JB demonstrated a nice lesson...

[realorange]

Couldn't agree with you more. It's not that he's defending Fine. He's just being waaaay too aggressive with his comments. Personal attacks on the accusers is not the right way to handle it.

As CTO said, he's feeling it in his gut. This is a person JB has shared more of his life with than anyone except some of his family. Accusers and ESPN have made personal attacks on Bernie. JB is just coming back at them with his belief in his friend and taking no prisoners in the bargain. I would hope to have a friend that would go that extra mile for me. It's great to see someone have the courage of their convictions.

 

[cuseguy]

Bees, you sound awfully pessimistic. Just preparing for the worst?

Bees is generally a pessimistic guy. But we love him anyways.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Not pessimistic about the end result. When it was first announced, I was like everyone else...Oh No. Now I am more like somewhat confident everything will be OK. But what JB did was for the instant gratification of going on the offensive and making people take a step back and look at he facts. But I'm not too sure that was the best long term approach. Under normal circumstances, JB would be retiring soon and Hop will take over. The program IMO, wouldn't really miss a beat as long as Hop can coach and win (which I think he can). But now, with the way JB has lashed out, IF Bernie is guilty and IF there is even one iota of a hint that JB knew anything, we will be screwed IMO. JB gets fired and the rest of the staff is probably let go. That will be turmoil and the beat won't just go on. I want to see JB go out on top and the able assistant take over and keep the ship sailing along. I don't want to see JB crash and burn and in turn risk others crashing and the program be in an upheaval which would definitely impact recruiting, national and local perception and of course attendance and TV appearances and $$$$. He could have easily said that he believes Bernie is innocent and he supports him, but will let the process play its way out. That way would have fallen in the middle of the other two long term results, but IMO wouldn't be the perfect storm crash and burn situation that JB may have put us in if all hell breaks loose.

I understand where you're coming from, but I just don't see a wholesale staff cleansing no matter what happens. First of all, Hop was not even a coach when these incidents supposedly took place. He was a player. Secondly, there was no cover-up of anything. Davis even admitted that he never said a word to JB. Is JB supposed to see through walls?

I don't see any justification here for Gross or Cantor to make a wholesale staff change. Not a chance.

 

[Deano]

Bees, we hardly ever disagree. But on this, I will. JB obviously felt in his gut (based on a close 47-year friendship and working relationship) that the allegations were BS. JB has never been afraid to speak his mind. His forceful statement last night tempered the media roller coaster ride... and caused people to stop and think. If, in the end, it does not serve him well .... so be it. He knew what he was doing.

Dunk you very much..totally agree with you CTO

 

[albanycuse]

I understand where you're coming from, but I just don't see a wholesale staff cleansing no matter what happens. First of all, Hop was not even a coach when these incidents supposedly took place. He was a player. Secondly, there was no cover-up of anything. Davis even admitted that he never said a word to JB. Is JB supposed to see through walls?

I don't see any justification here for Gross or Cantor to make a wholesale staff change. Not a chance.

Me either pistol pete, no way that happens.

 

[rrlbees]

His forceful statement last night tempered the media roller coaster ride... and caused people to stop and think. If, in the end, it does not serve him well .... so be it. He knew what he was doing.

We agree then because that is what I said. How he said things made great theater for now and like you said "tempered the media". But in the end it may not serve him well, as you said also. It will be a real shame if this is true and JB's words help take him down and also a piece of the program. It will not have been worth the instant gratification of tempering the media.

 

[rrlbees]

I understand where you're coming from, but I just don't see a wholesale staff cleansing no matter what happens. First of all, Hop was not even a coach when these incidents supposedly took place. He was a player. Secondly, there was no cover-up of anything. Davis even admitted that he never said a word to JB. Is JB supposed to see through walls?

I don't see any justification here for Gross or Cantor to make a wholesale staff change. Not a chance.

If all of this is true, the number of times, the places, the length of time, I don't think Cantor keeps anyone and even if she did, irreparable harm will have been done to the program. ALL of these accusations could not have happened without someone saying What Bernie. But again, I don't think all of this stuff is true. I feel 99% of it, if not all of it, is made up and we will survive. I am just talking worst case.

