New FWAA president is mad as heck

Didn't Ron break the Bama scandal several years back? He is a tremendous reporter...

 

Dialing up Jamal Shuler as we speak ... 1-804 ...

 

Good points here, though.

Too many people who would be willing to break the rules at work at the drop of a hat are unwilling to break the rules set by the coach/SID when it would seem to be warranted.

What's especially frustrating, is that if you are getting so little access to begin with, what are you risking by going around them anyway?

 

It's VCU. Don't worry.

 

He might be mad as heck, but I bet he takes a lot more.

 

Which scandal? You're going to have to be more specific.

 

Yo, long time lurker here who's just registered.

I'm a former cityside guy who's only had a taste of covering some pro football.

I'll say this: If I had a college beat and the coaches and SIDs start telling me what I can or cannot do, I'll tell them in a minute that they don't sign my paycheck and that I will call folks or do whatever else I have to do to get the story.

Or they can hire me as their full time employee.

Yeah, SIDs or coaches won't like it, but at least they'll know up front who they're dealing with.

 

Well, I disagree with you. I would not tell them that. I'd just do it.

 

I don't think P-Dub is saying that he won't call players or coaches because the SID has instructed him not to. He's saying its fruitless. Problem with college-level athletes is they will do anything their coaches tell them to do, and coaches have them believing that they'll lose their starting job if their name shows up in print without authorization.

In theory, shit like this is the reason an SID should have a job, and I trust it's the way Moddy does his job. If you have a legitimate need to talk to a player or coach outside of the designated "access" periods, that SID should be able to set it up.

Problem is, so many SIDs are professional jock-sniffers who view the media as adversaries rather than vehicles through which is promote their school.

 

Gary Parrish broke the Albert Means-for-$200K scandal out of Memphis, also, of course, a great reporter.

 

I guess we'll agree to disagree. I'd do what I have to do; I simply prefer to be upfront with my sources.

 

Yes, but why create ill will until the time comes when you need to call athletes at home or whatever?

Also, why even dignify some of their stupid rules by registering a complaint?

If they say you are not allowed to talk to parents or something, I would just ignore them. They don't control you or the parents. So I'd just do it.

To me, none of their rules barring contact are worth fighting about. I'd just go around them and let them gripe later.

Especially if they do stuff like refusing to bring out players you ask for after games if they are one of those schools that controls who talks to the press after games. If they don't even honor your requests then, why acknowledge theirs?

Bottom line, my complaints about lack of access usually fall on deaf ears, so if I plan to circumvent them, why give them a heads up? Why create a confrontation that may be over nothing?