Lewan v. Gholson story
I don't know where the thread went, but here is the story about what Lewan supposedly said to Gholson on Saturday. This is taken from an MSU message board. The reason I am posting this is I didn't want anyone to think that the rumor that was posted here a few minutes ago is in any way true. It is not.
This story is a non-story, and the media is kind of shamelessly trying to keep this one going. I really hope this puts it to bed once and for all.
William Gholston was called "Tom" by Lewan during the game (he mentioned that in the post game). Some in the media are taking this as a racial slur as in "Uncle Tom". That is not what actually was meant when Lewan said it. From last weeks Red Cedar Rumblings (sorry for quoting paid content, but I think it's worth it so that this story dies):
**Will Gholston was a Michigan fan growing up. He was also close to committing to the Wolverines at one point during his recruitment … until a fateful trip to Ann Arbor.
"I was there on a recruiting trip," Gholston said. “They were calling me Tom and junk. That messed me up. I was sitting there talking and they keep saying, ‘Tom.’ I was looking back like, ‘Who is this guy talking to, my name isn't Tom?’ After that I started coming back to Michigan State a lot.
“It made an impact. That wasn't the biggest part, but how can't you remember my name? Call me William, Will, or call me ‘2.’ That's cool, too. Not Tom. My name doesn't even start with a ‘T’. I was going to Michigan a lot. Michigan was high on my list for a while. It was like Michigan and Michigan State, neck-and-neck. They were in my top three. That freaked me out. They didn't even know my name and I had been coming up there for three weeks. I was close to going to Michigan."
He was trying to get under Gholston's skin by calling him something that he knew bothered him during his recruitment. Not a racial slur.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:13 PM ^
Gholson has deleted his twitter account by the way.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:24 PM ^
Good. I hope this kid's life becomes a living hell. It would be funny to hear about his getting heckled on campus. Too bad it can't happen since he doesn't attend class.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:34 AM ^
Please leave.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:54 PM ^
No wonder you didn't find it. Gholson's account is at witter.com.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:20 PM ^
I talked to Will Gohlson at the Dream Team presentation at The Dearborn Inn a couple of years ago. He was one of the recipients of the award. Rich Rod was the keynote speaker. RR was great I might add!
In any case, Will was quiet, smart, and well spoken. I asked him why he didn't pick Michigan and all he could say was State was a better fit.
As it turns out, not one of those guys ended up at Michigan. It was really odd hearing Rich Rod talk to all these outstanding athletes without being able to land (1) of them.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:29 PM ^
Geez how hard is it to spell the kid's name? Gholston people, Gholston.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:16 PM ^
Detroit Cass Tech is our pipeline. Not SE. Michigan just has to ask Wilcher, who (if anyone) looks deserving of being at Michigan, and then they come.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:17 PM ^
Maybe he called him Tom, or Uncle Tom, or even something worse. That is not an issue as far as player conduct rules. You don't get a penalty or suspension for name calling. What I don't understand is how Gholston didn't get ejected. A punch gets you ejected in the NFL. I'd imagine the NCAA has similar guidelines. It wasn't like they could saw some shoving and then missed the punch. The punch was all there was, so they had to see it. I just don't understand how you witness a punch and issue a penalty and not an ejection. Extremely poor officiating in my opinion. Gholston deserves a suspension, and Worthy deserves at least a one-half suspension. Someone could have been seriously injured from blows being dealt outside the course of normal football activity.
October 18th, 2011 at 12:37 AM ^
If it is determined that one of our players used a racial slur, even on the field, I would expect our coaching staff to take immediate severe action. I'd say that's just as bad as a punch and a 1 game suspension is in order.
With that being said, there's nothing that indicated that there was any issue with that here.
October 18th, 2011 at 9:59 AM ^
True that.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:19 PM ^
FWIW, that was a post by a RCMBer speculating about what happened, without any sources. The rumored word is much worse, which is why the threads are rightfully being deleted.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:22 PM ^
This Tom Gholson seems like a real loose cannon.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:24 PM ^
I'm glad we didn't land Gholson, he's an ass hole.
