Coach inflated stats — story?

My first thought is to what joe_schmoe was saying. I got lambasted (by editor and coaches) for a preview I wrote where one player said his team was going to beat another team because they "have more speed in the stands."
So my reason's posting it here is to decided if it's a ridiculous violation that is worth ruining a relationship with a team my "community" paper has covered for years or possibly (it's sad) getting canned. But that's a story for another thread.

 

if it's blatant, i disagree. in fact i think it would be like a news person blowing off voter fraud.

 

Re: Coach inflated stats — story?

Here is the problem with this post: you don't know if any of the things you said are true! You based your entire argument on facts you invented for the purpose of your argument.

If the issue is "inherently flawed" stats, "unskilled scorers," or "an overworked high school coach who passed off the stat-keeping to an assistant or a volunteer," as you've imagined, that is a non-story. But if Mr. Brecht has conclusive evidence that the stats were deliberately manipulated, that is a story.

 

I say it's only a story if the kid made All-State (Area/County/Division) simply because of the stats. In other words, if the kid is not All-State/County/Area caliber and made it because of "fraud", then it's certainly a story that I think your readers would be interested in reading.

We've had coaches try to inflate numbers (one coach had a softball player hitting .840 for the season) and most of the time when I get to the All-State meeting, I deflate the stats to a reasonable number. If the kid is good and deserves to be All-State, I'll just flat out say "stats aside, this kid deserves the honor."

If the kid was good enough for All-State/County/Universe and the coach just inflated the stats to give him/her a better chance, then I would simply have a little talk with the coach about it. And please explain to that idiot that colleges don't award scholarships based on how many times the kid makes All-State or appears in the paper.

 

The only evidence I have would be numbers sent to the award association, that don't even come close to the kids actual numbers, from I guess video tapes I could get? WE have box scores from stringers and staff writers who have covered their games, that's how we figured 40 yards as the longest.

 

You could tell them, but these bright fuckers see a correlation between scholarship offers and number stories in the paper.

 

Re: Coach inflated stats — story?

I disagree with something like twelve separate points here.

One by one:

"That's a lot of a headache to bother with." So? We're journalists. The headache-inducing stories are the good ones.

"and coaches inflate numbers all the time." And now Brecht (apparently) has conclusive evidence that a coach in his area has done so.

"Even if you were to do this and make an issue, you'd have to be able to prove beyond a doubt that your numbers, not the coaches, are correct." Well, yes. He can't just make stuff up.

"If it;s coaches, most of them would know if the numbers are legit anyway, as a few of those coaches wil know the kid, and know if he's really that good." This is 100% not true. Would the coach of a team Brecht High plays once a year automatically know if John Smith kicked a 55-yarder or a 46-yarder against Smith High?

"What good could come of it? A kid gets an award taken away? Unlikely. Another awarded? also unlikely? coach fired? seriously doubt that." The ethical calculation here should not be consequentialist. A deliberate deception was (apparently) undertaken in an (apparent) attempt to make an area athlete look good. This, innately, is a story. We report it - not because we "want something to come of it" but because it is news.

"DO you really want the isolation the coach gives you if you do this?" Man oh man. I'm sure Brecht will immediately lapse into depression if Coach Smith stops taking his calls.

"write a general story on how coaches inflate numbers and it isnt helping the game or the kids" - and omit the most locally relevant example.

Mannnnnnnnnnnn.

 

This is a little bit of an obstacle. If you were personally present at the games, and personally recorded all of the 35-yarders that were turned by Coach Smith into 55-yarders, you'd have a good story. But right now, you have coach stats that don't match stringer stats.

Just how far do they "not even come close"?

 

From an earlier post:

 

Re: Coach inflated stats — story?

If the deliberate deception did indeed occur, Brecht can write the deception story while also saying the "stats aside" thing you say...you can be super-nice to the kid while also telling the story.
--
John Thomas, Smith High's cool-as-a-cucumber placekicker, had a great year: two game-winning field goals, a perfect record on extra points, three kicks of 30 yards or longer.

But according to the statistics his coach provided the committee that decides who makes the all-state team, Thomas was even better than that.

 

Re: Coach inflated stats — story?

Do you always make mountains out of molehills like this? Invented facts for the purpose of my argument? God, you make it sound like Jayson Blair. :

The point is, high school stats are worthless, and the reason they're worthless is because of the normal situations which I described: parents keeping the book, non-playing classmates serving as "managers," not having a good video in order to confirm the correct yardage, etc.

So even if he has "conclusive evidence that the stats were deliberately manipulated" -- which is a lot harder to prove than by the few examples Brecht has mentioned here -- there's still no story because even the "normal" numbers are inadvertently manipulated all the time. If the coach is trying to pull a fast one on you, or the award voters in the state association, then call him on it.

But unless this is a Big Fucking Deal -- and I don't think this is -- then there's no story other than he's trying to bullshit you. And it's your job to sort through the bullshit. Doesn't make it news.

 

So you're saying it's a blog entry...