 

[PoppyHart]

We agree then because that is what I said. How he said things made great theater for now and like you said "tempered the media". But in the end it may not serve him well, as you said also. It will be a real shame if this is true and JB's words help take him down and also a piece of the program. It will not have been worth the instant gratification of tempering the media.

And expose him to slander claims, which would be ironic b/c he claimed they are only out for money. With the S.O.L for civil claims likely expired, he may have granted their wish.

 

[cto]

We agree then because that is what I said. How he said things made great theater for now and like you said "tempered the media". But in the end it may not serve him well, as you said also. It will be a real shame if this is true and JB's words help take him down and also a piece of the program. It will not have been worth the instant gratification of tempering the media.

JB was not thinking "instant gratification." He was dealing with something he thought was WRONG... and he felt it was important for him to say what he knew. As you know, I am friends with JB, and I know him pretty well. He is a high integrity person. He saw what he thought was an injustice ..... and he spoke out. Nothing more complex than that.

 

[RF2044]

JB was not thinking "instant gratification." He was dealing with something he thought was WRONG... and he felt it was important to say what he knew. As you know, I am friends with JB, and I know him pretty well. He is a high integrity person. He saw what he thought was an injustice ..... and he spoke out. Nothing more complex than that.

I'll add one more thing, CTO. Throw out the PR 101 manual--this isn't a common situation, nor some small scale corporate crisis than most people aren't paying attention to. This was a full fledged scandal being broadcast to millions internationally. Said scandal--and the sordid details being conveyed--were heinous enough to take the entire program down, and destroy JB's legacy in the process as a function of him ostensibly turning the other cheek while this kid got ostensibly molested thousands of times [per Schwartz's description].

Taking a less definitive approach wouldn't have made any sense. I understand where bees is coming from about how if anything is proven to be true, how JB's comments will make the eventual consequences worse. But let's be honest--even if JB had sat back and been as deferential as some would have preferred, he was at great risk for being taken down if any of this was proven to be true anyway. See: Penn State.

So there was no point for JB sitting back and giving vanilla answers--he dropped the gloves. And it wasn't about instant gratification, it was about eliminating all doubt about him supposedly having knowledge or being complicit in anyway to a child being sexually abused on his watch. It changed the discourse about how the story was being described in the national media, and it brought a tremendous amount of scrutiny [and skepticism] to the way this story was being reported.

It also wasn't about just sticking up for Bernie, either. Hell no. It was about JB protecting himself, his job, his program, and his long term legacy. If comes out, then he's toast. But he would have been toast if he'd merely read some non-controversial wishy washy prepared statement that didn't ruffle any feathers, only to have eventually come out anyway.

This is an all or nothing proposition I fear--and has been ever since Schwartz pontificated about the story last night in a sensationalist manner on ESPN.

 

[rrlbees]

JB was not thinking "instant gratification." He was dealing with something he thought was WRONG... and he felt it was important for him to say what he knew. As you know, I am friends with JB, and I know him pretty well. He is a high integrity person. He saw what he thought was an injustice ..... and he spoke out. Nothing more complex than that.

And you know from your career there is a right way and a wrong way to say things especially from people in the limelight. There is no doubt how he said it and in what context can come back and bite him and the program in the arse. I could right a press release that made the same points in his support of Bernie without calling out the accusers which now sets him up and makes him a bigger target in the end. JB being JB is why we all love him so much. In matters like conference re-alignment he is a breath of fresh air and truth. But with something like this, carefully choosing your words is more prudent.

 

[orangecuse]

And expose him to slander claims, which would be ironic b/c he claimed they are only out for money. With the S.O.L for civil claims likely expired, he may have granted their wish.

Really, be a little more astute then that. Just because the SOL has expired does not mean these clowns can't try to SELL $$$ their fabricated stories to some prospective buyer...these guys are opportunistic, especially in light of the PSU scandal...their timing could not be better...

 

[cto]

And you know from your career there is a right way and a wrong way to say things especially from people in the limelight. There is no doubt how he said it and in what context can come back and bite him and the program in the arse. I could right a press release that made the same points in his support of Bernie without calling out the accusers which now sets him up and makes him a bigger target in the end. JB being JB is why we all love him so much. In matters like conference re-alignment he is a breath of fresh air and truth. But with something like this, carefully choosing your words is more prudent.

