OT: Jim Nantz’s NCAA whitewashing enables scandal and disgrace

[CamrnCrz1974]

Jim Nantz’s NCAA whitewashing enables scandal and disgrace | New York Post

Nantz knows Roy Williams’ success at North Carolina — including two national titles — to some great extent was predicated on sustained, as in at least 15 years, academic fraud, including no-show classes for his basketball recruits that guaranteed A’s and B’s.

Yet Nantz not only avoided mention of this colossal, enabling scandal, he spoke of Williams as if he’s a beloved Eagle Scouts leader.

At halftime of Friday’s UNC-Butler, Nantz: “Let’s go to Coach Roy.”


...

Before the start of Friday’s Kentucky-UCLA game, Nantz warmly portrayed another coach of impeachable character and methods as taking a sentimental journey: “And coming back to Memphis, where he coached the Tigers for so long, John Calipari!”

Calipari bolted Memphis for Kentucky at the same time the NCAA was investigating academic fraud, specifically the fraud that allowed solid citizen Derrick Rose to remain eligible long enough to help Calipari’s 2008 Memphis team to a 38-2 season and the Final Four.

 

[UcMiami]

Good find and good calling out of sycophantic TV folks!

[But come on Cam, isn't it time you and Triad admit that you have pooled resources and are paying IBM a fortune for a few milliseconds of Watson's time to do an hourly search of the www for any mention of UNC, any employee, coach, or athlete, current or former, that is combine in a posting with any of the 100,000+ negative words found in the OED and send the links to you both! ]

 

[facey76]

Good find and good calling out of sycophantic TV folks!

[But come on Cam, isn't it time you and Triad admit that you have pooled resources and are paying IBM a fortune for a few milliseconds of Watson's time to do an hourly search of the www for any mention of UNC, any employee, coach, or athlete, current or former, that is combine in a posting with any of the 100,000+ negative words found in the OED and send the links to you both! ]

The disparity in the way different schools are treated makes me sick.
While I am on the subject, it makes me sick the Calipari is still allowed to coach NCAA all, and at a blue blood school too.
Kentucky sold its soul when they hired him. Pitino is almost as bad, the state of Kentucky can be real proud of that pair!

 

[BigBird]

Nantz is not part of anything called investigative journalism, or even bona fide journalism, for that matter. He is, on the contrary, part of the TV sports entertainment industry. His employers expect him to recognize and promote those aspects of MBB that encompass energy, skill, and positive achievements.

The broadcasting I did was very much small time, and minor league compared to Nantz. He has his reasons and directives, and I had mine. I would often summarize it for my interns this way:

"I will try to be honest. I won't lie to you and I won't lie for you. But neither will I tell everything I know about the program, or air dirty laundry just to show that I can." This credo got me along for about 40 years.

Today? Wowzers. Things have changed. College sports admins often do expect you to lie for them, and to go with the company line. They don't trust broadcasters much at all, so they fear that you will lie to them and lie about them. Audiences increasingly see sports broadcasters as shills (because too often they are) and because the current socio-political climate encourages that view.

I didn't intend to make such a long response, but I'm rather passionate about this stuff, even in my retirement from the business.

 

[triaddukefan]

Good find and good calling out of sycophantic TV folks!

[But come on Cam, isn't it time you and Triad admit that you have pooled resources and are paying IBM a fortune for a few milliseconds of Watson's time to do an hourly search of the www for any mention of UNC, any employee, coach, or athlete, current or former, that is combine in a posting with any of the 100,000+ negative words found in the OED and send the links to you both! ]

Im under the impression that you think I have something against the Flagship Public University of my beloved state of North Carolina

 

[Frenchy]

IT looks,smells and feels like , just another enabler hiding behind his mama' skirt! There are too many people hiding the facts that NC has escaped the wraths of the NCAA for over 3 years now and we don't see any justice coming down the pike either.

 

[Paesano]

The disparity in the way different schools are treated makes me sick.
While I am on the subject, it makes me sick the Calipari is still allowed to coach NCAA all, and at a blue blood school too.
Kentucky sold its soul when they hired him. Pitino is almost as bad, the state of Kentucky can be real proud of that pair!

The irony is that they don't like those eyetalians down there, other than when they recruit lots of good basketball players.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Yet Nantz not only avoided mention of this colossal, enabling scandal, he spoke of Williams as if he’s a beloved Eagle Scouts leader.
At halftime of Friday’s UNC-Butler, Nantz: “Let’s go to Coach Roy.”
Before the start of Friday’s Kentucky-UCLA game, Nantz warmly portrayed another coach of impeachable character and methods as taking a sentimental journey: “And coming back to Memphis, where he coached the Tigers for so long, John Calipari!”

