OT: Media Sensationalism or Vandy's Coach Out of Line?
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/12390602/vanderbi…
Is this ESPN overblowing it or an actual problem? Reminds me of when the media freaked out about Bob Knight getting his player to keep his head up.
Video of it is in the link. I would berate the player after the coach did myself if he were my kid. Then again I'm not a parent so maybe Idk any better.
What do you all think?
February 27th, 2015 at 12:30 AM ^
Probably not cool for the coach to yell "I'm going to fucking kill you."
Although it did remind me of another dickweed wearing black and gold:
February 27th, 2015 at 8:05 AM ^
So he's a sore winner, so what?
That's a big ol' /S.
I totally agree with other comments how you just can't say you're going to "kill" him. Poor choice of words, for sure.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned, though, is the Tennessee coach. Did the Tennesse coach actually complain about an opposing player clapping in his player's face?
He looks a bit like a whiner here, doesn't he? Was he afraid that his player's feelings were hurt?
There's a lot of wrong here to go around, starting with the Vandy player.
February 27th, 2015 at 8:23 AM ^
Baldwin did not clap "in a player's face".
What's with the sportscaster: "I think we've all said that in our lives."
What???!! I have never said that or heard that being said to others....
February 27th, 2015 at 8:45 AM ^
Yes, he did clap in a player's face, did you see the video? Baldwin was being a punk. He felt dissed by something some Tennessee player said after the previous game (which was pretty innocuous) so he decided to take it back to the streets and dis them right back. Punk bullshit. Good for Stallings.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^
I can tell you didn't grow up in my neighborhood.
Whenever two guys would square off "I'm gonna fucking kill you" was a common phrase.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:41 AM ^
Can't one get arrested for saying this?
February 27th, 2015 at 4:28 AM ^
February 27th, 2015 at 12:41 AM ^
He could have just said something along the lines of "I'm going to run your ass to death" and there would be less backlash.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:45 AM ^
What kind of coach even says that?...Otherwise nothing wrong with taking exception to this but you gotta do it the right way.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:47 AM ^
I think a part of the problem is the kid is apparently a headache, so maybe this just put Stallings over the top along with the emotions of the game.
Meh.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:56 AM ^
Of things that a coach could yell at a player that I would say they shouldn't but telling your player that you'll fucking kill them is one of them.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:44 AM ^
Let's get this guy over 100 tonight!
February 27th, 2015 at 2:19 AM ^
February 27th, 2015 at 12:53 AM ^
Maybe it wouldn't have been as big of an issue 40 years ago but 2015 is a different era. I have no qualms with him saying "damn it" or "what were you fucking thinking" but "I'm going to fucking kill you" seems over the line.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:59 AM ^
When trying to make a point about handling yourself with dignity and class, it might be helpful to embody those qualities.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:15 AM ^
The way to teach class and sportmanship isn't to act like a classless jerk. Bit over the top.
Devil's advocate: I'm about 97% sure he didn't truly mean it.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:19 AM ^
Most coaches are probably not like Dean Smith, who apparently never cursed.
I'm sure some crazy shit has been said during practices over the years and they're never serious obviously.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:28 AM ^
Doing this on the floor with cameras rolling shows a lack of discipline from the coach, IMO. If someone tweeted from the locker room that he said exactly the same things with the door shut I don't think anyone bats an eye over it.
Better yet, it looked like a student doing something stupid (which as we all know never happens) and maybe someone like Beilein could squeeze a teachable moment out of it.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:38 AM ^
ive been screamed at by coaches just as bad, if not worse...but it shouldnt happen in public like that..
keep it in the locker room or on the practice fied and its fine. embarrass me in public like that and its gonna do more harm than good.
i can understand it though. he lost his cool. he probably has had issues with the same kid or same team in the past, so he wanted to make a point to show that he isnt putting up with it. easily couldve handled it better though.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:43 AM ^
VERY GOOD! IMO This was way over the line . . . losing it on a guy for being out of control and emotional!
February 27th, 2015 at 2:01 AM ^
As a coach, you need to know how to pick your spots. If there's a problem, you address it off the court, in the locker room, away from the cameras. This is Stallings' 16th season at Vandy--he knows there are cameras everywhere, with microphones, and a 24-hour news cycle to replay anything that might happen. As the adult in the situation, he wasn't wrong to take issue with what the player did. He was wrong, however, in both when and how he chose to address it.
February 27th, 2015 at 6:46 AM ^
24 hour news cycle? Cameras everywhere? At VANDERBILT? JJ
February 27th, 2015 at 3:49 AM ^
Our society is hypersensitive to this kind of stuff. Whenever someone delivers tough love, someone not even associated with the issue has a problem with it. "Don't you know, Baldwin is a victim here?", they'd say. Baldwin knew what he was doing and he knew the coach wouldn't like it, and he did it anyway. The coach was right to bitch him out, especially so in public, if it has been a recurring issue with the player. The player practiced poor sportsmanship in public, he should therefore be publicly embarassed- an eye for an eye.
What the coach said wasn't good, and there were a lot of more politically correct things he could have said that would have illustrated the same point to the player. On the other hand, he said something that most everyone says in their private lives on a semi-regular basis, and a lot of the people throwing stones have probably said it themselves.
