Ashiru

[HuskiesFan1014]

The writer comes off as a complete hack too. Terribly written article.

I thought the same thing as I read it.... okay, at first I felt a bit of sadness and outrage, but that was the parent in me and the empathy for Mr. Ashiru. Then, I realized there was absolutely no fact in this story except for the (understandably) upset Dad relaying the "feeling" that his son had about being unwanted.
It may be entirely accurate, but without allowing the coaching staff to present any rebuttal, it's just a small-time guy at a small-town rag paper getting his 15 minutes. And as this season winds down, anything is more interesting than what we've seen on the field, perhaps at the cost of responsible journalism.
I hope the best for Jefferson. I liked his play, and I hope he gets another shot, no matter where that takes him.
And, for what it's worth, if it were my son, I'd be foaming at the mouth over anyone who doesn't see him as I do...the absolute best kid anywhere. Sorry for Mr. Ashiru's loss, too...and for him becoming fodder for a poor news story.

 

[hjoerring]

Honestly, if he ends up at BC, this entire university athletic department needs a major overhaul as to our football priorities are and there needs to be some serious questions asked about what we are doing. I don't mean this in any way because I don't like the Thunder Turkeys. There are serious questions that need to be asked anyway involving the Thunder Turkeys.

We lost a player at this program, who was told he should never play a game again due to health concerns, and has played all season at BC. This is something I've been meaning to eventually write about once the season is over, and we're essentially there.

How the hell does that happen? I'm not questioning the merit of the explanation, we might have a very good explanation, but I can't comment on that - because I have no idea what the explanation is. Our crack press team at work.

Every year players are given medical advice regarding their health and it is up to the player and his/her family to arrive at a decision. The Uconn people made their assessment and recc(?) but probably informed the athlete that they would support his/her decision. Ali was told to stop fighting because he has taken too many poundings. Well, he didn't. If athlete A drop dead on the field at BC the latter may say that they too warned him, and 2nd opinions cleared him. Perhaps in 10/20 years he curses the day t

 

[huskymedic]

Jeff Jacobs: Ashiru's Father Had Harsh Words, And Diaco Was 'Crushed'
http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-football/hc-jacobs-column-1203-20141202-column.html#page=1

>>Koonz confirmed it was Tayo Ashiru who contacted him after reading a column he wrote after the loss to Cincinnati. He had not reached out to him. Should Koonz have reached out to UConn after Ashiru's father contacted him with those accusations, perhaps gotten the response Diaco gave Tuesday and shortened the life of this story? One could argue that way. Yet Koonz also was the one who asked Diaco last week directly about Ashiru and got mostly happy talk. On Tuesday, Diaco said he hadn't wanted to degrade any student and that is why he didn't say much initially. Understandable.

"If they approached [Jefferson] in a nice way, I think he would go back," Tayo Ashiru told Koonz. "But I know this hurt him. He loves football. They didn't have to treat him this way."

Ashiru is remaining in school, but I don't see him returning to the team. Whether he chooses to transfer for one more season remains to be seen. In the meantime, I understand a dad loving his son so much that it hurts him deeply that his son lost his playing role. But right now I do not see evidence of abuse. I do see a father's words that could hurt a program.<<

 

[CTMike]

Good for Diaco. I called Koonz a hack when the piece first came out. And DiMauro is a hack for promoting that piece. It's hack journalism.

Reminds me of the Joe Zone/Logan Marchi episode over the summer. Reporter gets one side of the story and runs with it as though it's gospel. That's bad enough, but Koonz put in a lot of editorial garbage in there based on one side of the story. I'd make those 2 clowns persona non grata around UConn. Both have an anti UConn agenda and are major tools.

And after the Jacobs piece, this remains 100% spot on.