This is what a shill does. He is paid to help sell a product. ESPN folks are not sports jornalists, they are shills and entertainers. It is E$pn. It is not about sports. It is all about entertainment and $$$. Objectivity is nowhere in their job description. Telling it like it is died with Howard Cosell. And even he was a shill for himself quite often.

 

[HoopsFan21]

How is UNC basketball still a thing?

 

[BroadwayVa]

Nantz is not part of anything called investigative journalism, or even bona fide journalism, for that matter. He is, on the contrary, part of the TV sports entertainment industry. His employers expect him to recognize and promote those aspects of MBB that encompass energy, skill, and positive achievements.

The broadcasting I did was very much small time, and minor league compared to Nantz. He has his reasons and directives, and I had mine. I would often summarize it for my interns this way:

"I will try to be honest. I won't lie to you and I won't lie for you. But neither will I tell everything I know about the program, or air dirty laundry just to show that I can." This credo got me along for about 40 years.

Today? Wowzers. Things have changed. College sports admins often do expect you to lie for them, and to go with the company line. They don't trust broadcasters much at all, so they fear that you will lie to them and lie about them. Audiences increasingly see sports broadcasters as shills (because too often they are) and because the current socio-political climate encourages that view.

I didn't intend to make such a long response, but I'm rather passionate about this stuff, even in my retirement from the business.

Nantz---is paid to speak to and about people-it is not his job to be negative---sports interviews are not NEWS interviews or the old time 60 minute interviews--to speak of all the bad things in life during Sports events--would probably end your job. or at least in the long run end sports interviews.
Having said that --I admit I'm naive--and like a rosey world--where when something is done for you --it's done for me--If I do something wrong I get the same punishment as you for the same crime---it angers me and frustrates me--but to survive I
have to accept the inequalities of the world I live in--even with Nantz. Or Mulkeys --Punch em! Lets I go to the gulog for being human.

 

[BroadwayVa]

This is what a shill does. He is paid to help sell a product. ESPN folks are not sports jornalists, they are shills and entertainers. It is E$pn. It is not about sports. It is all about entertainment and $$$. Objectivity is nowhere in their job description. Telling it like it is died with Howard Cosell. And even he was a shill for himself quite often.

Shill is a tough word---they are doing a job. And the job is not to drag up or undercover dirt---and you are ever so correct--
Sports --even Uconn sports --is about entertainment---and much of it is BIG MONEY--for everyone concerned down to the coaches---where else would you make a couple or 3 millions watching boys, girls, men, women playing sports???? They are not shill--
they don't tell us all that's wrong with NC, Baylor or 100 other schools is right or try to sell us on the correctness of what happened in those schools--that's a shill.

 

[Buzzyboy]

IT looks,smells and feels like , just another enabler hiding behind his mama' skirt! There are too many people hiding the facts that NC has escaped the wraths of the NCAA for over 3 years now and we don't see any justice coming down the pike either.

It's totally disgraceful. They shouldn't be allowed to field major men's athletic teams for the next decade, at a minimum. I would allow that to take place two years after the decision comes down so as not to totally ruin young freshmen and sophomores who have little or nothing to do with it and might be overtly affected. Anyone desiring to transfer, should obviously be allowed to leave without any waiting period but the University should get hammered for allowing this to happen. Basically, this kids were nothing more than mercenaries whose job was to come in and play their respective sports. A truly unfair advantage to the school.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Shill is a tough word---they are doing a job. And the job is not to drag up or undercover dirt---and you are ever so correct--
Sports --even Uconn sports --is about entertainment---and much of it is BIG MONEY--for everyone concerned down to the coaches---where else would you make a couple or 3 millions watching boys, girls, men, women playing sports???? They are not shill--
they don't tell us all that's wrong with NC, Baylor or 100 other schools is right or try to sell us on the correctness of what happened in those schools--that's a shill.

I would agree that commentators don't need to bring up the dark side of things but to promote and throw out statements praising the coaches in the manner that they do is pretty hypocritical since these coaches knew of what was happening and accepted it instead of either trying to stop it or leaving it for other jobs. You think either one didn't have some options?

 

[BroadwayVa]

I would agree that commentators don't need to bring up the dark side of things but to promote and throw out statements praising the coaches in the manner that they do is pretty hypocritical since these coaches knew of what was happening and accepted it instead of either trying to stop it or leaving it for other jobs. You think either one didn't have some options?

No need to prolong a factual statement of "it's not Nantz's job to critique those he's interviewing. Hed last 30 seconds after he took the stance many damn him for not taking----He's not a shill or hypocritical--he's doing his job--wants to keep doing it. If you want political correctness ---read the internet on the subjects Nantz didn't discuss.