Comments on: USC’s Spurrier Stops Answering Questions From The Media

By: gator in san diego

gator in san diego — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 20:56:40 +0000

John, I am a big fan of this site and enjoy reading your work. In an effort to be an honest broker, I’ll tell you up front that I was at UF when Spurrier won his national title, and I have a great respect for what he has accomplished in the world of football. So, you can already guess where I’m coming from. I understand your need to defend the media’s right to have access to coaches and information. I could not agree with you more that a free and open press is one of the most important ingredients when it comes to keeping people and institutions accountable to the public interest. The rights conveyed in the first amendment are listed first for a reason. That’s not what is at stake here.

However, I think you’ve lost your objectivity when it comes to Spurrier. Your article on the 24th contains mostly jabs about the man then offers up in closing that the reason he’s not talking to the media might be because he’s upset with Morris. Do you honestly believe that whipping Missouri and having a #6 ranking would put Spurrier in such a foul mood that he no longer wants to speak to the media?

Of course he’s irritated with Morris. I read Morris column. What he postulates is reasonable. Reasonable for discussion at a tailgate party. What is not reasonable is that he didn’t do any of the things required to turn speculation into objective journalism before putting it into print.

Writing a piece on a coach that implies that he puts winning ahead of player welfare is fine, but you had better have some solid evidence. Pedestrian observations about a game performance or quoting some material from a press release can be accomplished by anyone that can use google and type. What Morris wrote was better suited for a blog than a newspaper. We know Morris was not a party to the decision about Shaw. It’s a safe bet that no one involved in the decision making process spoke to him. So his information is third-hand at best. Anyone can pick up third hand information using an internet search. I can do it on my smartphone during a bathroom break at work.

What I can’t understand is why you keep defending Morris. Your article on Friday puts forth a straw man argument that Spurrier declares that he can no longer be criticized. Did you call or email Spurrier for clarification of his remarks? Anyone who knows what Morris wrote last October, when taken together with his recent column can come to the conclusion that Spurrier has had enough of the guy and he feels like he shouldn’t have to put up with it. Given Morris’s history with Spurrier, I think he has burned up whatever credibility he has left when it comes to reporting on Spurrier’s teams. He should probably steer clear of the topic altogether. Given the nature of the topic in Morris’s column, and the underlying accusation, he should probably make sure he has more than a “theory” if he’s going to make his observations public.

From reading your three articles on this situation, and how you’ve responded to some of the posters, it looks like you’re emotionally invested in this situation. You had a similar approach to the situation last October. I could understand your point of view last year. I do not understand it now. I think you are guilty of taking the same approach to defending a fellow journalist that you accuse die-hard SC ad Spurrier fans of taking when it comes to their coach. Bringing up PSU is not helping your point at all. I don’t know if you’re Morris’s drinking buddy, schoolmate or just a colleague, but you should probably take your own advice and talk to Morris behind closed doors about the quality of his work and avoid defending him publicly.

By: joshcascio

joshcascio — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 23:46:28 +0000

@fitsnews your book ever coming out?

By: Marwinny

Marwinny — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:51:46 +0000

I’m on the SOS bandwagon here. He’s always been my favorite coach and with these latest actions he just solidified it more. I love someone that marches to their own drummer and if he can backhand a few media hacks at the same time then more the better.

It has my experience that some of these old school state paper people feel like theyre entitled to unfettered access and pout when they dont get it. As an internet age fan, we dont care how it was done back in the day or what unwritten rule your idols followed. We get more information from twitter, facebook, and message boards, usually faster, more accurate and sometimes first hand. So if some ole fart still using white-out is missing out on coach-speak to help perpetuate his agenda I couldnt care less. You old guys need to figure out the rules have changed and the fishwrapper is dead. Btw, I’ll keep paying 10 bucks /month for my rivals access but will never pay for access to any newspaper pages.

By: BonzaiB

BonzaiB — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:37:03 +0000

@Gamecock in ATL @John at MrSEC @83toATL Dog bites man, man bites dog. Journalists write what they think will interest people. If they get that correct, they make money and provide a service (both good things). There are a number of ways SS could handle this, he chose one a way guarnateed to get journalists thinking “man bites dog.”

Spurrier could go bonkers at a press conference and attack Morris, which would get lots of negative press, not because Morris is loved, but we expect guys getting paid millions to be “the Coach” to act like him. There are rules. Spurrier could boycott the press, which will get the press thinking, “who do you think we are, our job is to interview you (and it is).”

