re: ESPN Finally Questioning Accuracy of SI OSU Story

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We can look at the physical and documentary evidence the two reporters have both dug up. Now, it is a little unfair for ESPN, seeing as they've only has one day and SI had 10 months, but seeing as SI has ZERO documentary evidence to support their claims, maybe its not that unfair.

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Charles Robinson is clearly much better than Thayer Evans, and I don't think the SI story on OK State is really a big deal, but this isn't fair. The vast majority of sports scandals do not have huge paper trails because it is in everyone's incentive to have the paper trail as obscure/minimal as possible.

For me, the biggest thing about the OK State story is that none of the allegations are that shocking.

Here's what htey have so far:

1) Some players smoke weed, maybe half the team, maybe a little less. A much smaller number do coke or codeine-based cough syrup. One guy sells meth to non-football players.

2) One player receives about $20,000 from boosters, several get 5 to 10 grand, several dozen get between $500 and 5 grand. This includes envelopes of cash, a bounty from an assistant, and no-show jobs.

3) A bunch of guys with 2.5 gpas from shitty urban and rural high schools and 820 SAT scores can't do real college work. Their advisers stick them in classes that won't help them graduate or pick up real skills, but will help them maintain eligibility for 7 semesters with a 2.0 gpa. Some of the guys are too lazy and/or stupid for this to work, so there is a librarian and several tutors who do the work for them. Four or five guys are functionally illiterate. One can't spell the word house.

4) There is an inconsistent drug policy. Stars are able to use a loophole where they do some bullshite counseling, and as long as they are in the program, the tests don't really count. When injured players or back-ups fail tests, coaches follow protocol and suspend the guys and dismiss him from the team.

And these are the two final things, it seems like:

5) Some of the hostesses who recruit top players are jersey chasers and sleep with recruits and/or star players.

6) Many of the guys finish their 4 years at OK State with very few marketable skills or a degree and end up back in their shitty small towns or inner cities.

With the exception of the drug counseling program, which exploits the hell out of some loopholes, the coach running a small bounty system, and the guy who can't spell house, I would venture that all of those things happen at 85% of D-1 campuses, including every single major SEC campus.

The most shocking thing about the report is how unshocking it is. SI is trapped in 1994, and the stuff Thayer Evans wrote is not going to have the public up in arms. I do expect OK State to lose a few scholarships from this, but it won't be anything they can't handle.

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I do expect OK State to lose a few scholarships from this

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Not at all. I haven't cared enough to read Part 3 but from the 1st two parts there wasn't a shred of actual proof($100 handshakes from some guy and no show jobs from a dead lady). The NCAA would have to go back to re-interview all of them and since most have already disputed the story the NCAA will come up short. Maybe they can base it all on Artrell Woods but he's not coming off as much of a credible witness.

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Charles Robinson is clearly much better than Thayer Evans, and I don't think the SI story on OK State is really a big deal, but this isn't fair. The vast majority of sports scandals do not have huge paper trails because it is in everyone's incentive to have the paper trail as obscure/minimal as possible.

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It's not just the fact that their is little to no paper evidence backing it put, it's the fact that there is substantial paper evidence refuting it. Once his key witness gets caught in one lie how can you believe the rest?

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It's a remarkably thin article, especially considering its allegations.

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looking at his past history and how he has twisted shite to make things sound salacious it's a wonder he was ever hired by SI at all.

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it's the fact that there is substantial paper evidence refuting it

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The transcript situation is bad and shows a lot of laziness on the part of Evans, but what is the other evidence?

Even the he said/(s)he/said stuff from the players in the article is weak. Look at this post from Deadspin, which hates the article. The refutations coming from the players is weak as hell. The only one that sounds believable is the "Drugs are everywhere" comment, but that doesn't do much to diminish the rest of the article about the OK State drug testing system.

LINK

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The transcript situation is bad and shows a lot of laziness on the part of Evans, but what is the other evidence?

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the burden of proof is on the accuser. And they have, quite literally, no documentary evidence. None. So your question is accurate, but aimed at the wrong party.

I'm not asking for a storehouse of documents, but one would be nice. And the fact that ESPN found documents refuting claims made in just one day shows the level of research put into this piece. Exactly what credibility to these guys have? Consider additionally there's a statute of limitations on violations, right now the case against Okie St wavers between pathetically weak and literally non-existent.

An accusation is not evidence. Most of the testimony is of the "well, *I* never did this, but I heard about some other guy, and this is how it would've happened if it did." What specific allegations do they have of Specific Player X taking money from Booster Y or cheating in Class Z?

I get that they were bleeding readers but they still had integrity for the most part.

They "could" have become a legit investigative media source and hoped quality work saved them with online readers.

Now their credibility is gone forever.

Artel woods talks about injury. From 2007. He describes it as "just an accident"

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