Demar Dorsey confessed to 2 Florida burglaries in 2007
The title really says it all. I for one don't care, most of us have done dumb things as kids and then end up maturing and leave that in the past. Unfortunately the Freep won't leave it in the past.
Updated with Printer Version:
http://www.freep.com/print/article/20100204/SPORTS06/100204063/Universi…
February 4th, 2010 at 8:35 PM ^
Nowhere do I see that he was convicted of a crime. If he getting himself into these predicaments as a college student on the FB team is one thing. That would need to be dealt with. But it appears that these incidents occurred two and a half years ago. If he's 18 now, that would make him about 15-16 years old.
Although we will waive the presumption of innocence before proven guilty for you and the Freep, you both seriously need to read something about the juvenile justice system. Even if he were guilty of stealing, there is a reason that juveniles like this are not prosecuted like adults. The frontal cortex of their brains, which enable impulse control and response to social norms, are not fully developed. Most mature and grow out of this if given the chance to do so.
By contrast, would you like to explain the rape charges against four adult ND football players, while they were actually on the team?
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P1-130742194.html
February 4th, 2010 at 8:49 PM ^
By contrast, would you like to explain the rape charges against four adult ND football players, while they were actually on the team? http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P1-130742194.htmlThere is no explanation for it; its absolutely awful from the event ever happening itself to the pathetic way the university tried to handle it. There is no defense of it. Now, if you think those are the type of comments I am making your reading way too much into my post.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:35 PM ^
"your" reading too much into my post^
Grammar police - just enforcing the rules
February 4th, 2010 at 9:20 PM ^
Seriously, I don't mean that as mere taunt. It really doesn't matter what you think. There are thousands of people like you throughout the state of Michigan and the Midwest now. People whose view of Rich Rodriguez and Michigan is poisoned by the Freep>>>NCAA>>>Dorsey.
The Michigan haters have their table set for them. I just happen to think that they will get nothing to eat.
Dorsey will now be on the shortest leash imaginable. It might just be great for the kid, and he might be playing for the Dolphins in a few years, after a great career at Michigan. He might not have any second chances once he's here in Ann Arbor. He actually doesn't have to be an All-American to prove anything. He just has to grow into a quality young man, and both he and Rodriguez win.
We won't win any new fans; but the current fans will get it. The Free Press is taking care of Michigan's "casual fan" base. They, and the Free Press, can go to hell. The Free Press itself is on thin ice, and I hope it fails. This is war. The Michigan haters will hate us, and won't cut us any slack. The Free Press has declared war on our football program, and we say fuck the Free Press.
So you see how this changes nothing, means nothing, and, just as I started this post, it really doesn't matter what you think. All that matters now is what happens. If Dorsey plays great and stays out of trouble -- and I like the odds, personally -- then we get the last laugh.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:01 PM ^
would interest me.
On a recent thread, I discussed editing live links to convert them to revenue-neutral print links, and ended with a complimentary reference to the work of people like Angelique Chengelis at DetNews. One of the comments on that thread was as follows:
I hope everyone realizes that the News and the Freep are partners.I suppose that makes both of them tentacles of Gannett in some fashion. The question, for me, is whether we are being manipulated by some entity that controls both the DetNews and the other one as sort of a good-cop/bad-cop routine in a formula designed to bilk an area of all the earnings it has to offer? More to the point, does the above-quoted comment tell us that we have to make war on the DetNews, the folks who write Angelique's paycheck, in order to make war on the other paper we don't like? I'm hoping someone can tell me that I'm reading too much into a comment like that, and that we can separate the two papers, and that it still means something to hate, boycott, vilify, and convert links to a revenue-neutral print form to the one paper without having to do the same to the DetNews in order to have the impact we wish on the folks driving the jihad against RR and UM football.
February 4th, 2010 at 11:37 PM ^
I agree with all of Section 1's sentiments on this. But I also see the issue you have raised. I don't know if we're being played the fool, but dammitall, f@ck the the MSM. Long live MGoBlog!
