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 5th, 2010 at 2:53 AM ^
You seem to be well educated in brain development and psychology. Do you think there's a significant anatomical cognative difference between a 16 y/o and a 19 y/o? It's been a while for me, but I feel like I was just as much of a dumbass when I was 19 as I was when I was 16.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:18 AM ^
You're kidding, right?
February 5th, 2010 at 9:09 AM ^
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"THIS. Handling these situations is not RR's strongest suit, as we saw Wednesday with his near-meltdown "LET'S BE POSITIVE" moment. He recovered, but it was close for a second there. I think there still would have been more questions because the journos hadn't finished their research or interviewed Demar so they didn't yet have all the information, but it would have been a sufficient comment in the end. I think Freep knows the anti-RR meme is strong in the UM fanbase, even if so many of us are staunch supporters. They stoke the fires to encourage readership. And it works. Here we all are, talking about it.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:51 PM ^
I'm thrilled we have Dorsey. Ecstatic. Regardless of his past. Want to have him here.
HOWEVER . . .
Dorsey's past DOES matter.
It matters to the Freep, which is invested on a witch hunt.
It matters to those watching RR, because of Pacman.
It matters to all of college football, because of the belief out there that athletes get away with murder (cue Pryor) and are never held accountable. We already know that athletes have hugely different academic expectations. We're all pretty much ok with that, or we wouldn't be college football fans. But if everything becomes a joke, high school coursework and grades, entrance exams, rap sheets, something is wrong.
My sincere hope is that Dorsey gets and keeps his act together. Unfortunately for him, he already is under virtually "zero tolerance" for any mistakes.
I've experienced this firsthand. My grade school son has made some bad choices, for which there are consequences. I've had to explain to him that the bar is now set very high, and that some teachers are just looking for him to make a mistake. I've experienced the same thing personally. This is unfortunate for Dorsey, but it is the reality.
One more thing that really is beginning to bug me. While I really dislike Sharp, and haven't gone to the Freep for at least half a year, the Michigan homerism here can get a bit too thick. If these allegations are true, how can we say they don't matter? Of course, I want Dorsey to be given every chance in the world to succeed. But to pretend that his past record doesn't matter is crazy. I'm not in law enforcement, but I know that prior records are looked at. In fact, a Police Lt. told me that cops actually have records of every time someone is stopped, or arrested, or they are called to a disturbance. Here is Chicago, in the old days, cops used to put a small "prick" with the point from the back of the badge to signal to other cops how many times this individual was pulled over (apart from how many times they were actually given a ticket.)
Let's root for Dorsey, and support him wholeheartedly. But supporting Demar and hating Sharp & the Freep DOESN'T mean that Dorsey's past is irrelevant.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:24 PM ^
Let's be more level-headed. Just because Sharp's radio stuff was offensive, and it was, doesn't mean it's not news that a recruit whose criminal record was discussed at a press conference actually has more issues than were previously disclosed. If he stayed out of trouble the last two years, I think he deserves to be able to play on the team - but the article wasn't saying he didn't. Unlike the Rosenberg piece, which elided context and exaggerated possible consequence, this article actually did just report what happened.
Furthermore, if the kid in fact went from a life situation in which he was running around committing armed robberies as a 16-year-old to being clean for two years and qualifying academically to play D1 football, I don't think he's going so fazed by a mean newspaper writer that he immediately quits on something he just committed to for four years. He's seen worse, obstacle-wise.
And in the larger scheme of things, I am a little disbelieving of the notion that a guy who had Pacman and Henry in his program - and got hammered by his home-state press on his way out the door - is going to want to quit one of the biggest jobs in football because of a few pain-in-the-ass articles and press conferences. Sure, a lot of people in the press and on the radio slam RR all the time. But this is OF COURSE what will happen to a struggling football coach. The idea that Rosenberg and Sharp are football-program assassins unique to Michigan is ridiculous. Every market has its own bandwagon hacks. Ours just happen to posture about integrity more than some others.
RR has big and stupid enemies, but they have a negligible effect on whether he can do his job. 8-16 is 8-16 to five-star recruits no matter what the Freep or ESPN say about it. And RR DOES have big supporters: Martin, Coleman, Brandon, Stephen Ross. In the media, the Detroit News treats him fairly. This not-insignifant blog treats him fairly. To be honest, I really doubt he spends that much time worrying about this stuff. I don't think he's gonna take his ball and cry and run off to some other job. The same thing's gonna be waiting for him no matter where he goes: fans and writers who will love him if he wins and despise him if he loses.
