It's not whining if Florida does it

Remember the outrage that swept across the college football universe when Penn State football players were getting into regular legal trouble? There were calls that Joe Paterno lost control of his team, that he was recruiting bad eggs just to win games, and Penn State had lost its image of a stand-up football program. And anyone who came out to defend the program and its iconic coach was beaten down with accusation of homerism and just plain whining.

Funny how things change when the team in question just finished up winning its second national championship in three years.

Questions have come up recently about just how wholesome the Florida Gators have been under Urban Meyer. There have been several arrests since Meyer came on board in 2005, including several of players he recruited.

Well, as with any high-profile team, scrutiny is amplified in these situations. Yet for some reason, no one is telling the Florida homers that it's time to stop the whining.

"References were made [by rival schools' fans] to Florida as "The University of Felons," just as references were made to Florida State as "Free Shoes University" in the 1990s and Miami as "The Bad Boys" in the 1980s following the Hurricanes' repeated disciplinary problems.

This time there was a similar outcry from national news outlets for the reigning champion Gators to clean up their act.

But is the recent controversy justified?

A survey of court records from The Sun has revealed:

* Florida players have been charged with crimes in 24 cases during Meyer's four years as coach.

* There have been 21 arrests, with three more players issued citations and later booked on charges.

* Of the 24 cases in which players have been charged, nine of those charges were for felonies.

* Charges involving eight of the 24 cases either were dropped or not pursued.

* The arrest rate for Florida players is comparable to the rate for the entire student body." -- Kevin Brockway, The Gainesville Sun, June 11 2009

That's right, now that the tables have turned onto the Gator nation, complaints are circulating that the accusations of wide-spread delinquency within the program cannot be backed up or are being based off of twisted statistics.

Let me just say one thing to Gator fans: You don't know the half of it.

Where are the constant daily updates on sports media sites about your teams' criminal trends? Where is Outside the Lines with one of their trademark hatchet jobs? Where are the doubters saying that your program and its successes are just product of lower standards?

That's right, none of that is out there. So, stop whining.

So Florida has had 24 players charged the last four seasons, which averages out to six per year. The average number per year at Penn State from 2002-08 (the years in question by OTL)? 7.6, and that's going by the same metric as Florida: players charged, regardless of what happened later in the case.

Because, as many readers here know, if the number of Penn State players actually convicted is used, then the numbers are quite different:

"The court documents seemed to form the back bone of the investigation. ESPN trots out the 46 players charged since 2002 but only 27 have been found guilty. I'm not here to say that all 46 didn't do anything wrong, however, it isn't a good faith move to cite 46 charges but then bury the 27 convictions. If charges were dismissed it means that the person is in fact not guilty so why trot it out as a shock statistic. -- TINNOMJ, 7/28/08

According to Brockway's article, only 16 Florida players have been convicted since 2005, about 4 per year. What do you get if you divide up those 27 Penn State convictions over the six years uner the microscope? 4.5, which is actually more consistent with the average rate of conviction for Florida players under Meyer, as opposed to just players charged or arrested.

So, Florida homers, why the hell are you complaining about a little more attention being paid to your team's criminal run-ins? You have absolutely NOTHING to complain about.

Penn State was run through the media gauntlet because it had a half-player more than the Gators convicted per year.

Brockway asked in his article if the media attention was justified. Well, YES.

Excuses and explainations were shunned by critics when Penn State loyalists tried to defend their team, regardless of whether they were valid retorts or not.

Nine of the Florida players arrested were from Meyer's first recruiting class. The excuse for that? Well, Meyer only had a month to put that class together. Ok, so Meyer needed good players to win right away. I mean, he'd have the chance to recruit better character after he won, right?

Funny, because no one seemed to care when it was Paterno trying to win more games, then worry about the details later. And he was coming off a 7-16 run without the benefit of great recruting classes going in (Ron Zook was a great recruiter at UF, just not a great game coach).

Other schools have had much worse arrest records during the last four seasons. So of course, Floridians are crying foul for singling out the Gators. Georgia has had 30 arrests. Tennessee has had 21. What he heck? (Tim Tebow wouldn't approve of using curse words in that argument)

You know, I might take that argument against the media scrutiny into consideration, if it weren't for the TWO national titles won by Meyer in that timeframe. Georgia and Tennessee: Zero.

Florida is the highest of the high-profile programs right now. Yes, even higher than USC (C'mon, those Trojans are sooo 2004). And when you're the premier team in college football, on track to win three national titles in four years, then yes, you will be given much more attention in every respect.

It could be argued that not only did Penn State not deserve the lambasting by the media last year, but that Florida is being let off the hook. The stats are eerily similar, as are the situations and excuses.

And if I wanted to really throw off the balance of the two situations, I'd mention that Penn State had to combat the ruthless tyranny of a nut-job radical District Attorney, who was well-known to be on a political crusade against the Penn State football team. I doubt Florida coaches and players have to worry about fighting a corrupt justice department, in addition to the actual, valid criminal cases.

