Gholston Listed as Starter / Suspension?
Sorry for everyone sick of the MSU/Gholston talk. This just broke, and is relevant regardless of what some people will say. Gholston might be out because of the Michigan game, and him being out might hurt MSU which directly impacts Michigan in the division standings.
Anyways, on the Depth Chart released today, Tommy Gholston is listed as the starter. It appears that at the press conference today they'll be announcing that he was made a captain, or called a racial slur (which we know is untrue, but maybe Saint D saw a way out of of suspending his favorite defensive player by claiming this and is taking it).
LINK to news, not depth chart: https://twitter.com/#!/mattcharboneau/status/126319468858191873
UPDATE: Apparently, MSU is looking into a possible infraction in which they were made aware of (maybe they didn't watch the game). Also, it looks like they're only looking at one play. I wonder if it's the punch or the helmet twist.
Bigger joke than I thought. They're basically downplaying the whole thing, saying it's possible & only one play. I just hope the Big Ten Offices aren't as blind & stupid about this whole thing. Either way, we'll find out soon as the Big Ten only gives teams a few days to announce either way before they make their own announcement.
UPDATE 2: "I wouldn't characterize it as dirty play, I would characterize it as reaction." -Mark Dantonio
October 18th, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^
the hell is Tommy Gholston?
October 18th, 2011 at 11:46 AM ^
It's actually Tom Gholson.
October 18th, 2011 at 1:04 PM ^
Will Tom Gholston
October 18th, 2011 at 1:55 PM ^
Will Tom Gholson what? Get suspended? I hope so.
October 18th, 2011 at 2:00 PM ^
meant his name
October 18th, 2011 at 11:47 AM ^
Supposedly, one of the reasons he chose MSU over Michigan was because on one of his recruiting visits, he was called Tom instead of William. So Lewan was calling him Tom during the game, which some people considered racist because of the whole "Uncle Tom" thing, but really was a reference to being called by the wrong name for an entirety of a recruiting trip.
This was at least my understanding. Anyone correct me where I'm wrong.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:55 AM ^
October 18th, 2011 at 12:00 PM ^
BS...he never liked us
October 18th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
Yeah, I was a premium member on Scout.com at that time and I don't remember any of the experts--including Sam Webb--stating that UM was ever in good position with Gholston. He was the recruit who lived with his HS coach who was a former Sparty and is now on the MSU football staff.
October 18th, 2011 at 2:05 PM ^
Yeah, Vernon was a potential lead for UM before he felt disrespected by Carr (not saying it was real, but that's the story). There was no way Gholston was going to UM; the only question was if he would have wound up at OSU or MSU.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^
Yeah, I call bullshit on his "Tom" story, and when a hobo calls you out, you know you're full of it!
But it was nice of Tom to give us something to call him for the next few years.
October 18th, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^
Chunks: your pic...from Vegas? I swear I saw that sign there a year ago.
October 18th, 2011 at 4:00 PM ^
...maybe 4 years ago. I've since assumed it isn't unique, perhaps even somewhat widely used. Like the "why lie - I need a beer" signs--I've seen those in many different cities.
October 18th, 2011 at 1:31 PM ^
BS story made up to pile on RR's grave.
Is it possible someone called the kid by the wrong name? Sure.
Is it possible they kept inviting a top talent to the school and then calling him the wrong name repeatedly? No
Gholston was a 5 star kid who was slated for MSU from the get go. If he gave the Mich coaches any indication he had interest he was made a top priority when he came and people would have known his name. It's not like he was some random 2 star recruit who was lumped in with the masses and easily mistaken for someone else.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:01 PM ^
The source is Will himself, guys. Will said he liked UM. Will said he was close to committing to UM. Will said he finally had enough of being called "Tom" and, in Will's words, "started thinking who's this 'Tom' guy they keep talking about?". He started getting in a lot closer with the MSU staff after that. But he was the one who said he considered UM for a long time.
I know how the recruitment went/looked, I know he had a lot of MSU influences, but he himself said he thought very highly of UM.
October 19th, 2011 at 12:35 PM ^
Will also said that he went to Brady Hoke to "thank" him after the game. Will is a sociopath. And if you think that Will is truthfully telling you, now that he's been a member of Pat Narduzzi's defense in E. Lansing, that he was ever close to commiting to Michigan, but for the name "Tom," there is some swampland in Ingham County that I'd like to sell you.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
I thought Gholston commited because his live-in pimp got a cushy fake job with the athletic department. I stand corrected.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:49 AM ^
William "Don't call me Tommy!" Gholston.
Supposedly Gholston's defense for his behavior in Saturday's game was that Lewan was calling him "Tom" or "Tommy" because someone had mistakenly called Gholston that on his trip to AA when he was a recruit and it ticked WG off.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:46 AM ^
October 18th, 2011 at 11:49 AM ^
Mike Rosenberg rides for M? Shocking how obvious the answer is to this.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:59 AM ^
http://noise.typepad.com/hey_joe/2011/10/no-word-on-gholston.html
Joe Rexnode in his LSJ blog writes a good summary of where the possible suspension process is at. He feels that the 'punch' will definitely get a suspension and the 'facemask twist' (a worse case in his mind) will not help his situation.
"The Big Ten Sportslike Conduct Agreement states that "It shall be the responsibility of each member university to ensure that all of its students and all individuals employed by or directly associated with it comport themselves in a sportslike manner when representing their university, especially at intercollegiate athletic contests." So the onus is on MSU to punish the player, but (like listing him as a starter against Wisconsin) apparently they are content to ignore this issue.