Or, and this would be a novel approach for Spurrier (in that he does not do it very often), would be to take questions from the field, and regardless of the tone of the question, or the questioner, to answer the question dispassionately, and to not have every answer be one that will turn the attention back to Spurrier.

Love watching Spurrier, but contrast his approach to most guys wearing the mantle of “the Coach.” Most of the time, they slog through flaws in the question or the reporters approach and make the best of it. The true flaw in SS’s approach is there are more of them than you, and collectively, the reach more people than you.

By: GeoffDawg

GeoffDawg — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:15:08 +0000

@Gamecock in ATL @John at MrSEC @83toATL Spurrier may or may not play clean, his innovations to the game can’t be denied, and he’s certainly one of the top coaches in the country over the last couple of decades but Tijuana donkeys display more integrity and class than the Ole’ Ball Coach.

By: John at MrSEC

John at MrSEC — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:06:48 +0000

KWD…

I call out people in the media all the time, so you’re going down the wrong road there.

What any of this has to do with me being jealous of Spurrier… I have no idea. I’m not jealous of Spurrier.

Read what I wrote:

Spurrier’s not talking to the media and he won’t say why. That’s a fact. He has a history of throwing his weight around a bit more when he’s winning (as he is now). That’s a fact. He has a history with a Columbia columnist who wrote an opinion and I think that might be where this is coming from. That’s an opinion.

I don’t see any Spurrier jealousy there.

Thanks for reading the site.
John

By: KWD

KWD — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:50:49 +0000

John,

I have a couple of points on this.

It is fairly irrevelant that he has not taken questions the last 2 times he met with the media. It does not seem as if he is restricting his coaches or players, so information is still coming from the program. I am sure he will answer questions at the SEC teleconference. How different is this than coaches takiing questions but not giving any real answers?.

I am not a big Ron Morris hater like some Carolina fans. He was way off base with his article. I am not sure why Spurrier has not taken questions the last few days, but columnist need to be called out on their inaccurracies, as well. I guess I understand why media members do not call out others in the media, but most everything he wrote in that article was proven to be dead wrong. I guess he wrote it based on his perception of how Spurrier operates.

Finally, I do not know you personally, but I have read some of your articles, listened to you on the radio, and watched your TV show some. I think you are somewhat like Steve Spurrier. You try to be funny (sometimes you are); and you come across as a smart-alect. Maybe you are a little jealous of Spurrier because he is a better smart-alect than you. This is coming from a fellow smart-alect.

By: John

John — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:14:32 +0000

Gamecock in ATL…

Would I have written what Morris wrote? No. Having said that, I don’t share his opinion. Now, if I had shared his opinion — and was paid by a Columbia paper to write my opinion — yes, I would have written it.

It’s an opinion piece, a column, an editorial. It’s not a news story. Morris chose to throw out a possible scenario for people to chew on. I don’t buy the possibility, but it’s Morris’ job to give his opinion… regardless of whether every Carolina fan or even the head coach likes it.

I’m not taking up for Morris. I’m taking up for his right to do the job he’s been hired to do.

Just my take.

Thanks as always for reading,
John

By: John

John — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:07:32 +0000

83toATL…

Yes, I read that piece. I even linked to it in the piece above.

Glad you like the site… and thanks again for reading,
John

By: 83toATL

83toATL — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:02:07 +0000

John,
I really enjoy your site…I read it almost every day.
But, in this case i think you are only looking at it thru the lens of a media person. Coach understands that writers will criticize his play-calling, substitutions, etc…heck he is quick to criticize himself in that regard. But he absolutely will not stand for it when writers question his morals/ethics. Kudos to him for taking a stand!! Btw, did you read Ron Morris’s column last week regarding Coach’s decison to play Connor?
Thanks for all your hard work with MrSEC site!

By: Gamecock in ATL

Gamecock in ATL — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:58:33 +0000

@John at MrSEC @83toATL John, I agree with you about how every fan thinks the media is biased against them. And personally, I think the Ron Morris thing is overblown – at the end of the day Morris is one of those writers that people read, in part because they hate him. Just look at all of the comments on his page – “Ron, you stink, and your writing is terrible” and yet that commenter reads that page time and time again.

However, I will get more specific than “83toATL” did. This isn’t just about Ron Morris in general. This, in my opinion, is specifically about the piece that Morris wrote last week (this site linked to it), where Morris basically accused Spurrier of playing a hurt Shaw, causing him to get hurt further, and then covering it up. From the Morris column:

“Me thinks Spurrier has adeptly shifted the attention from one of the most ill-advised decisions of his illustrious coaching career”

“Despite the injury, according to Spurrier, Shaw could have returned to the game in the second half. And, according to Spurrier, Shaw is “fine” to play Saturday against Missouri. Maybe I missed where USC physicians invented a new cure over the weekend for deep bruises and/or fractures to the shoulder. Or, maybe Shaw is an incredibly quick healer the second time around.”