February 27th, 2015 at 8:26 AM ^
I'm not seeing the hypersensitivity here. Nor was the player being portrayed as a victim. Nor do I believe that was something most peope say on a semi-regular basis. I don't see it as an issue involving political correctness either.
The real question is how do you expect your coaches to behave in public? No one other than a coach could act in such a way without serious repercussions. If Vanderbilt expects their coaches to show more self control, that's perfectly understandable. If they don't think he crossed a line with that outburst, that's fine too.
Coaches aren't dictators, even though they might seem that way in dealing with their players. They are both employees and representatives of the school. In Stallings case, the most prominent employee on campus. He's been there a long time. He should know what lines he can't cross and they should know how he interacts with his players. I'd be surprised if this is a problem that can't be solved by a simple apology, as he's already done.
February 27th, 2015 at 6:13 AM ^
Cmon guys. Everyone here has said something along the lines of "Im gonna kill that guy if he does that". It means nothing. People overreact to everything these days. Everyone has to get butthurt over the stupidest things. We are becoming a country full of drama queens.
February 27th, 2015 at 7:02 AM ^
It's not that so much - I think we're all pretty sure he meant this figurately - but it is what was said and where it was said. If you're the head coach, it just seems much more appropriate to A) not express your displeasure with your players lack of sportsmanship in quite those words regardless, and B) save the meat of the ensuing teachable moment for the locker room. If you want to install class and discipline in your players, those words probably aren't the best way to go about it. I don't think this is about "drama queens" or anything like that, but merely that there is a better way to communicate the lesson.
February 27th, 2015 at 9:18 AM ^
February 27th, 2015 at 6:38 AM ^
I think Utah treated Arizona State worse last night. 41-9 at the half. 83-41 final.
February 27th, 2015 at 7:33 AM ^
we don't know the coach player relationship. This could be between 2 people that are very close and possibly the coach has been trying to reign in this players antics. Unfortunately in a world with ubiquitous cameras coaches must refrain from this kind of outburst. It's not appropriate for public consumption.
February 27th, 2015 at 7:56 AM ^
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February 27th, 2015 at 7:59 AM ^
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February 27th, 2015 at 8:31 AM ^
I tend to skew pretty hard towards the "that's inappropriate," stick-in-the-mud side of things, but this seems like a non-issue to me. Should he have been caught on camera yelling like that? No. Is it a big deal that he was? Not really.
Let us all scoff and roll our eyes and move on.
February 27th, 2015 at 8:44 AM ^
February 27th, 2015 at 8:55 AM ^
I have no problem with the coach righting the ship but I think we can all agree that the verbiage was not proper.
I coach Tyke football and if any of the kids do any show offy type BS they'll be benched immediately or if its after the game then practice is going to be a little harder for them that week.
I believe you can have fun at all levels of sport, but not at the expense of others. Save it for Madden or NCAA when you and your buddy are talking shit to each other. I also believe this needs to be drilled into kids at a young age. Feel slighted? Show it on the field.
February 27th, 2015 at 9:18 AM ^
but I'm not too putoff by this. I love emotional coaches but don't embarrass a kid........ Hi Izzo!
February 27th, 2015 at 9:18 AM ^
Or are there people who actually think the coach is going to murder the player? People, including myself, say things similar to this in jest all the time.
The Brian Kelly purple face thing never bothered me either, my old high school coach makes him look like mother teresa.
February 27th, 2015 at 9:22 AM ^
If the question is "Is ESPN overblowing something?" The answer is, yes. And I think that's the case here as well.
As the player himself said,
Coach Stallings is the best coach in America. I felt no offense to anything. We are both fiery people and that's why I chose Vandy ⚓️
February 27th, 2015 at 9:30 AM ^
This story was complete media sensastionalism. Far worse things happen in practice of every division 1 athletics team and no one would deny that. Even the "I'm going to kill you comment" came off like something a father would say to his kid after he did something stupid. It would have been a little smarter to wait until no cameras were around, but for me, the fact that he didn't shows me the reaction was genuine. I'd rather a coach do this than come out with a comment later like "We've disciplined our player" when who knows what they actually did.
February 27th, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^
Your dad was mean.
February 27th, 2015 at 9:52 AM ^
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February 27th, 2015 at 10:13 AM ^
hot headed reaction. That said, it was inappropriate, hence the apology. I am willing to bet the same people who "laud" this would also be supportive a more civilized response.
In fact, they are lauding the message conveyed not the delievery. NRE
I would defer to Baldwin's tweet at the end of the day.
February 27th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
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February 27th, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^
February 27th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
This is a non-story.
He went over the line in what he said in berating the player. He aplogized.
Nothing else to talk about.
And please stop about the "you can get arrested for saying I'll kill you" stuff. He clearly wasn't literally threatening to kill the player. Even the player understood this.
February 27th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
Mike Leach says this is a non-story.
Thank goodness the interwebs and social media wasn't around when Bo was a coach. When I was growing up, this wasn't unheard of. I've experienced worse and I don't think it stunted my growth or development in any way.
Listen, sports are a metaphor for life. Life isn't easy. It's a big bad world out there. So you got an f-bomb dropped on you. Take your ass chewing for what it was and move on.