Also, from the Big Ten rule book:
Acts of unsportslike conduct shall include, but not be limited to the following:
1. Striking or attempting to strike or otherwise physically abusing an official, opposing coach, spectator or athlete. Any person committing such an act shall be subject to the following penalties:
a. First offense: A public reprimand and suspension for up to 50%
of the scheduled contests in the sport as deemed appropriate.
October 18th, 2011 at 1:18 PM ^
Unless the NCAA comes out and says, "You're suspended for 1 game for your homicidal actions," then I can't even fathom that St Dantonio will keep him out of the game. I know this super obvious statement is super obvious but oh well. I also thought the body slam well after the pass was grounds for a suspension fwiw.
October 18th, 2011 at 2:02 PM ^
Best case scenario: MSU decides to play him against Wisconsin and MSU gets stomped anyway, then the Big Ten steps in because of MSU's failure to act, and they lose to Nebraska as a result.
I am not holding my breath, though. It is becoming harder and harder to find teams and coaches that value integrity in CFB.
October 18th, 2011 at 3:57 PM ^
October 18th, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^
Dantonio crashed it from replaying the video over and over whilst, um, touching himself.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:24 PM ^
Giggity Giggity Gooo, oh no! It's ectoplasm - I swear!
October 18th, 2011 at 11:49 AM ^
How exactly do we know that he wasn't called a racial slur?
October 18th, 2011 at 11:51 AM ^
We don't and he very well could have been. That said, there are very explicit rules regarding punching or attacking other players. There aren't any rules on punishment for one player saying something mean to the other with no one else around to confirm it...
October 18th, 2011 at 11:51 AM ^
We don't. Does that still justify his behavior? Especially his facemask yank against Denard.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:56 AM ^
I dunno, I think his punch against Lewan is a bit more understandable if it was directly in response to a racial slur.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^
Taylor Lewan is not a racist. Come on. Use your brain.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:43 PM ^
Ah Taylor may not be but perhaps Tyler Lewan is?
October 18th, 2011 at 1:09 PM ^
Your argument is invalid. I don't hate my wife, but I do say some pretty mean things in the heat of the moment if we are fighting.
Replace 'my wife' with minorities and 'fighting' with football. There you go...
October 18th, 2011 at 1:36 PM ^
Replacing words in a sentance doesn't make situations interchangable.
October 18th, 2011 at 4:10 PM ^
Point taken. What I was trying to get at was that in the heat of the moment, things can be said that don't really have a bearing on your true feelings on a subject.
Also, all racists say derogatory things. Does that mean that all people who say derogatory things are racist? No. If I call your mom a whore, it doesn't mean I really think your mom is a whore. I'm just trying to piss you off. So saying that Lewan isn't racist does not mean he couldn't say these things.
I'm not saying he did, but it's not exclusive.
October 18th, 2011 at 1:48 PM ^
"I don't hate 'minorities', but I do say some pretty mean things in the heat of the moment if we are 'football'."
October 18th, 2011 at 4:07 PM ^
Thank you.
Correction: I meant to say 'footballing'.
October 19th, 2011 at 1:38 AM ^
I'm certainly not saying Lewan is a racist. All I was trying to say was that a punch thrown in a football game is more understandable if it's in response to a racial slur than if it's completely random. I definitely don't want to disparage any of the guys on the team, especially a hard worker like Lewan.
October 19th, 2011 at 12:29 PM ^
October 18th, 2011 at 12:29 PM ^
The problem is, people then just say "well he called me [insert whatever here]" in order to get off the hook for flagrant personal fouls.
Words are one thing, but you can't retaliate in a physical way outside of the rules in the game. By all means, block him into the turf, tackle someone hard, etc. But nasty things are said and that's just how it is.
Is it justified to go break someone's arm in a Starbucks for saying something racist to me? Maybe. Are you still going to get arrested and prosecuted? Absolutely.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:08 PM ^
And his punch was a lot more understandable if it was in response to a threat by Lewan to rape his mother and then blow up a federal building in the name of al Qaeda. There is no evidence that any of that happened, though, so it doesn't matter. There is instead a very understandable story about how the use of the name "Tom" was confused for a slur later on Twitter.
October 18th, 2011 at 3:11 PM ^
invented by an RCMBer with no basis, just conjecture. it should not be repeated on here as truth/fact/what happened because it was a theory, without any knowledge of even what Lewan said.
October 18th, 2011 at 4:29 PM ^
I didn't mean to imply that Lewan said anything about "Tom." Even a false rumor can be the basis for another false one, though. You can see how the RCMB story could morph into the racial slur story.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:13 PM ^
Why would Lewan be spitting out racial slurs when most of his team is black? Seems like a weak-ass attempt at justification by Tom Gholston.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:14 PM ^
response to Lewan holding his head down on the turf.
Of course, he overlooked that he was playing dirty for most the game prior to that moment.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:20 PM ^
I love your avatar. Great moment in boxing football history. Excellent right hook/uppercut. My bucknut roommates in particular enjoy when I bring it up.
October 18th, 2011 at 10:08 PM ^
that the Clemson player was calling Woody "Tom" throughout the game prior to the incident.
October 18th, 2011 at 1:39 PM ^
Wait, was it an "Uncle Tom" reference or "no one was nice to me on my recruiting trip and they called me Tom" reference because I've heard Gholston supporters use both to justify his actions - not to mention the judo arm bar well before the punch.
October 18th, 2011 at 11:57 AM ^
October 18th, 2011 at 12:36 PM ^
You should probably just stick to the RCMB, Sparty.