Bees, you know what my background is..... it was essentially crisis communications. And I always fought with the lawyers who wanted to say ... "This is a legal matter, and therefore we cannot comment." Lawyers ALWAYS wanted to say that. Even when we KNEW we were right. JB obviously did not consult with any lawyers or "spin doctors" --- who would have muzzled him. Instead he spoke from the gut. I am sure the university dislikes the path he has taken. But so be it. Jim is what he is. He has always been an upfront guy... and he has always been very loyal to his people. As I said, he obviously knows what the personal consequences might be. But he has obviously decided to say "this is (fill in the blanks)." In this era of everyone using a rehearsed soundbite.... I sort of like Jim's "let the chips fall where they may" attitude.

 

[JohnCuse44]

I can tell that some people in the media respect how JB came out on this.

Jim Rome said something like if it was me and I knew it was false this is exactly how I would come out - Guns Blasing. Everyone who doesn't work for ESPN backed off today b/c of what JB said! He put it all on the line and I love him for it. Dam I just hope he is right.

 

[rrlbees]

Bees, you know what my background is..... it was essentially crisis communications. And I always fought with the lawyers who wanted to say ... "This is a legal matter, and therefore we cannot comment." Lawyers ALWAYS say that. Even when we KNEW we were right. JB obviously did not consult with any lawyers or "spin doctors" --- who would have muzzled him. Instead he spoke from the gut. I am sure the university dislikes the path he has taken. But so be it. Jim is what he is. He has always been an upfront guy... and he has always been very loyal to his people. As I said, he obviously knows what the personal consequences might be. But he has obviously decided to say "this is (fill in the blanks)." In this era of everyone using a rehearsed soundbite.... I sort of like Jim's "let the chips fall where they may" attitude.

Don't disagree with that and it would be OK if it was just himself he was putting on the line. But due to his stature in the basketball world and being the face of SU basketball, it is my opinion, that he has also put a piece of the program out there in the middle with his chips. We can agree to disagree.

 

[moqui]

Don't disagree with that and it would be OK if it was just himself he was putting on the line. But due to his stature in the basketball world and being the face of SU basketball, it is my opinion, that he has also put a piece of the program out there in the middle with his chips. We can agree to disagree.

well, however and whenever JB goes, the program likely goes with him anyway, IMO.

 

[fanfanclubclub]

It wouldn't be about his support, it would be the bad press of calling the victims "liars" and accusing them of being "out for money."

Someone needed to say exactly those two words, "liars," "money," in the national media, and it had to be someone very respected and nearly beyond reproach, otherwise the tide wouldn't have likely turned. Homerun for JB. Hope he is right, sure looks so.

 

[ljmilman]

Someone needed to say exactly those two words, "liars," "money," in the national media, and it had to be someone very respected and nearly beyond reproach, otherwise the tide wouldn't have likely turned. Homerun for JB. Hope he is right, sure looks so.

I do agree that it had to be said, and JB being the one to say it was a massive turn of the tide. But if he's wrong, it does a hell of a lot of damage to him.

 

[susince76]

It seems to me that JB has had years since the first investigations to run all the scenarios through his head. If he had any suspicions that BF was capable of something like this since then, he would have backed away already. If this were true (and I don't believe that it is), I imagine that JB will be more disappointed in his friend then any of us fans could imagine. What JB is doing is standing up for his friend. We see so much about bullying these days & we tell our kids to fight back & when JB sees it happening, he jumps right in the middle of it.

Child molesters make me sick and I hope they all rot in hell. But BF is still innocent until proven otherwise. I think the bravery and self sacrifice that JB is showing right now should be an example to everyone of what we are supposed to do when we truly believe that something wrong is going on. Not think about how to cover our own asses.

 

[SmilinBob]

I agree, it's too bad politicians can't be more like this.

If you put yourself in Fine's shoes it probably helps quite a bit to know that you have someone with a mic in your corner. Imagine if you're accused of something you didn't do, wouldn't it be nice to have a close friend defend you like this?