February 4th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^
I just don't get why this is relevant... I am sure that there are plenty of athletes with worse rap sheets, even in this region, and why he is getting a full background check by a newspaper? I am not defending his actions, but it troubles me that a newspaper is bringing up his past, which resulted in no criminal record and occurred when he was a minor, just because he is going to a local college to play football. Not just the crimes, but also the details of the crimes including interviews and quotes from which he was acquitted. I never bought into the negligence by the FreeP before now. I am upset that adults (an entire newspaper) are too fucking stupid to think this through before publishing it...
February 4th, 2010 at 8:53 PM ^
It appears that the Freep went out of their way to call RR on his comments at the presser.
"Rodriguez said his staff carefully examined recruits’ backgrounds, and urged reporters to do the same and not rely on Internet gossip about players’ pasts.
The records obtained today by the Free Press portray Dorsey as an active participant in the November 2007 burglaries, down to the football gloves he wore to prevent his fingerprints from being left at the scene. In one, the homeowner later identified Dorsey as one of the people who broke into his home."
February 4th, 2010 at 7:16 PM ^
Nobody at the freep believes in second chances unless they are given by Misdemeanor State. Then, it's OK to let your players go directly from jail to the practice field.
Fuck the freep.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:18 PM ^
It is only "relevant" to those with a covert agenda against UM and RR. That would be the freep. At this point, I believe that the Lansing State Journal is more capable of being objective toward UM than the freep is.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:18 PM ^
is like an ulcer, it just never goes away...
February 4th, 2010 at 7:22 PM ^
Cause its free.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^
Funny they don't provide evidence or anyone willing to go on record confirming this. I call BS until a reputable news outlet reports it.
In other news: "Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio confessed to kicking two puppies in one day in East Lansing in 2007, according to police reports and interviews.
Dantonio’s admissions, outlined in police reports obtained by the Free Press, contrast with the portrait drawn of Dantonio’s actions by Michigan State AD Mark Hollis."
See, I can create "news" too.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:20 PM ^
Here's the link to the printer version so they don't get the ad revenue.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:48 PM ^
good looks I hate the freep.
*I hated them wayyy before they started to just hate on michigan*
February 4th, 2010 at 7:21 PM ^
I'm pretty excited about Dorsey.. Earlier,I was where I usually do my business calls (if you know what I mean), thinking about Dorsey. He is one of the fastest guys in the nation, he is a defensive player, does anyone know if he could play a woodson role on offense as well?
February 4th, 2010 at 7:22 PM ^
It was made to order for Sharp and Rosenberg and the Freep. They've gotten new life because of Dorsey.
I hope that Dorsey has a thick hide, a good head on his shoulders, and produces on the field, because if he doesn't RR is going to regret offering him the scholarship. Unfortunately, if DD so much as gets a ticket for jaywalking, the Freep and everybody else is going to pounce on him—and RR—bigtime. No, it's not fair to DD that he will have to maintain a cleaner record than Mother Theresa while in Ann Arbor, but life ain't fair.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:24 PM ^
Whether you want to believe it or not this is terrible for the image of University of Michigan football. Like it has been stated before, not many fans follow their teams as close as all of us and the general public not at all. My dad called me today asking about Dorsey and regurgitating the negative things that have been said about him. He is a fan but not a crazed one like me so he doesn't follow it closely. This is very bad news for Michigan and RichRod.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^
Do what's right and/or fair.
It's a judgment call, it's his job to make these calls as coach. He shouldn't make his decision based on image, he should make it based on the individual.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:16 PM ^
Fuck the image? Fuck the image of Michigan football and what it stands for? Move along son, it's time for you to go to bed.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:26 PM ^
When the image of UM's football team matters more than what's right, i think you're a little too caught up.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:25 PM ^
you that remember, did carr get hammered over giving kelly baraka a chance on signing day???
February 4th, 2010 at 7:40 PM ^
to bring this up, i cant believe it took this long. but regardless, there is big big difference between a felony and misdemeanor. anyone who cant see that is well pretty stupid.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:47 PM ^
maybe it is not ridiculous to bring it up.