Think of it this way. If you could control such things, and wanted to do what's best for the program going forward, would you rather 1) erase every negative thing the Freep and ESPN have ever said about RR from the universe or 2) push Roy Roundtree over the goal line against Illinois? I know what I'd pick.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:57 PM ^
some slack, he made a mistake..He is a kid. Give him a chance to do right. It was one of the reasons he picked UM, so he could get away from that atmosphere..Damn
P.S. F U Irish
February 4th, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
If I was Demar Dorsey...
I'd renege on my commitment and go to a school where my troubled past won't be front page headlines every day in the regional newspaper. Such as, any other school.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:02 PM ^
What bothers me the most about this story is the attention you're all giving to it. We all know the Free Press is a biased, unethical, gossip rag whose days in existence are numbered. They only hope to attract attention by creating sensational stories. Sharp, Rosenberg, and Snyder have you exactly where they want you - reading their stories, discussing them, and writing angry letters to their "superiors".
For God's sake, lets just end the attention. Who cares what these hacks write about? Yes - they're written with a clear agenda. Yes - they're based mainly in bullshit, half-assed rumor and innuendo. Don't we expect this by now? After 5 months of constant attacks against this program, we should expect it and be over it. Don't read the paper or website, don't post stories from the website, don't mention these assholes, at all. Like all trolls, if we ignore them long enough, they'll slink away.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:08 PM ^
I feel like the Freep is going to push the envelope on this until some action is taken. Thats why I am so angry.
It doesn't help that we have a troll in the thread, also.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:24 PM ^
Let it go
February 4th, 2010 at 8:31 PM ^
This has been my position all along on the freep - they just want subscribers and/or readers to prolong their meager existence. Best approach is to ignore them as much as possible - that will hurt them.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:45 PM ^
The thing that really gets me is the fact that the Freep is shitting on an 18 yo in order to boost their "RR is the devil" agenda.
Aquitted, diversion program or guilty--these were nonviolent crimes committed 2-21/2 years ago when he was 16! Now I know some on this board are young, but 2 years is forever at this point in your life. Its not like this just happened this fall. No one is risking more than RR (wasting a scholarship, reputation, etc) in bringing this kid on board. I am sure he has done his research and is as certain as he can be that this kid will keep his nose clean.
I guess my question for Sharp is "what is the alternative?"
No chance for an 18 yo who made some mistakes over two years ago? Or should he be allowed to go to college--just not at Michigan? Let's write an article that says that we are just like all the rest--or should we take the angle that we should be above this? I got it. I'll write one and let Rosenberg write the other. Maybe I'll parlay a kid's past into a trip to be on the sports reporters.
Fucking parasitic piece of shit.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:11 PM ^
Not much we can do about any of this other than offer support, direct or indirect, to the program, Dorsey the player and more importantly Dorsey the person. Sad for me to see these guys treated like chips to be played at the most opportune time. As cliche as the phrase is, football is really just a game and I think Sharp is just the latest guy to lose sight of that.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:20 PM ^
Double post disregard
February 4th, 2010 at 8:50 PM ^
pretty background. This makes his commitment all the more of a commitment.
RR evidently knew about all this when he offered DD and addressed this appropriately. I don't think there is more to say here short of what Demar does going forward.
February 4th, 2010 at 8:58 PM ^
This thread deteriorated rapidly.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:06 PM ^
Dorsey has automatically become the player that i'll most be rooting for in the years to come. I hope he is even more successful off the field than he is on it. I for one will be following him closely.
Here's hoping we can roll up his diploma in the spring of '14 and shove it up Sharp's arse.
February 4th, 2010 at 9:25 PM ^
Lets just hope he doesnt rob georgie's liquor & market by mojo
February 4th, 2010 at 9:25 PM ^
Lets just hope he doesnt rob georgie's liquor & market by mojo over on observatory drive
February 5th, 2010 at 8:21 AM ^
Has this jackass been banned yet?
February 5th, 2010 at 8:28 AM ^
What would be really funny about this thread is if I or some other Mod changed half the rhetoric to what you guys would say had this been an OSU commitment.
I think the kid deserves a football schollie and he deserves to play football here.