I suggest those out there who are outraged that Florida is being scrutinized so harshly by the media just stop whining, take a deep breath, then zip it. This is nothing new, and the Gators are hardly being given the worst of it. But we can't tell them that, because, I mean, it's Florida.

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FSU and the Media: Where's the blood?

◊ I didn't intend to write anything too deep the next few days, with spring ball heating up soon, figuring I'll be plenty busy as the Blue White Game nears. However, has anyone else noticed this mega-hypocrisy going on between Florida State and the media?

When Penn State players were getting into all sorts of legal trouble the past few years, which came to a rolling boil in 2007 and 2008, there was non-stop outcry from the main stream media (MSM).

"Joe Must Go!" and "Joe has lost control" were all very common phrases thrown around during the faux outrage. It was widely asserted that since Penn State football players were out drinking, partying and acting like 20-something men, subsequently getting caught by a corrupt district attorney on a mission, it was worthy of severe MSM scrutiny.

No one can argue that "Fight Club 2007"––when several prominent Penn State football players beat up other students, who had in fact initiated the altercation earlier that night––was a serious case of bad judgement by the players. They should have made better decisions.

The problem, however, in the MSM came after that event. It was used as a spark to ignite a firestorm of yellow journalism and shoddy investigative reporting, anchored by ESPN's Outside the Lines' 14-minute, skewed feature on Penn State's legal issues. The segment portrayed Penn State as a thug institution, hell-bent on winning football regardless of anything else.

After watching it, viewers were solidly turned against Penn State.

Why am I bringing all of this up now? Because Bobby Bowden and Florida State are pissed off that the NCAA didn't just let another infraction slide, the AP reported.

I'm not going to be an apologist on Penn State's behalf. They made their own mistakes, and have to deal with them. But the fact that this entire story has been treated by the MSM as "poor Florida State, too bad they couldn't avoid this," disgusts me personally.

Outside the Lines did a feature similar to, but very different from, the Penn State one last year. It touched on the recent issue at hand, talked to coaches and "experts," and reviewed past problems in the program. That's about where the comparison ends... abruptly.

OTL's angle on Florida State was one that made you almost feel bad for Bobby Bowden and the university––at least a little sympathy. It was a far cry from the hatchet job done to Penn State last year.

Have some in the MSM come out to denounce Florida State and agree with the sanctions? Of course, but individuals don't carry much weight in the MSM.

To question the NCAA's actions against Florida State is equivalent to burying one's head in the sand. Yet, no one outside Happy Valley ever questioned the validity of the MSM's claims that Penn State has gone off the deep end.

Florida State has been living on thin ice with the NCAA since 1989. That year, Seminoles star Deion Sanders stopped going to class his senior season, and didn't take any final exams. The NCAA decided to implement the "Deion Rule."

How many rules are named after Penn Staters?

The forfeit of games, loss of scholarships and probation should not come as a surprise to anyone. Florida State had this one coming.

Yet we're being led to believe that this is something other than a double-standard in the MSM. The funny thing about it all is that I think I know why the two stories have been given completely different coverage.

Florida State has always been known for its flashy players, flashy wins and "too cool for school" attitude. When the Seminoles were logging top-five seasons every year, this was just all part of the coolness. The MSM played right along because it was good for readership and ratings.

On the other hand, you have Penn State, the uptight, straight laced program that solidified that reputation against another Florida team, just as Florida State was earning its own.

Florida State has always been a media darling. Even when the coverage goes sour, Bowden just says "dagummit!" and everything is wonderful again.

Penn State, particularly Joe Paterno, has a sharp distain for the media, much of which stems from one night 1979 when a football writer (now a popular NFL reporter with ESPN) released Paterno's off-the-record comments to a group of writers about Barry Switzer and Jackie Sherrill.

Florida State is getting a big pass from the MSM. Granted, the NCAA took care of most of it, but we haven't heard the constant berating of Florida State that we heard about Penn State.

So it doesn't surprise me that Bowden & Co. have begun using the MSM to build a sympathetic base going forward. Will the MSM play any part in what the NCAA ultimately decides? Probably not, but that's not the point of this.

History is what matters, especially those who write history: the MSM. No one remembers what the history books don't tell. If Bowden and Florida State can come out of this whole thing with the general public feeling like they were screwed, and that somehow works its way into the history books... mission accomplished.

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Penn State weathers media storm

◊ Things could always change without notice, but doesn't it feel like Penn State has come out of the main stream media onslaught in one piece?

For more than a year, we were bombarded with accusations that Joe Paterno had lost the team, that players were getting in trouble with the law on what was made to seem like a daily basis. It was a horror movie, one that wouldn't end. If it wasn't news from the crime blotter, it was endless questions about how the team could possibly win without an experienced quarterback, or underachieving receivers, or the zero chance of winning in Columbus.