Did UM COACHES get hammered about Shonte Peoples, David Terrell, William Peterson, Damon Jones(?), the K-Mart crew, and at least a dozen other kids in the 90s and 00's while Moeller and Carr were around?? I have read and heard fifty radio and m.board fans the last couple days talk about how news like this was never an issue when Bo and Moeller and Carr were coach. How quickly we forget. They are just out to get RR.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:55 PM ^
conviction for marijuana possession is in a completely different league than a dropped felony charge and an acquittal. the comparison between the two is apples and oranges. if i recall, rr did not get lambasted for cissoko's run in with alcohol.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:27 PM ^
The K-Mart guys (Mo Williams and Jon Goodwin) pleaded guilty to a felony. Carr responded by sitting them for the first play of each game in 1999. The local media mostly let it pass.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:48 PM ^
That really is the gist of what is happening.
They are just out to get RR. And I would almost like to hire a private investigator to figure out why.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:27 PM ^
can't hold a candle to the Freep
February 4th, 2010 at 7:30 PM ^
This is all fucking Drew Sharp's fault. This only gets written to protect his filthy hide. I rarely use expletives but this damn ridiculous. I can't believe how hard they stick to the anti-michigan party line. I also rarely advocate violence, but if you see Drew Sharp on the street please throw things at him (I recommend pebbles - won't go to jail for pebbles...but you should if you play football, or will play football, at Michigan).
February 4th, 2010 at 9:34 PM ^
Sorry, but this isn't all Drew Sharp's fault. This is part of Demar's past and he has to live with it.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:31 PM ^
are buying right into the storyline that the Freep has so elegantly laid out for you. It's simple - you let them frame the discussion and they win.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:35 PM ^
The logic of the Freep argument is that not only should DD not be permitted to play football at UM but no-one should ever give the kid a job either. It's a priggish, puritannical approach to life that lacks charity, hope and simple human decency.
If that's the way they want to roll then that's their right but they might remember that there are few sights quite so ridiculous as a newspaper hopping onto its high horse and acting all sanctimonious and holier-than-thou given the ethical short-comings and daily betrayals without which newspapers simply couldn't function. Then again, mendacity and tendentiousness are the press's stock in trade. Always have been and always will be.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:35 PM ^
How in the world was he acquitted if he confesses to a burglary a few months after he got sent to a diversion program for another?
February 4th, 2010 at 7:45 PM ^
the question is why the fuck is anyone trusting the free press on this one. Everything anyone has said is that it was an acquittal. Additionally, whatever it was did not stop ANY program in the country from recruiting him. In fact, Florida took a commitment from him at around the time of the incident (which didn't happen b/c he was acquitted).
February 4th, 2010 at 8:04 PM ^
Armed robbery. It went to a jury trial in 2008 and he was acquitted. I believe that is what Rodriguez was talking about when he said to look at the whole picture -- notice the Freep makes no mention of that case, because it flies in the face of their argument that Dorsey got special treatment because he's a football star.
It was not related to the earlier burglaries. Notice also that the article makes it seem like Dorsey and the legal system were hiding the June 2007 burglary, when in fact there's clear ramping up of the punishments. First, diversion with no felony charge on his record. Then, diversion but he gets the felony charge on his record. Then a jury trial. That sounds like a pretty normal progression to me. There's basically no evidence for the special treatment argument. But that won't stop the Freep.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:43 PM ^
For all the drama, this is going to go one of two ways. He will either 1) stay out of trouble, go to school and play football or 2) screw up and get booted. Period. RR has shown that he will not hesitate to get rid of kids if they goof up, even if they play positions of need. (See Feagin and Cissoko).
If he stays out of trouble and does well, then it will be a great story about how Michigan helped a trobuled kid. This will add luster to the program. If it goes bad, the program and RR will take a PR hit and Demar will be off the team. I happen to trust the coaches when they say that this is a kid who has left prior mistakes behind.