/keeping the "Gholson" trend alive
October 17th, 2011 at 6:29 PM ^
You picked the right school Tom. I wish you the career your wonderful brother has had. Stay real Tom.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:32 PM ^
So is this actually who Sam is referring to when he says "Tom from EL"? I always thought it was Izzo. Turns out its Tom Gholson.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:34 PM ^
why do you guys think this story is true? Will gholston said it, and he probably lied.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:40 PM ^
I really wanted him to come here... Sucks that they called him "Tom" on his visit. What kind of shit is that?
October 17th, 2011 at 6:40 PM ^
Yeah but it's all fun and dandy until one of Tom has a nephew or niece. Then what?
October 17th, 2011 at 6:42 PM ^
Don't worry Valenti was all over this on 97.1 insinuating that Lewan was throwing out racial slurs at Gholson and that Lewan derved to get punched...Valenti said so, its true
October 17th, 2011 at 6:47 PM ^
How did he defend the Denard helmet twist?
October 17th, 2011 at 6:49 PM ^
I don't know, I was only listening for about 15 minutes around 5:30 when the media started making a racial mountain out of nothing
October 17th, 2011 at 6:50 PM ^
That name has no place on this blog anymore.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:45 PM ^
story is totally false. If it makes him mad enough to punch when it is Lewan, what is he going to do when it is Jake Long and every other offensive lineman in the NFL? I know they don't read or anything, right? He may as well change his name now.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:49 PM ^
calling a black player "Tom" is not racist? Maybe it wasn't used as a racial slur during the game, but I think it was most definitely used as a racial slur when he was first called "Tom" while visiting Ann Arbor. Maybe it's only me, misconstruing the situation, but I find that completely unacceptable.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:54 PM ^
It is just you, misconstruing the situation. You guessed right.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:54 PM ^
The word "Tom" is not inherently racist. If you know a guy named "Tim," and you call him "Tom," that's embarassing but in no way racist.
Now, if he had called him "BlackGuy McMinority," THAT would be racist regardless of context.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:11 PM ^
The word "Tom" isn't inherently racist. However, it took on a racial connotation some 200 years ago. I think it's at least treading a fine line. But we don't know the facts of the situation. We don't know who called him that back when he was being recruited(an actual fan, a host, the coaches, an OSU fan, etc.), we don't know the context of the situation, we don't know who was showing him around, where he was, etc. I feel like discussing racism online can't end well so if someone chooses to respond to this, respond like the original repliers to my comment.
October 18th, 2011 at 8:53 AM ^
Yeah, but who cares if you're racist to the Irish....
October 17th, 2011 at 6:58 PM ^
Jump on the everything is racist bandwagon often?
October 17th, 2011 at 7:02 PM ^
If a white player were going to make a racial slur, I have a hard time believing it would be to call a black player from the inner city who was raised by a guardian an Uncle Tom. Uncle Tom is a pejorative, ususally used by african americans against other african americans whom they perceive as being too "white."
Just not seeing it here.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:20 PM ^
"Uncle Tom is a derogatory term for a person who perceives themselves to be of low status, and is excessively subservient to perceived authority figures; particularly a black person who behaves in a subservient manner to white people."
October 17th, 2011 at 8:57 PM ^
Uncle Tom is what black people call other black people who don't act black enough. It isn't really that tough.
October 17th, 2011 at 6:51 PM ^
Denard hurled a racial epithet too.
The attack by anyone on Lewan is unfair, and character assassination. Unlike Gholston's antics, which we can see on tape, no one can prove or disprove the racial commentary claim. It is unfair, to say the least.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:16 PM ^
I actually appreciate it when guys post rumors such as these. I saw the original post, and it didn't really affect my view of Lewan or Gholston, one way or another. And I didn't fell the need to even ask what I thought the odds were that it was true.
Of course, that view comes with the big time caveat that it be described as "This is what is being said at place X. I don't know if it's true, etc."
