Sexual Predator was just the Tipping Point for Anzalone
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=384313
This article has some very, very interesting quotes from Dr. Anzalone (Alex's father). Seems like a decommitment was coming even before the events of today/yesterday and they are biting their tongues as to what really "wasn't right" at OSU.
or better yet, just tell us the ultra-summarized Cliff Note version. I mean, that is why I'm reading this thread. I want scandalous details.
I haven't read it, so someone correct me if I'm wrong. I believe the rumor was that there was a girl or couple of girls waiting for Denard is his hotel room when he visited Florida as a recruit.
Could the larger issue be that Neal and Anzalone received improper benefits while on their recruiting trip? And felt it was sanctioned by OSU?
Following what OSU just went through, that would make me think twice about my committment after talking to Grandma or Dad.
how events like this are controllable at any university, unless you beefed up your security significantly, which would pretty much ruin convenience and the experience for fans.
I also don't see how Ohio staff could have known or prevented this.
Something else happened.
I'd like to see one of the parents sing like a canary. I can understand why they wouldn't want to but I'd like to hear their full story, not the tongue biting stuff.
you read the ESPN article the father says they will still consider Ohio, It sounds like this kid got in trouble for something that happened on a recruiting trip so he had to decommit, My money is on him ending up there anyway.
Too much press already on this story, he'll just find another school where he can start fresh. The dad probably realized he went a little overboard on the OSU staff and was just throwing them a bone in the media (ESPN story). He still probably has concerns about OSU overall.
1. Nutella is delicious
2. I wonder if Anzalone's reaction had to do with some preceived "fag" stigma, or whatever. Though such things are far less acceptable in the general public, I don't think it's a stretch with football's machismo culture or with a potential high school peer group. There might even be some pressure from the kid's community or family along these lines. All this speculation is to say that even if the child predator wasn't a real threat to the kids, being associated with him might've caused enough of a stigma in relevant peer groups for the kid and family to want to part ways with OSU. It could also mean that there really wasn't much more than child predator interaction.
3. But I don't think the evidence thus far makes the the child predator to be more than an overzealous fan. The predator apparently had pornography on his computer of boys less than 16. Assuming that explains the range of his wayward tastes, these football recruits aren't a likely target for him. (Though, if they were, I think they were at risk. I don't buy the 'athelete beat down' arguments when there's free alcohol involved.)
Purely conjecture, but as I read the father's statements, I felt there was some other action that happened on the recruitment vist that didn't sit well with the father at all, and most likely grew more unsettling for his son. If I had to guess, it might just be rather simple, like a party that included easy access for drinking, possibly girls or the like. The situation with the pedophile/twitter/stalker sums it up but from a different perspective.
If I'm sending my son for a vist - official or unofficial - I expect
- there to be enough structure and supervision to know that he will be safe.
- the current players that are taking him out would darn know well not to push the party aspect too far. Recruits are all different, and some will not be comfortable with that situation. Parents most certainly won't.
- the current players that are taking him out should know 100% not to take him to some place to receive improper benefits. This is a program oversight issue that actually is pretty shocking to me. If I heard about this after my son's visit, especially less than a year after OSU went through their other troubles, it would concern me.
- While the universtiy can not control who sends twitter msg to recruits and can't control who asks for pictures, they should show a lot of control over a recruits visit, schedule, and players who will be taking the recruit out.
With all of the above said, we all assume this happens in many/most universtiy visits. It doesn't mean that it happens at all. It also doesn't mean that all kids want that type of attention, party, or visit. While Alex choose OSU, he might have thought more about the experience and talked with his dad about it - and his dad gave him some sound advice.
Michigan, I believe, does this right. They focus on the university, academics, and a family atmosphere. That is what all the recruits are commenting on. I think it helps us stand apart from the average recruiting visit and makes the players (who commit) feel that they are going some place where they will grow. Parents love it, obviously. And I know there are parties and what not at UM also, but I do think our recruiting emphasis is different.
nothing has been proven yet but if this story develops legs, then ohio may have to change its name to tsou (the sex offender university)
He's saying that he doesn't like the lack of supervision it suggests. I don't think this helps Meyer's rep one bit; in fact, it suggests continuity between the new and old coach, between the atmosphere that prevailed at UF and the one he's establishing at OSU. Time will tell whether this meme catches on or is indeed based in ongoing facts, but for now. . . good for us and bad for OSU.
...but if Mr. Anzalone was really interested in a safe place for his son then he should have done his homework the first time around and realized that it wasn't right.
A. Players have allowed to be renegade for over a decade.
B. Ohio repeatedly denies most or all of wrongdoing, thumbs nose at media and NCAA.
C. Ohio gets slap on wrist from NCAA.
D. Ohio proudly states that they won't take a step back.
E. Ohio hires Urban Meyer, whose last stop ended with renegade players all over the place.
I mean, come on. If you're really wanting a "right place" for your son, I don't see how you would ever even consider Ohio. If you don't care about ethics, and all you care about is doing whatever it takes to win and get to the league, then, yeah, Ohio is a solid choice.
If you remove from consideration players who were "born and bred" for each school, and then consider players who could have gone anywhere they wanted in the country, think about the type of player that decides Ohio, Michigan, USC, Alabama, etc. are the best fit for them.
The change in tone from the candid Reading news interview to the cautious ESPN interview may be due to the fact that the latter was written later. While some argue that the change occurred because the father just had time to compose himself, another possibility is that something else happened in the interim. Do you believe it implausible that someone connected to OSU contacted Anzalone's father in the interim? If so, is it implausible that they did anything more than just apologize? Think about it.
Hard to know. It's just as likely, if not more, that the dad spoke to ESPN first but ESPN took longer to publish the article; in the interim, perhaps, the dad's anger grew. This scenario would be consistent with the son's statements. First he said he would still consider OSU. Later, in a tweet, he said OSU was out of the picture. Overall, I got the sense that both father and son initially tried to be diplomatic but eventually spilled the beans.
Or perhaps the father's sudden change in disposition reflected his desire to avoid blowback against his son.
I HOPE THIS KILLS THEM.
This whole thing is.... Creepy
They've been a Pepsi campus since forever.
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Seriously, can you post a link to this or is it behind a paywall? I'd like to read it for myself to see how credible it seems. On its face it fits a lot of the story, like the father allegedly telling the son to separate himself from Ohio "because you don't want the NCAA to think you were being influenced by this...."
If this is true, how in the F'ing world when you are on probation do you let even the slightest possibility of this kind of thing happening? These are recruits under your care and supervision. That makes it your job to, you know, care and supervise.
was interesting to say the least...