Saban comments

absolutely. one benefit of being a geezer such as myself is that i wouldn't even know how to do what jeff did.

 

So, the bottom line with Mizzou and Mr. Doyel (welcome, google guy) is that everybody does it, even if everyone knows it's wrong, so lighten up.

Good luck with that or whatever.

 

Unless, of course, you are the one ripping them.

 

Bona fides on shockey, fyi. Don't think he is taking prep agate anytime soon. Calls from sports hotshots Darlington couldn't get on the phone if he tried? That is another story ...

Keep the good fight going, shockey!

rb

 

I think you just like Floridians and their jean shorts.

 

And we love you back.

 

Sorry, Mizzou and Mr. Doyel. When you dish it out yourselves frequently but then rush in like a shocked schoolmarm for one of your buds, that makes you a:

 

Without reading the posted story, may I ask ... did he call 'em coon asses?
If so, there is no apology needed.
Most Cajuns are fine with that. Most consider it an endearing term.

 

Yes, that's what he did.

But some are offended:

Warren Perrin, president of the Council for Development of French in Louisiana, said the term is "highly offensive."

"I routinely state that the use of that term is highly offensive to descendants of Acadians, who are commonly referred to as Cajuns," Perrin said.

 

Outing alert: greggdoyel is Chuck Amato.

 

I'd gone for awhile giving Gregg Doyel the benefit of the doubt, separating his writing persona from his persona.

My bad.

 

Considering that people are calling for Jeff Darlington's job, it's time someone came on here and told the entire story. I'm not Jeff, and I'm not going to say what he did was ok, but everyone needs to know the whole story before they say he should be fired.

Jeff and a handful of other NFL beat writers went out to lunch while covering the Senior Bowl in Alabama. During the course of the lunch, the beat guys started sharing funny stories. Jeff recounted the Saban story, never once mentioning that Saban used the term "coon ass". Jeff's intent in sharing the story was absolutely innocent. The kind of thing that happens between almost every group of close friends who share journalism as a career.

While he was recounting the incident (and once again, he didn't tell the group that Saban said "coon ass"), Jeff mentioned that he had the whole thing on tape. At that point, Orlando Alzugaray - a radio personality and supposed friend of Darlington's - asked if he could get a copy of the tape. Darlington hesitated when he was first asked - a fact that every writer at that table would attest to. But Alzugary persisted, promising several times that he would never share the tape or play it on air. Eventually, Darlington relented.

From my vantage point, Darlington screwed up. And trust me, he knows this. He's apologized profusely and been in nothing less than complete agony over the mistake. But I also know that Alzugaray is a spineless liar who fucked Jeff over - and Alzugaray is an even bigger coward for not coming out in the last 24 hours and admitting that he aired the tape despite saying over and over that he wouldn't. Every writer who was sitting at that table listened to him say it repeatedly. And they all know he's a liar.

Jeff made a mistake. He'll surely be punished in some way, and he'll learn from it. It's not the first time a young writer has screwed up and paid a price. And it won't be the last.