Now, I understand that the mods might want to avoid any appearance of participating in rumors. There is, however, an analogue in financial markets. You get in trouble if you spread rumors, especially if you profit from its spread. On the other hand, internally to the firm, it might be appropriate to point out that there's a rumor in the markets of X in order to understand some price action. It happens a lot.
If you wanted to lock the thread in order for it not to spiral out of control, then I guess there's some need for a way to update it that makes it hard.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:29 PM ^
But it depends on the rumor. The thread "Rumor: Denard to start over Tate" may stand on flimsy evidence, whereas the thread "Rumor: CRAIG JAMES KILLED FIVE HOOKERS WHILE AT SMU" might not.
Claims of racial slurs can follow a guy for years, so we won't help in the effort.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:17 PM ^
Calling him Tom as in a reference to Uncle Tom just doesn't make any sense. So unless Lewan is just that stupid, I don't think it happened.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:30 PM ^
Anyone else find it funny that these idiots are accusing Lewan of being racist ... a guy who blocks for 2 African-American QBs & a whole group of African-American RBs. Dumbasses.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:43 PM ^
WE GAINED LEST THAN THREEVE YARDS PER KARI THIS WEAK!!! TOM LEWAN STOPPED BLOCKING FOR HIS DENARDS AND RUNNINGS BECAUSE HE AM RACIST NOW!!
October 18th, 2011 at 12:40 AM ^
Once again, nothing indicates that Lewan did anything wrong. I'm just trying to shoot down these very poor logical arguments.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:33 PM ^
Funny Gholston uses the phrase, "neck and neck" to describe his recruitment.
Oh wait, that's not funny.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:41 PM ^
racial tensions on the team. Look at the times when Denard has scored, and should be happy. What does he do? He attacks Lewan, jumping on him, and Lewan is forced to hold Denard up in the air to protect himself.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:47 PM ^
Rumors have surfaced that Taylor Lewan regularly abuses black men. He recently picked up one much smaller black man and refused to put him down.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:53 PM ^
how do you jump from committing to the cross-state rival out of spite to punching people in the face or trying to wring a quarterback's neck after the whistle blows?
I'll wait for your response Tom.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:52 PM ^
The last thing we need is a guy who flies off the handle when someone calls him a name. Looks to me like there are going to be a lot more 15 yarders coming Tom's way if he can't handle a little name calling. Might as well start calling Jerel Worth ... Jerry. Then they can be Tom and Jerry.
October 17th, 2011 at 7:55 PM ^
Lewan is going to call an opposing player a racial slur when he has several teammates who are of the same race?
Genius. That's ironclad logic.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:02 PM ^
All standing more or less next to Taylor Lewan as he spews racial epthets?
October 17th, 2011 at 8:11 PM ^
is what I will call him for the rest of his career. I hope everyone starts doing it
October 17th, 2011 at 8:41 PM ^
The racial tensions on the U of M Football team have spun out of control. We CLEARLY need to have a "Remember the Titans" scenario. I'd say Jake Ryan has the sunshine role cornered. Hopefully Lewan can pull a Gary Bertier (sp?) and go from racist to equal opportunity poster boy.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:05 PM ^
Is it possible for us as a group to circle back and determine what role Drew Sharp had in the abortive development of this ridiculous and insulting "story"?
October 17th, 2011 at 9:30 PM ^
Flufff from State News last week is the mention about being called "Tom" I think they're referring to:
Gholston said he was very close to choosing Michigan and had offers from top programs such as Alabama, Oklahoma and USC.
However, he went with the team coming off a 6-7 season.
He credited the coaching staff, especially MSU head coach Mark Dantonio, for being straightforward and getting his name right — something the Michigan coaches failed to do, calling the five-star recruit “Tom” — but went back to his grandmother as a main influence on his decision. “(She) was definitely a big deal,” he said. “(She’s) why I liked Michigan and Michigan State.”
I don't know if it's true, but I guess he said it.