other way around.
Regarding "family values", reports from practices have mentioned that the negative talk and the sailor language have dissipated significantly from Year 1 to Year 2.
That's not to mention the Danny Hope incident.
I guess it's debatable whether all the losing could be blamed on him, but that's not really my point.
Rodriguez has brought some bad press to Michigan. If you ignore this fact completely, I can't take you seriously.
January 4th, 2010 at 10:23 PM ^
about the jersey episode. Rodriguez had just arrived, had unwittingly decided/promised to give the jersey to one of his recruits, and someone who happened to be present called Braylon without any heads-up to Rodriguez. Rather than call Rodriguez and discuss the matter, Braylon took it from there on Mike Tirico's ESPN radio show:
"I'm glad you gave me a Go Blue question because Rich Rod gave the No. 1 jersey to an incoming freshman DB and the No. 1 jersey has never been worn by anybody outside of a wide receiver," Edwards said. "It dates back to Anthony Carter, (Greg) McMurtry, Tyrone Butterfield, Derrick Alexander, David Terrell, and yours truly. So I'm going to have a talk with him about that the next time I see him."
“He’s getting that call soon -- very soon. Exactly, we have a jersey scholarship fund for this whole deal. What is he thinking?”
Rodriguez got blindsided, didn't know about the #1 tradition and gave Floyd a different number. Braylon, not Rodriguez, was responsible for the bad press.
January 4th, 2010 at 11:13 PM ^
So how was I mistaken? Here's what I said:
"Whether he just didn't want to go with tradition or he just didn't know about it, either way, the bad press was kind of his fault."
Your post just reinforces my point - that he didn't follow the tradition, which brought him bad press. I should probably -1 you for poor reading skills, but I'll +1 you for supporting my point.
January 5th, 2010 at 9:47 AM ^
IME, it wasn't Rodriguez's fault. That RR didn't know about the tradition of the #1 jersey is one thing, but it wasn't like he defied the tradition once he knew of it (courtesy of BE's call-out), or tried to cover it up or said anything publicly about it. If Braylon had simply called RR and settled the matter privately, it might not have gotten any press at all--though with the apparent leaks in the athletic dept., that's prolly unlikely.
Personally, I find all of this very weird. Mike Stone (Stoney), filling in on The Ticket (Detroit 97.1 FM) morning show, said today that Braylon has told him off-mike that he likes RR. Makes me tend to believe that this is all about Braylon. He had to know that what he said would generate controversy. And here we are, talking about him.
January 4th, 2010 at 11:32 PM ^
I'm a lawyer, so I have at least a little passing knowledge on the subject.
I said only that with regard to the buyout clause dispute, RR was a pawn in the lawyers' (U-M v. WVa) battle. RR didn't draft the clause, and all he did was to agree with Michigan to go to a new job, and deal with the buyout clause. RR's decision was to leave and go Michigan; the resolution was up to the lawyers. And in the meantime there were all the bogus claims; stealing players' files, stealing stuff from the WVa offices, etc.
I gather you don't know the real "family values" story; rmember it came from the Boren family. The same family whose father, Mike "Boron" Boren used to scream at Justin at halftimes of his Pickerington North games so severely that he thought "they might have to call the cops." (That according to Justin himself.)
And I hope you're not serious about "the Danny Hope incident," in which Hope told at least one, if not all, of his players, that Rich Rodriguez initiated the suspension of a Purdue player. Hope, it is understood, based his information not on a league official's communication but on a Purdue blod entry.
So much bullshit aimed at RR, it's hard to know where to begin in refuting it all.
And of course that is why a dumb, inexplicable, have-to-clear-it-up-later kind of statement from Braylon Edwards, that races around the national press and blogosphere thanks to a Free Press headline, does not help.
January 4th, 2010 at 11:41 PM ^
Rodriguez CHOSE to fight the buyout. On top of that, Rodriguez CHOSE to leave his alma mater after promising to stay there the year before. It's his right to do those things, but those decisions caused the negative press stemming from the incidents.
I do know the real "family values" story. I also know that there was a lot of heat directed at the way the coaches talked to the players during practices, which caused the coaches to tone down the language during practices from then on. Again, that's negative press that was incurred by Rodriguez due to the way he and his coaches addressed the players.
Rodriguez CHOSE to call out Danny Hope in the postgame press conference. He could have kept what Hope said to himself, but instead he shared the entire incident and sounded a bit like he was a sore loser.
Congratulations on being a lawyer. It sounds like you've even convinced yourself that Rodriguez is completely innocent of ever doing anything wrong. You must be good at your job.