“Or, maybe Shaw goes into Saturday’s game with the same questions surrounding his running and throwing abilities as he did against UAB.
My guess is the latter. My guess also is that, because of Spurrier’s poor decision to play Shaw against UAB, USC will be dealing with the quarterback’s sore shoulder for most of the remainder of the season.”

And then, as we know, Shaw plays every meaningful snap in the game and goes 20-21 passing.

I think it’s THIS article that peeved Spurrier enough to not want to speak to Morris, or perhaps, to have Morris’ fellow journalists goad him into an apology. Like him or not, if there is one thing Spurrier wants in his legacy, it’s that he played clean and had integrity. That’s why he went to such great lengths to open the program up in the NCAA probe last year. That’s why he went off on Morris last year when he lied about Spurrier stealing Ellington from the hoops team. And that’s why he’s ticked again at Morris with the concept that he put a player’s health at risk. Whether he is being a baby or not is for the individual to decide (this site, even though I like it, obviously feels that way) – personally, I think Spurrier is gloating a bit … letting this one simmer until people read the Morris article and then see Shaw’s stat line from Saturday …

Childish or not by Spurrier, you’ve got to admit that Morris is again out of line.

John – you’re a journalist – would you write something like the above?

By: USAFMEDIC

USAFMEDIC — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:06:18 +0000

Great coach, but has always been a big baby from way back in the Gator days.

By: John at MrSEC

John at MrSEC — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:06:13 +0000

@83toATL

Do you realize that there are those in every fanbase who believe the media in their town wants to “keep School X down?”

Why would the local media want to keep a program down? If the program is up, more people will buy papers which means more ad sales which means more money.

I read all of these papers everyday and I just don’t see what a lot of folks claim is there. Typically, hometown writers put forth a lot of puff pieces — and never get credit for doing so — they almost always pick the local team to win its next game — which amuses me — and there’s usually one columnist per town who stirs the pot. That guy’s is an anti-(insert name of school here) blankety-blank and he should be run out of town because he’s really a fan of (insert name of rival school here).

If folks could just step back and see that EVERY fanbase is almost identical — ESPN hates us, the local press hates us, the NCAA hates us — I think some of this nonsense would dry up and blow away.

Maybe not.

Thanks for reading,
John

By: 83toATL

83toATL — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 16:50:06 +0000

As many know, the local Columbia newspaper has made it a habit for decades to “keep USC down”…Coach (like so many of us) just gets tired of it. As much as I enjoy reading his comments, I am thrilled to see him occasionally turn his back to the media (particulary the State newspaper).

By: BonzaiB

BonzaiB — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:21:35 +0000

Spurrier is a national treasure, he is more entertaining than most of the backwoods homespun sayings used to describe his sideline behavior. Some enterprising media savy type ought to make a 30 minute documentary with Spurrier’s sideline antics, press room statements, etc. We’d all have a blast watching. Why? Exactly because he is the movie Big, a 13 year old trapped in an old guys’ body, and the movie does not stop, just pauses from time to time. Now, he just does not have the calm, grandfatherly demeanor you would expect from a guy running a multi million dollar football franchise, or the sense to keep his mouth shut, or the maturity to say things without sounding self absorbed, but he is entertaining, and we watch sports to be entertained. If the Gamecocks want to pay him, the Gamecocks are contributing to my weekly sports amusement.

By: 40Capt

40Capt — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:47:58 +0000

Unfortunately for SS, if he wont answer questions, and won’t say why, then everyone else is free to speculate as much, and as wildly as they choose. If he or his bosses don’t want wild speculation, they could preempt it by addressing why. He loves to use the media when it suits him, but if they don’t play nice or play by his rules, he pouts, like the petulant baby he is.

By: John at MrSEC

John at MrSEC — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:45:45 +0000

@superflyby1

It could be anything, you are correct. But I’m going to make a guess based on past precedents and years of experience watching Spurrier. If I’m wrong, I’ll write right here.

Thanks for reading,
John

By: superflyby1

superflyby1 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:31:20 +0000

Could be he has personal or family problems. Don’t draw conclusions on things. It will always come back to bite you. Spurrier loves to talk to the media so don’t make it what it may not be.