Dave Bliss rears his ugly head again...

Two interesting stories from Dana O'Neil in the last two days:
First, Dave Bliss is back and setting himself up as a cautionary tale for win-at-all-costs coaches:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=3371796

Meanwhile, the assistant who blew the whistle on Bliss' plans to paint his murdered player as a drug dealer has been absolutely screwed and is working the night shift in Wichita Falls, Texas.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=oneil_dana&id=3371852

 

That's a good piece on Rouse... and yet one more reason to detest the hypocrite that is Coach K.

The sanctimony and misplaced priorities here turn my stomach. Guy does right thing. Guy gets blackballed.

Perhaps Bruce Pearl should hire him.

 

I could care less about Bliss and what he's doing now with AIA, because a leopard never changes his spots, no matter how many times he changes. It's hard to believe it has been five years since this fiasco in Waco. My sister was attending Baylor when it happened and she said it was the most surreal scene she's ever witnessed in her life. It was a fucking roller-coaster from what she said of the atmosphere on campus.

We moved her out the following summer so she could finish school at NAIA St. Ambrose.

I always wondered what happened to Rouse, the guy who blew the whistle on all of that shit. He paid the ultimate price for ratting and telling the truth. In this day of breaking rules, lying, and all kinds of crap, ratting out a coach for covering up a murder and getting players and staff to lie is grounds for being blackballed? Sadly, yes.

Welcome to the N.C.A.A., where even when you do the right thing, they toss you out like rotten fish.

I'm going to say a little prayer for Abar Rouse for him to keep going and keep sending resumes. Someone, maybe not in college, will give him the second chance that scums like Bliss and Sampson get on a daily basis.

Oh, and fuck Coach K. Rat bastard would defend any of his current assistants and ex-assistants if they did the same damn thing.

 

Really sad what's happened to Rouse--hope he gets another shot somewhere soon. And Coach K makes me want to vomit.

As far as Bliss goes, I guess if he truly feels like he's changing (which I might be cynical about), than good for him. But if Rouse can't get a job in coaching, neither should he.

 

Good stuff.

 

I have never understood why the vast majority of articles referencing Pearl's situation at Iowa don't talk about the fact that he never gave the NCAA an unedited tape.

 

It is absolutely reprehensible what's happened to Rouse, and it's surely the reason he's having trouble finding a job, but I have to wonder if the reason why he can't land ANY job is just that he's associated with Baylor and Bliss. None of Bliss' other assistants are working anymore, either.

 

Coach K isn't just a coach.
He's a leader.

 

Dude ... the story said Bliss' other assistants can't work because of the NCAA show-cause penalty.

 

Pardon me for being a contrarian here, but I don't think Rouse is a purebred hero in this matter.

I wonder what motivated him to tape those meetings with Bliss and other coaches in the first place. Was he doing that because he knew what was happening there was wrong and he was setting himself up with an out? Was he doing it to "have something" on Bliss or others on the staff? I can't find a lot of noble reasons why he would secretly tape the kinds of meetings that he did.

It would be one thing for him to tape the planning sessions for preseason practices; that might be useful in future coaching positions. It would be another thing for him to tape some of the "inspirational messages" delivered to the team in the course of the season; that might be useful in future coaching positions.

But why tape those meetings? And why not resign when faced with something so putrid?

Let me be clear; Dave Bliss is far more wrong here. I think his NCAA penalty is awfully light.

But until I understand why those tapes were made in the first place, I don't think I'd hire Rouse either - - especially not as my assistant or deputy...

 

It was probably a good thing he didn't send them the unedited tape. Illinois fans would have called out a drive-by hit on Bruce Pearl and Dr. Tom.

I never said that Rouse was a hero by any means. He got fucked by trying to do right. Besides, there were no heroes in that sad mess anyway. I can only speculate, but Rouse may have taped those meetings not cover his ass directly, but in case if Bliss screw everyone and leave them holding the bag (including the players), the tape would trump the "he said, he said" accusations that would have taken place if someone in that meeting would have talked.

 

Its mind boggling to think that you could look at anything but the fact that Bliss was going to tell lies about a murdered victim to save his own ass. That's uncontradicted.

Since when does the truth not matter and you throw stones at the messenger. Rouse was only the messenger. His reasoning was explained, he was a devout Christian and that was one of the reasons he went to Baylor.

He probably taped the meeting because he knew Bliss was going to do something like this and he did not want to catch fire for it.

The fact that he's been blackballed for exposing what would have been one of the worst things I can even imagine anyone doing, let alone a coach, is a very sad reminder of the college basketball world and makes me reconsider ever supporting it again.