Richardson Leaving Ensworth

[mobile24]

This has everything to do with a student not being able to do the work academicly.It has everything to do with a coaching staff going out and finding a stud football player and getting him admitted to a school that he is not prepared to attend. It has everything to do with a school turning a blind eye to academic shortfalls so that the stud football player suits up on Friday nights. Family makes a knee jerk reaction to get him eligible. Sad story. I truely hope its the right decision......

 

Dont kid yourselves. This is becoming more and more commonplace. Its happening on West End, Granny White Pike, in Chattanooga and in Memphis just to name a few. Im all for giving kids chances just make sure they are doing the work in the classroom. The education should be what the chance is about.

[KWoodroof]

This has everything to do with a student not being able to do the work academicly.It has everything to do with a coaching staff going out and finding a stud football player and getting him admitted to a school that he is not prepared to attend. It has everything to do with a school turning a blind eye to academic shortfalls so that the stud football player suits up on Friday nights. Family makes a knee jerk reaction to get him eligible. Sad story. I truely hope its the right decision......

 

Dont kid yourselves. This is becoming more and more commonplace. Its happening on West End, Granny White Pike, in Chattanooga and in Memphis just to name a few. Im all for giving kids chances just make sure they are doing the work in the classroom. The education should be what the chance is about.

I can't speak for any of the other schools, but MBA has never had a proposition 48 casualty, and they've had every garduate attend college since Adam was in pre-K. I can't think of any athlete who didn't complete his course of study and graduate. To my knowledge, MBA still computes atheltic eligibility by the grading period, as opposed to the TSSAA's semester standard.

 

As I say from time to time when the scurrilous accusation of blanket recruiting comes up, all I ask is a little evidence...one name, perhaps? Just the one...given how widespread the practice apparently is, I suspect that's easy enough.

[owlbooster]

This has everything to do with a student not being able to do the work academicly.It has everything to do with a coaching staff going out and finding a stud football player and getting him admitted to a school that he is not prepared to attend. It has everything to do with a school turning a blind eye to academic shortfalls so that the stud football player suits up on Friday nights. Family makes a knee jerk reaction to get him eligible. Sad story. I truely hope its the right decision......

 

Dont kid yourselves. This is becoming more and more commonplace. Its happening on West End, Granny White Pike, in Chattanooga and in Memphis just to name a few. Im all for giving kids chances just make sure they are doing the work in the classroom. The education should be what the chance is about.

There is a difference between "not being able to do the work academically" and simply not doing the work. What sense does it make for a school to admit a student who can't do the work? That's an invitation for failure. What good does that ultimately do the team? IMO, it's the proverbial "you can lead a horse to water" scenario not some sinister exploitation. It's happened before and will happen again. It's usually the parents that want "stud jock son" to go to a better school. Son would rather "stay at home" and "cruise" through 4 easy years. In Richardson's case, unlike the huge majority of players, he knows he'll be a rich NFL star in about 5 years, so why bust his butt at Ensworth? Son 1, Parents 0. Of course, heaven forbid he have a career-ending injury. Then where is he? His parents realize that even though he may not. Teenagers think they are invincible, that the "bad stuff" only happens to somebody else.

Edited October 23, 2010 by owlbooster

[3yardsandacloudofdust]

The tragedy here (I guess overlooked because Ensworth won last night largely on the back of another "recruit") is for this young man. After all the talk about the "nurturing" environment at Ensworth and how he was valued as an individual rather than an athlete, it is clear that the best interests of the young man were not the priority. If they were, he would have been suspended from the football team until his academic performance rose to a level that gave him the best opportunities in life.

 

Anyone who thinks that it is easy or unstressful to start at a new school in the middle of your senior year in high school has never lived in a military family where such moves are commonplace. In these military situations, the parent who is transferred often goes on alone until the school year is complete in order to save the children from the distress of the move in mid-year.

 

This young man was used and then tossed away. With all the resources available at Ensworth, was there no one who saw this coming and no one who could step in to do something before it got to this stage?

Edited October 23, 2010 by 3yardsandacloudofdust

[tackle]

Only the family and a few at Ensworth will know the whole story behind this. What is truly unfortunate is that a high profile 18 year old, is having a traumatic experience played out in the newpaper, radio, television and internet sites. While I haven't looked on any college recruiting websites, I am sure this will be a topic.

The young man will be called lazy and the school and family will have accusations thrown at them. In the meantime, a young man must feel divestated. For it to happen at this point in the season, it has to be a very significant event. Whether or not Antontio has fault in the matter, it is truly a shame that it has to be played out before the public, but then America loves a good scandal.