But, that doesnt change the facts of his past, or the partisan blinders most of you have. I mean most of you spent yesterday whining about a lack of facts. Thsn, you get a story with facts and it seems like you want to discard them.
Jeebus, people. You are all on this kid's jock and will be the first to tout him as the best eva if he he plays great against UConn. You gotta take your medicine now with stories of his checkered past and move on.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:21 AM ^
Agreed. I don't agree with Drew Sharp's opinion on second (or third) chances for athletes but I don't think it's heresy what he said yesterday, and I don't think this article is awful. Any slant I perceive in it is probably due to my own homerism, though it does seem like the authors aren't in favor of diversion programs. Anyway, I'm over it. Freep isn't making Demar or Rich Rod go away. As everyone says, winning erases all woes.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:37 AM ^
I thinks this is a pretty off base post and honestly I expected better from you. The problem isn't "blinders" or "whining about facts", but rather the exact sequence of how this went down. If the Free Press would have done their research first and then wrote the articles that they did I'm pretty confident that most people here wouldn't have that much of a problem with what on. I, for one (and I can obviously only speak for myself), was upset Wednesday and Thursday about how the Free Press acted recklessly by making statements that they didn't know were true or not. The reality is that they got lucky by there being more (to them) to this story. However, the thing that I think is being missed about this whole thing, and obviously missed in your post, is that what actually happened with Demar Dorsey two years ago and what has happened with Demar Dorsey since two years ago is actually a pretty good redemption story. Three days ago when people were talking about his past encounters with the law almost no one had any idea that he had turned his life around like he had over the last two years. If the Free Press would have done their homework first, by actually doing some research into his life and what happened, the headline of the first story would have much more accurately read "Demary Dorsey continues to turn his life around by signing with Michigan" and not "Michigan takes a chance on Demar Dorsey". Based upon the last two years of this man's life there is NOTHING to suggest that Michigan is taking a chance on anything.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:29 AM ^
you are correct people should have seen this coming... there was no way that the freep was just going to let this one slide... but in my eyes this looks like a planned attack by the freep... it started with the constant questioning at the presser, sharps on air rant, sharps column yesterday, and then the 2 bombs the freep droped last night... i'm thinking that the freep had FOIA'd all of this info as soon as it came out that dorsey had been in some sort of trouble... that way they can have an article ready to go if dorsey picks michgian and an article ready if he didn't with a headline along the lines of "michigan misses out on player with numours run ins with the law"... either way they were going to get their point across that richrod is taking chances on kids that have checkered pasts...
February 5th, 2010 at 9:51 AM ^
They didn't need to FOIA anything. The research they did on this article could have been done by any one of us by simply going to the proper website for Broward County, creating a username and password, and looking it up. Florida's court records are all online and freely accessible. The amount of research that they did for this story could have taken then about 20 minutes total (a database search, a phone call with Dorsey, a phone call with the SA, a phone call with his coach, and a phone call with his father). That's the level of research that went into this story. The piece of the research that they didn't do, that's really troubling from a legal perspective, is that they didn't do their do diligence to tell people why he was charged with armed robbery. If they just leave it unsaid like they do in the story it makes it appear that Dorsey robbed someone with a weapon, but the reality is much different, and the legal nuance of what happened there makes it a much different story. Dorsey appears to have been charged with armed robbery because he was an accomplice to the armed robbery, not because he actually committed armed robbery. Those brief sentences right there should have been included in both of the Free Press stories on this subject.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:03 AM ^
how they got the info, my whole point is that it was almost like they had these articles ready to go based on what dorsey did on NSD... but does really it surprise you that the freep left out parts of the story???
February 5th, 2010 at 11:09 AM ^
No, it doesn't surprise me from any media source. It's possible that they could have had it first, but my point is that even if they didn't it wouldn't have taken them long to do their work and put something together.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:23 AM ^
Let me know when this kid does something wrong after he is on campus. Otherwise what's in the past is in the past. He made mistakes, Rich Rod is giving him a chance, if he screws up again Rich Rod should be held accountable. The end.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:12 PM ^
It's nothing compared to what Valenti is ranting on. When a radio show starts out by saying... "Richard you lied..." you know bad things are coming.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:18 PM ^
Eh, that's pretty easy to tune out since he didn't lie about anything.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:26 PM ^
However, it's about perception. In the same vein as Rich Rod doesn't recruit Michigan.