Have the Pro and Anti-RR factions reached the point where its OK to make recruits into collateral damage the day after they sign?
February 4th, 2010 at 7:37 PM ^
There are troubled kids at every school. If he screws up, he'll get the boot. This is a risk RR was willing to take. If it backfires, Rich will deservedly take some heat. What's maddening is that if Demar turns into a success story, you won't be reading it in the local papers.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:46 PM ^
I confess that I once threw my McDonald's tray into the garbage when I was 17.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:42 PM ^
I used to steal a gummy worm once in a while from the bulk candy bins at the grocery store. NOW LEAVE ME ALONE! *sniffle sniffle*
February 4th, 2010 at 9:59 PM ^
Great point, that's totally the same thing...
February 4th, 2010 at 7:49 PM ^
You know what? I wouldn't blame the kid a bit if he just decided to transfer and get outta here and go where he can be appreciated and try to move on. This is bullshit. I understand he has done some things in the past but maybe, just maybe, he is trying to get away from that atmosphere by moving here to AA but instead he has to deal with all this.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:30 PM ^
Hell, I wouldn't blame Rodriguez.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:51 PM ^
I think this board has officially lost all credibility when attacking the freep. In my non-journalist opinion, the only part of this article that is anything other than stating facts is when he uses the phrase "got a break" about the second time he was sent to a diversion program.
This website is outstanding and has provided me with tons of great information and entertainment in the last year or so, but I think we've officially gone nuts. Do they have an agenda? Of course. Was Drew Sharp's radio stuff yesterday uncalled for? Yes. Was his column off? Not really.
There's no hesitation to call USC cheaters, say OSU pays their players, rip the crap out of Dantonio for giving second chances on risky players... If this report is true, there's no arguing that UM is giving him a third chance. Given the environment around here, the on-field results, and the repuation of the previous regime (deserved or not), this is an incredibly risky thing to do. I'm a life time Michigan fan and have two degrees from this University. I will support whoever is the coach as much as possible, but this is a dicey situation at best. For the love of god, let's look at what's actually happening and quit all the crap about the Free Press.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:11 PM ^
The article suggests that when Rodriguez said that Demar was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he was referring to these 2007 robberies. In fact, the Freep writer knows perfectly well that Rodriguez was almost certainly referring to the most serious charge on Demar's record, his jury trial for armed robbery. But the article makes no mention at all of the existence of that much, much more serious charge ("armed" being the key word).
That's not journalism. That's propaganda.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:33 PM ^
That's a lot of inference on your part. I read the article again after reading your comment, and I don't really see it. I think Rodriguez's comments yesterday were ambigious as to what incident he was referring to.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:22 PM ^
And we all know that the best thing to do with ambiguous comments is frame them in a way that makes he who spoke them look bad. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened with the freep.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:28 AM ^
of the major charge (armed robbery) that makes the article journalistic malpractice.
You simply cannot write a story supposedly disproving Rodriguez's claim that DD was in the wrong place at the wrong time if you don't address, or even mention, the most serious charge on his record, the charge for which he was arraigned and brought to trial.
There's nothing mysterious about the burglaries -- he was involved and he confessed. End of story. There's no question of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The article itself shows that Rod wasn't talking about the earlier burglaries.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:27 PM ^
I see your point, but I think most of what is said with respect to OSU is really tongue-in-cheek. I don't think anyone here actually thinks they gave Pryor a Corvette.
As for USC, I'll let the NCAA do the talking on that one. Or the books and numerous reports of pervasive scandal in every part of that athletic department.
As for Dantonio, he has faced WIDESPREAD condemnation on this board as well as the media for giving a player a second chance, only to have that player lead his fellow players in a violent assault months later.
Rich Rodriguez, on the other hand, has dismissed players immediately at the sign of trouble - for things much less severe than most other coaches. He has rarely had players get in trouble WHILE THEY WERE HIS PLAYERS.
