COLUMN: An apology to Paul Rhoads
- Thread starter ChrisMWilliams
- Start date
I didn't take this away at all, it was about perspective, there were some things that CPR was doing GREAT, things that as ISU fans we all should have been proud of but that stuff gets forgotten when you aren't winning. I think we all appreciated what CPR did but we are so hungry for a winner that we focus on the wrong things. The article had very little to do with CPR, it was more about fan expectations and that there are a lot of things coaches do to be great coaches.
Yeah, but the sign says "Honor BEFORE Victory", not "Honor WITHOUT Victory" - which is the thing that seems to get lost in everyone who uses this sign as an excuse for decades of losing - "Yeah, our history is one that completely sucks at football - but at least we're above reproach."
I don't necessarily think Rhoads is needing an apology. He was brought in here to win football games. He was not willing to do the things this generation looks for in a program to spend the next 3-4 years - "their" music, flashy uniforms, social media presence. Recruiting talent is a major portion of the job and Rhoads wasn't willing to do the "legal" things that brought in talent, which is why his recruiting classes were among the worst in FBS (and worse than some in FCS) and why we lost more than we won. Compare that to Campbell, who in two weeks and two months on the job put together one of the best recruiting classes Iowa State has seen in the last 20+ years.
Perhaps we should have known better because of the Baylor Basketball incident, but when the comparison was made to Baylor football, covering up sexual crimes wasn't even on the radar. What we were asking Rhoads to do was create excitement about ISU football. Do the things that reach this generation. Interact with them on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. Have at least one flashy uniform. Have them come out to the field to music that is popular with them, not something that was popular with their grandparents. That was what Baylor was doing and that's what we wanted here - and Rhoads refused to do it.
Nowhere on here did I see we wanted Rhoads to cover up sexual assaults. I am among those that said it was deplorable, and I thought Briles should be fired over it long before he was. That being said, I doubt that was one of the reasons why Baylor football became so successful.
That's why I think an apology to Rhoads over "wanting what Baylor has" is completely unwarranted. To me this is one last attempt to self-inflict a guilt trip over firing a great human being who wasn't doing his job. And don't get me wrong, Rhoads was a GREAT human being. He might have even been a really good head coach 20 years ago. But his failure to adapt to this generation, much like Baylor did (sans the sexual assault) was why he was fired. And I won't apologize for that.
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My comment wasn't directly about CW's article but more about how people responded by congratulating Paul for running a clean program. It isn't really about Paul. More of how it seems today people put others on a "pedestal" for doing what they are suppose to do. That reflects how bad our expectations of others are.
Never throw stones at glass houses. Iowa State has had too many cases that are despicable. Some involved athletics (Sam Mack, Cousin, PJ Harris and more) and others academics (Dr. Lynn Glass, Tyler Walters and more). Any of these acts be it at Baylor or in our back yard are horrible and reprehensible. CPR was an upstanding individual, but we cannot make ourselves to look as innocent as some would suggest. We all have to do better.
Of course, Iowa State has bad things that have happened. But they didn't try and cover up the fact that Sam Mack held up a Burger King. People are always going to do bad things. The problem with Baylor is that they enabled the players. They hid it. They didn't care about the victims. There's a pretty big difference.
When Rhoads got canned I sent him an email thanking him for his devotion and effort and that while I wanted more wins I was proud of the man he was and the way that he did things with 3 examples.
1. When he rode his Harley it was to raise money for a charitable cause and not to impress some bimbo riding with him ala Petrino at Arky.
2. He had the players' well being in mind always - no rhabdo at ISU.
3. I was always comfortable that he would NOT recruit a known sex offender to Ames unlike Briles in Wacko. (at that time we only knew about the sex offender transfer he accepted from Boise even after Peterson warned him about the guy)
1. When he rode his Harley it was to raise money for a charitable cause and not to impress some bimbo riding with him ala Petrino at Arky.
2. He had the players' well being in mind always - no rhabdo at ISU.
3. I was always comfortable that he would NOT recruit a known sex offender to Ames unlike Briles in Wacko. (at that time we only knew about the sex offender transfer he accepted from Boise even after Peterson warned him about the guy)
My bizarre obsession with everything he writes?
He's the publisher of the site, who represents Iowa State fans on a relatively large scale in the state. Of course I'm interested in what he writes.
I consistently post about ISU basketball, football and wrestling on this board. I enjoy discussing the programs and recruiting.
I also enjoy pointing out when our rep produces moronic content and makes us look like idiots. And worse, idiots that like WWE and thinks "Daddy likes" is funny.
So your claim that the only reason I come to CF is to belittle CW is simply false. It's just one of the many reasons I come to CF.
So...you're essentially admitting that you come here in part to harass CW, give him a hard time, and call him an "idiot" because he likes WWE?
"Hey, yeah, I don't like the publisher of the website I frequent and give him a hard time, but only do that sometimes, so get off my back!"
Yeah...not exactly doing much to refute my point there.
Nice article...I know that Baylor got brought up a lot as a comparison to ISU and how our coaches / program were failing.
I said at the time and I'll clearly stand buy it now...they cheated. They put winning above everything else in life. They watched the realignment talks and saw that they were probably going to be left out of P5(?) athletics and said WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP THAT FROM HAPPENING WE WILL DO!
College athletics have gotten way out of hand. We've placed entirely too much emphasis on them (I say this as a fan) and we've lost track of what is important. I have to believe when history looks back at this time athletics (college & pro) will be the Gladiators of our Rome. The distractions that took our eyes off the ball...what we placed overwhelming importance on...that didn't really matter.
I said at the time and I'll clearly stand buy it now...they cheated. They put winning above everything else in life. They watched the realignment talks and saw that they were probably going to be left out of P5(?) athletics and said WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP THAT FROM HAPPENING WE WILL DO!
College athletics have gotten way out of hand. We've placed entirely too much emphasis on them (I say this as a fan) and we've lost track of what is important. I have to believe when history looks back at this time athletics (college & pro) will be the Gladiators of our Rome. The distractions that took our eyes off the ball...what we placed overwhelming importance on...that didn't really matter.
We have riots from social injustice all over the country. We have one of the worst elections in history folding in front of our eyes. We have business back talking and ripping everyone off. Schools are losing funding because they aren't 'winning'. A congress with 14% approval. Of course we have distraction like Rome did. I think we actually have it worse.
If this stuff is a moral eye opener for people its worse than I expected.
Rhoads did plenty of things that put winning ahead of the best interest of his players and most would consider "winning before honor". If you think otherwise you're either extremely naive or brainwashed.
Was it to the extent of Art Briles and Baylor? Obviously not, but I don't think we (or any major college sports program) should be standing all high and mighty. Plenty of shadiness and "winning before honor" going on across the board. Not an indictment of Rhoads, its just the nature of the beast.
Was it to the extent of Art Briles and Baylor? Obviously not, but I don't think we (or any major college sports program) should be standing all high and mighty. Plenty of shadiness and "winning before honor" going on across the board. Not an indictment of Rhoads, its just the nature of the beast.
You mean Nikki Moody? Because as of right now the narrative on that is everybody - from administration to coaches to teammates to former players to players that transferred out or changed their commitments - say it's Nikki that was the problem, not Bill. From what is being said Nikki pulling the race card on Bill is her one last "**** you" because her life didn't turn out the way she wanted it to.
Now, if the narrative changes and its revealed that Bill is a racist delta bravo, then I'll want him removed. But at this point, it's her word against his, innocent until proven guilty, and Nikki is more of a spoiled ***** who isn't getting her way.