Yes, from the spring of 2007, right through the end of 2008, Penn State was college football drama at its nastiest, right down to the total hatchet job by Outside the Lines. But no more. At least, we hope.

Just look at the MSM blogs. Bruce Feldman's "Top 10 winter soap operas" this offseason: No Penn State. Stewart Mandel's "10 offseason storylines to watch": No Nittany Lions there either. Even Dennis Dodd's blog "Dodds and Ends" lacks a single tidbit about Penn State, anywhere. Go ahead, do a "Find" and search for "Penn State." Zip.

However, let me stress again, we could very well wake up tomorrow to a glaring Google Alert. But even with that chance of bad news at the click of your mouse, I'm optimistic. Penn State took the punches, and are almost stronger because of it. Joe Paterno has proven nearly everyone in the MSM wrong, period. Sure, they'll never admit it, and they shouldn't have to. The MSM gets paid to entertain us. Unfortunately for Penn State fans, horror movies are just as entertaining to people as feel good flicks. But this movie is rolling the credits, and the audience is filing out of the theatre.

Penn State has finally turned the page. Let's hope there's no going back.

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Ah, yes. The twist arrives...

◊ On PennLive yesterday (didn't check my google alerts last night), a story posted on Philly.com was discussed. The Philly.com story was a feature/profile on Steelers DT Scott Paxson (PSU '02-05). Nice little piece. It talked about the adversity he over came, particularly after being charged with sexual assault in Spring '06, an incident which supposedly occurred 14 months earlier. We all know the story... or so we thought.

"Another former Penn State player, running back Austin Scott, also was charged with sexual assault 2 years ago. The charges against him finally were dropped last April, the weekend of the draft. Scott, like Paxson, wasn't drafted."

Yeah, all of that is old news. ESPN blasted PSU all last year with it, remember? Penn State players are no good, criminals, period.

"The prosecutor in both cases, assistant DA Lance Marshall..."

Ah yes, the douchebag, who seemingly went after Penn State football players like hicks after Muslims.

"...resigned Dec. 30 after it was revealed he was being investigated by the state Attorney General's Office after allegations were made that he had improper contact with a victim of domestic violence in a case he was assigned to prosecute. Marshall allegedly sent the woman more than 100 sexually explicit text messages on his county-issued cell phone."

HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! I'm sorry, I know it was during the holidays, and we all were a bit preoccupied with the Rose Bowl. But I never heard about that part of the story until I read it yesterday. My first reaction is to demand an apology (or at least demand Penn State demand an apology) from ESPN for portraying Penn State's legal history in the light they did, when we now know the entire legal system in Centre County was compromised. But, it wasn't made into a huge story, by ESPN or Penn State. That's probably the smart move. Why revisit the issue? Penn State has moved on, and ESPN will continue its sensationalist, yellow journalism. It's still a really juicy bit of news I wish I saw sooner.

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Poll Results: Fans say ESPN's Outside The Lines was definitely 'out of line'

I'm leaving in a few minutes for a couple days of nothingness, but here's the latest poll results, asking readers how they reacted to the blatantly biased "reporting" ESPN did on Outside The Lines. Needless to say, fans weren't happy. A full 87 percent of voters said ESPN was wrong in how it went about this feature story. As more comes out about how sleazy The Worldwide Leader acted, the rest of the nation should come to its senses. But for now, we can all just concentrate on football!

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CDT Blogger: Did ESPN/PSU break major confidentiality laws?

While there's not much ado about it--yet--a community blogger on the Centre Daily Times site brought up possible legal ramifications stemming from Penn State releasing blatantly-labeled confidential documents to the ESPN investigators. This isn't just some shmoe running his mouth off at ESPN for tarnishing Joe Paterno's and Penn State's squeaky clean past just for the sake of ratings. He actually brings up some good research:

"IX. Record

Judicial Affairs will only disclose student discipline record information to third parties in accordance with federal law (FERPA) and the University policy on managing Student Discipline Records (http://www.sa.psu.edu/ja).

The Senior Director may also release information concerning the status of a discipline case to persons involved in the case and/or appropriate University officials with legitimate educational interests in such information."

So who's going to get in trouble for this one? Is it just a few disgruntled PSU employees or professors who think their department should get more than the bell-cow football program? How far up the Old Main steps does this go, and just who knew ahead of time that these supposed "confidential" documents were going to be released, with the known use being a hit-job story on Penn State football? Too many questions around this one, Graham Cracker, and not enough answers...

On a side note, TINNOMJ has a great reaction to the OTL feature. I highly recommend reading it.

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How do you feel about the OTL feature?

So far, I've heard mixed reviews of Outside the Lines' feature on Penn State's recent criminal troubles. Most PSU fans are justifiably pissed off. I haven't seen it yet, so I can't say either way right now. But how did you react when you saw the story? Leave your comments on this post, and be sure to vote in the new poll below.

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