My hope is that whatever path he takes will lead to growth, that he will reach the potential he has and in 5 or 10 years, this will be a distant memory that he can look back on as a time when painful progress took place.

[PowerSweep]

Question: How will this affect Ensworth in the future as it relates to attracting athletes to their school? This could certainly play a part in a parent's decision to send their child to school their for athletics.

 

I'm not saying it will or it won't... just that it could. I'm curious what others think about this.

[owlbooster]

IMO, some posters are being unreasonably harsh on Ensworth. It sounds like all the fault is being laid on the school. All the resources, counseling, tutors, etc. still may not compel a student to do the work or pass a test, especially one with an NFL future in his headlights. In a way, I don't blame him. He's just being a 17 year old. I'm not convinced that this is "traumatic" or "devastating." That seems a bit overstated. He might even be relieved. No doubt it is unsettling and embarrassing. And it is sad that because of his stature as an athlete, he also has to cope with the media spotlight.

Edited October 23, 2010 by owlbooster

[owlbooster]

Question: How will this affect Ensworth in the future as it relates to attracting athletes to their school? This could certainly play a part in a parent's decision to send their child to school their for athletics.

 

I'm not saying it will or it won't... just that it could. I'm curious what others think about this.

I'm not sure what you're implying. I can't imagine parents who are considering sending their athlete children to a prep school don't realize the greater possibility he/she may not make the grade academically, that there won't be any "free passes." If they're truly concerned, they should just send them to a public school and pocket the change. I don't think this one particular case will change things appreciably.

[VandyHoosiers]

I would agree with 3yardsandacloud. He should have been suspended from athletics at EHS until his academic standing improved. These high profile football players at Ensworth (Jefferson/Darkwa/Richardson) have sure had interesting tenures with the school: Jefferson was certainly athletic enough to play football in the Big 12/ACC/SEC but he signs with MTSU, Darkwa is one of the most prolific backs in recent DII history and ends up at Tulane (a fine school, but bound by C-USA restraints...aka not many), and Richardson is apparently not even a qualifier yet (kind of unreal if you think about it). Thank goodness for the sliding scale the NCAA introduced as a means of determining who is eligible to play DI football...because the GPA factor isn't incredibly important if you score high enough on the SAT or ACT. If you only have a 2.000 Core Sum GPA in HS, you only need a 1010 on the SAT math and reading sections or a 86 sum score on the ACT. Anyone got a link to EHS's list of core classes?

[PowerSweep]

If they're truly concerned, they should just send them to a public school and pocket the change. I don't think this one particular case will change things appreciably.

owlbooster... this is what I was thinking could happen. Parents could be "concerned" and decide not to take the chance and just send their child to a public school.

[66in74]

I would agree with 3yardsandacloud. He should have been suspended from athletics at EHS until his academic standing improved. These high profile football players at Ensworth (Jefferson/Darkwa/Richardson) have sure had interesting tenures with the school: Jefferson was certainly athletic enough to play football in the Big 12/ACC/SEC but he signs with MTSU, Darkwa is one of the most prolific backs in recent DII history and ends up at Tulane (a fine school, but bound by C-USA restraints...aka not many), and Richardson is apparently not even a qualifier yet (kind of unreal if you think about it). Thank goodness for the sliding scale the NCAA introduced as a means of determining who is eligible to play DI football...because the GPA factor isn't incredibly important if you score high enough on the SAT or ACT. If you only have a 2.000 Core Sum GPA in HS, you only need a 1010 on the SAT math and reading sections or a 86 sum score on the ACT. Anyone got a link to EHS's list of core classes?

You say 1010 SAT or 86 ACT like that would be easy for a kid with only 2.0?

They would have to average 21.5 on all 4 parts of the ACT. That would be very difficult for a Student who can only atain a 2.0 GPA.

The NCAA Eligibility standards are below what many schools require for entrance.

 

IMHO all parties involved with this situation are too blame. The school used him; the parents failed him. (no pun intended)

 

IMHO he should not be allowed to play in the US Army All American Team game. He does not represent what an All American Student-Athlete is about.

[owlbooster]

I would agree with 3yardsandacloud. He should have been suspended from athletics at EHS until his academic standing improved.

Maybe he was suspended or about to be, saw the "writing on the wall," gave up, packed his bag and got the "h" out of Dodge. We don't know and probably never will know the complete story. Nor should we. The most curious thing, as a previous poster has said, is that it took 2 1/2 years for this to happen.

Edited October 23, 2010 by owlbooster