Temple

[zonepirate]

I guess I'll be staying up till midnight tonight to read Hargis' story. I had thought all along he was being fair to Temple. Hope he doesn't blow it this time.

 

 

You probably won't be real happy when you read it. It was pretty harsh but right on target. The Temple admin should have actually read the TSSAA rules and got themselves and Williams straight on the facts if they were going to go on the radio and whine

 

Here it is

 

Setting the facts straight in the Temple-TSSAA case

Stephen Hargis Commentary I have the perfect solution to the Tennessee Temple Academy saga.

Earlier this week I listened to a local radio station as a panel of Temple administrators complained for an hour over the severity of the penalties levied by the TSSAA for three major violations. If in fact the school is so unhappy with the manner in which the TSSAA governs high school sports, simply stop paying the dues and drop out of the state’s athletic organization.

Problem solved.

The TSSAA is a voluntary organization. Once you pay your dues and join, you agree to abide by its rules. If the TSSAA isn’t allowed to enforce its rules, why even have a governing body? Under TSSAA bylaws, a school found guilty of any rules violation is automatically given the maximum punishment if it did not self report, and that’s the reason Temple was handed the maximum penalties.

During the radio show, Temple administrators and former City Court Judge Walter Williams, serving as the school’s legal counsel, called for state legislators to investigate whether the TSSAA swings too heavy a hammer over prep sports. With all the legitimate concerns facing our state lawmakers, it’s absurd even to suggest that the legislature get involved in deciding whether Temple was too harshly penalized for breaking numerous rules.

After listening to the radio broadcast, I counted at least a dozen statements by either a Temple administrator or Judge Williams that were either wrong or in stark contrast to clear TSSAA rules. Having players practice with a program while still enrolled and attending another school once could be looked upon as an oversight. But to do it in consecutive years constitutes a pattern, and that is the reason TSSAA executive director Ronnie Carter admitted he was troubled by the lack of comprehension of the rules by Temple administrators and slapped the program with the “lack of institutional control” label.

Temple chancellor Dr. David Bouler’s claim on the radio show that the school was never given a chance by the Times Free Press to explain its side is false. After each discussion with a TSSAA official, I called Temple headmaster Connie Pearson and athletic director Caleb Marcum to give them the chance to respond or decline comment.

Contacted Thursday, Judge Williams admitted he might have been misinformed or misunderstood some issues.

According to both Drs. Bouler and Pearson, they learned about the infractions by reading the newspaper. But Arts & Sciences athletic director Mark Dragoo said he contacted Pearson in May, the day he saw two CSAS students carrying Temple football gear into his classroom. After alerting Pearson of the violation, Dragoo allowed Temple two weeks to self-report the incident before calling the TSSAA himself. The fact that neither of the students enrolled at CSAS while practicing with Temple are still on the team or that an ineligible player saw sparingly few minutes of action is not the point. The rule is very clear in each instance, and the kids were ineligible. Period. Pay your fine, make sure you follow the same rules the other 300-plus member schools do and move on.

By continuing to deny any responsibility, Temple administrators and Judge Willliams send a message that if you break a rule but plead ignorance, all should be forgiven. Cheating on a math test? Plead ignorance. Get caught having a booster or coach contact a prospective student enrolled at another school and invite them to join the football team? Plead ignorance.

If someone had appeared before Judge Williams, having been charged with speeding, carrying automatic weapons or having a trunk load of drugs, would ignorance of the law warrant a pardon? How badly do you have to break a rule before Temple administrators and Judge Williams believe it’s a violation?

But for Temple’s leaders, I’m assuming it’s easier to spend an hour of radio time blaming the messenger and complaining about the harshness of the punishment rather than admitting guilt. Everyone involved with Temple’s “scheme team” defense panel should spend less time looking for people to assign or share the blame for their own misdeeds and more time reading, understanding and following the rules.

If that’s too difficult, there’s nothing wrong with simply returning to the independent Christian school organization.

E-mail Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com

[blueandgoldfan]

wow. harsh is right. was hargis off-base with anything he said?

 

 

btw...i hope he doesn't get a speeding ticket anytime soon!

[Rabble Rouser]

wow. harsh is right. was hargis off-base with anything he said?

btw...i hope he doesn't get a speeding ticket anytime soon!

 

Mr. williams is in private practice these days.

 

And, the column is accurate.

[TheMagneticFields]

I've never liked the "if you don't like the rules, leave." argument, but overall the article is good in pointing out some discrepancies between the information presented by the panel and the newspaper.

 

Is there not a sports editor who proofs these articles though? "Earlier this week I to a local radio station..."??? listened? was invited?

 

But this is the issue in a nutshell: "The rule is very clear in each instance, and the kids were ineligible. Period. Pay your fine, make sure you follow the same rules the other 300-plus member schools do and move on."

 

Good advice, and I hope Temple follows it.

[blueandgoldfan]

did temple really ask for the tennessee legislation to look into this?

[TheMagneticFields]

did temple really ask for the tennessee legislation to look into this?

 

 

It was suggested that maybe the state legislature should look into the power given to one individual (in this case, Ronnie Carter) in investigating, etc etc etc. I doubt it goes any further than a comment made on a local radio station broadcast.

[zonepirate]

I've never liked the "if you don't like the rules, leave." argument, but overall the article is good in pointing out some discrepancies between the information presented by the panel and the newspaper.

 

Is there not a sports editor who proofs these articles though? "Earlier this week I to a local radio station..."??? listened? was invited?

 

But this is the issue in a nutshell: "The rule is very clear in each instance, and the kids were ineligible. Period. Pay your fine, make sure you follow the same rules the other 300-plus member schools do and move on."

 

Good advice, and I hope Temple follows it.

 

 

The article in the paper had the word "listen" in there but it wasn't on the online version. Not sure what happened. I fixed it in my cut and paste

 

I agree about the don't like it then leave. Temple does have the right to to not like the way the TSSAA does things. I don't like everything they do and I agree that a broader based appeals board would be a good thing for all of us. Having a one sided radio "forum", not getting facts correct and whining was ill advised. Now any sympathy they may have gotten from other schools is greatly diluted.

[blueandgoldfan]

so, will the issue be dropped now?

[zonepirate]

It was suggested that maybe the state legislature should look into the power given to one individual (in this case, Ronnie Carter) in investigating, etc etc etc. I doubt it goes any further than a comment made on a local radio station broadcast.

 

 

Walter Williams brought it up as a talking point. I don't think it has gone further than that

[zonepirate]

wow. harsh is right. was hargis off-base with anything he said?

 

 

I didn't see anything that wasn't 100% correct. While I listened to the radio show I jotted down Temple's Admins' or Williams' incorrect statements and half truths. I got tired of writing half way through the show. I'm sure the Temple Admin is not happy with the tone of the article. It makes them look pretty foolish but they brought it on themselves.

[zonepirate]

so, will the issue be dropped now?

 

 

I would hope so but I guess that will be up to Temple. My guess is that Temple will at least post a rebuttal on their web site. They don't seem smart enough to leave it alone.

[blueandgoldfan]

I would hope so but I guess that will be up to Temple. My guess is that Temple will at least post a rebuttal on their web site. They don't seem smart enough to leave it alone.

 

 

 

you would think that, in looking in the world of professional/college sports, bickering with the media is ALWAYS a losing battle...no matter how "right" you think you are.