Your argument about third chances does not even compare to the situation at MSU because these happened BEFORE he was a player at UM and before he was even recruited. We have a former Michigan coach who CALLED RODRIGUEZ ON DORSEY'S BEHALF to explain how he would be a great fit at Michigan.
Yes, this is a risk Rodriguez is taking, but your comparisons make absolutely no sense and any person of reasonable intelligence can see that.
Perhaps, then, you could explain how the Dorsey story is a necessary journalistic endeavor as opposed to a self-interested assault on a kid who grew up in a rough situation, one about which you are obviously ignorant. It's ironic that you are suggesting that we look at "what is actually happening" when that article in no way addresses the personal side of Dorsey's story. Indeed, the only information that is available is public.
Do you suppose there is a reason why the prosecutors DID NOT send the kid to a juvenile center? Perhaps there is more to the story than, as Drew Sharp suggests, than a child football star/celebrity getting "let off the hook" for something any other person would've gone to jail.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:52 PM ^
"As for Dantonio, he has faced WIDESPREAD condemnation on this board as well as the media for giving a player a second chance, only to have that player lead his fellow players in a violent assault months later."
I agree, he got a lot of crap about it from this board. That's exactly my point. That's the comparison. Dantonio gave a guy a second chance and got a lot of crap for it. Rodriguez isn't being held to that same standard. Instead, all we see is the source of the information, and seem to be ignoring the information. I fail to see the relevance of when the incidents occurred. No one had a problem giving State a hard time about Ike Reese (sp) or Charles Rogers issues before they got on campus.
"your comparisons make absolutely no sense and any person of reasonable intelligence can see that."
Useless personal attack. Grow up.
"Perhaps, then, you could explain how the Dorsey story is a necessary journalistic endeavor as opposed to a self-interested assault on a kid who grew up in a rough situation, one about which you are obviously ignorant."
I'm an engineer, not a journalist, but I have to imagine that covering college football is not a necessary journalistic endeavor. Rogriguez called this situation a wrong place at the wrong time event, and the Free Press was able to essentially prove him wrong. If you're a journalist and you're told something and don't necessarily believe it, then I think it's entirely reasonable to look into it. Your whole thing about me being obviously ignorant of the situation Dorsey grew up in is unnecessary, stupid, and adds nothing to your argument. Did we factor that in when we were bringing down the house on Glenn Winston, Ike Reese, or Maurice Clarett?
I think they attack Rodriguez because he makes it easy. He should have just said, "This young man has grown up in a tough situation and hasn't always made the best decisions or associated with the best people. It's my job to evaluate his character and make a decision about whether I think he will achieve his goals at the University of Michigan and whether he will represent the University of Michigan in the way it should be. I have done that and am comfortable that Demar will meet and exceed those expectations"
February 4th, 2010 at 11:18 PM ^
of isolated comments:
Dantonio gave a guy a second chance and got a lot of crap for it. Rodriguez isn't being held to that same standard.
I fail to see the relevance of when the incidents occurred.These two need to be treated together. The relevent concept is the late development of the orbitofrontal cortex of the human brain, a concept recently scientifically verified, but long acknowledged as a behavioral phenomenon in such things as the high auto insurance rates for teenagers, the separate justice system for juveniles, and the prohibition on child soldiers in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Teenagers do not have a fully-developed brain and are not expected or trusted to make fully adult decisions in the eyes of the law. Dorsey was acquitted in the later event, leaving only those pertaining to when he was 16. His youth at this time is highly relevent to whether these events are considered as representative of his adult character and judgement. In the case with Dantonio, a man put someone in the hospital after he was already on the team, and thereafter walked directly from the jail cell to the practice field; by comparison Dorsey's youthful indiscretions were not even violent offenses, they occured when he was a child, and before he comes under RR's jurisdiction. If there was an exculpatory prevailing criminal atmosphere in Winston's case, it was that of the MSU football team. There is no comparison here, none. What RR should have said is "I've already answered this question. Does anyone have other questions?" He doesn't need to explain himself to a troll who wants to be in the remake of "All the President's Men" by looking for a Watergate behind every tackling dummy.