Deadspin meets Graham Couch
Couch writes an Izzo apologist column painting ESPN as the irresponsible party in all this, Deadspin annotates.
Send them all to jail and send the jail to space.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:10 PM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 10:15 PM ^
Indy Pete, aka Tampa 2 aka Abe Lincoln aka Orlando aka coolguy etc, etc, etc... only cares about being first.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:20 PM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 11:51 PM ^
Hope you never have to find out what it's like to live with severe vision problems for a lifetime.
February 2nd, 2018 at 12:45 AM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 1:08 PM ^
It is ever so much fun
February 2nd, 2018 at 1:27 PM ^
...make a call or respond to a text on my phone, without my glasses, I'm in trouble. I don't believe that the context of that exchange was, "So yeah, did you hear the one about the plight of the visually challenged? Ha ha ha ha ha"...no, I don't think that was anyone's intention.
Large font, thick glasses, dumb joke...end of story.
February 2nd, 2018 at 10:09 PM ^
end of story.
I'm happy for you.
Imagine not knowing each year if you will have to face risky eye surgery after which you might lose your sight permanently but they are putting it off because as long as you can get by, the risks of surgery outweigh the benefits. No worries, though. That's the first and last vision related comment you will get from me.
So SORRY that my post offended anyone. I had to think for a minute before posting it because I knew it would get a neg or two. Didn't bank on 11 but that's fine. Not being a man I can't just post shit all day long and collect thousands of upvotes. Look at every comment posted by women here - you can see the care taken with the writing even when taking a stand.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:25 PM ^
I copied and pasted the headline, and it is an embedded link; uneditable. My scarlet letter, I guess.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:16 PM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 10:29 PM ^
But we all know of Couch's stupidity. Nice analysis by the Deadspin writer going through graf by graf though.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:33 PM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 10:35 PM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 11:28 PM ^
Of the Deadspin article are words to the effect that the situation of Izzo supporters attacking the ESPN story is "scary." Nobody has ever criticized the media before! Can people do that? I'm scared!!
Criticizing the press has a chilling effect on the First Amendment. I know this because the media has told me so. Thanks to Deadspin I'm supposed to be scared of some nobody columnist from some Podunk town. Sometimes the overwhelming self righteousness of "the press" is nauseating.
The media has an vital role that they fulfill on a hit or miss basis at best. Often they are as fat dumb and happy as some insulated, isolated self reverential university hierarchy. These people need to shut up, do the hard work and get over themselves.
February 1st, 2018 at 11:31 PM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 11:45 PM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 2:57 AM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 8:58 AM ^
...to do with Trump. Because elements of what he says agree with elements of what I say hardly makes us fellow travellers. Even a blind squirrel...
I'll leave you all to decide which of us is the squirrel.
February 2nd, 2018 at 1:46 PM ^
You're making yourself look dumb. What did Potomacduc write that triggered you?
February 2nd, 2018 at 6:22 AM ^
Sadly you displayed her exact point in your response. Rage before reason.
Reading comprehension. It’s a skill.
February 2nd, 2018 at 9:36 AM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 11:31 AM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 10:41 PM ^
I made the mistake of following one of the links to his twitter from that article, and it's crazy how many people reply to him saying how incredible his articles are. How he's the only one making any sense, etc.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:44 PM ^
Seemed to have some fairly level takes on the ESPN report saying we need to wait and see what happens before we judge, that type of stuff. A week later, with nothing new from OTL it's almost like they have cabin fever and are spouting off ESPN witch hunt b.s and such. Sad state of affairs.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:54 PM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 10:58 PM ^
They are the only folks around here. Good people overall besides where they went to college and the team they choose to support because of where they went to college.
February 1st, 2018 at 11:03 PM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 2:01 AM ^
was going on? Beavering away, like the amazing journalist he is, keeping MSU sports on the up and up.
There is a small issue tying all these issues together, Graham. The Department of Education called it a "climate of sexual antagonism" and said it pervaded the campus. This was after MSU hid the Nassar investigation from it. I'd say those things bear a fairly close relation--women, the school's own students, getting raped.
MSU fans, having spent two seconds dutifully mourning the victims, are now going full-on JoePa, have found something to sink their resentful teeth into. (After all, it was resentment that drove the train all along.) They have no idea how transparent they are.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:54 PM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 11:09 PM ^
asked the basketball question at the Pen State presser trying to bail out Izzo from the ESPN grilling?
February 1st, 2018 at 11:21 PM ^
...which made me really enjoy this article. I'm been listening to Sparty essentially parrot Couch all week, so it's nice to see this response at the national level.
February 1st, 2018 at 11:40 PM ^
It’s like [Couch] watched The Post but somehow thought Tom Hanks was the bad guy.
February 2nd, 2018 at 5:21 AM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 8:19 AM ^
She also linked to MGoBlog in her response, calling Brian's post a "really good jam."
February 2nd, 2018 at 9:40 AM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 11:07 AM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 12:01 PM ^
To be fair, it's not a comment that was particularly well received; it was mostly high in Kinja because of people responding below it, pointing out how dumb a take it was.
But yeah, there isn't much to defend here. Izzo and Dantonio aren't Nassar, and I get that ESPN sorta alluding to that would get people upset. I'd be upset if I were those guys, at least to an extent. But that was as much timing as anything; this OTL report has been in the works for years. MSU stonewalling ESPN with FOIA was as big a culprit to it coming out now as anything ESPN might have tried to do.
But both of them have presided over sexual assault situations that, to an outsider, seemed to not be handled completely above-board. And at least with Dantonio, his lax enforcement of law extends beyond sexual assaults; he clearly doesn't care all that much about punishing guys until he is forced to do so. And so yeah, he should be taken to task.
What felt like the dumbest argument was that ESPN "had it out" for MSU because they wanted to take down a big-name program in sports. I mean, congrats on your recent run of football success, but in no world is MSU a "big name" athletics programs. You put Michigan, Ohio State, USC, Alabama, Texas, ND, etc. on your front page and you'll get legit huge amounts of traffic. ESPN is reporting on you because your AD let the worst sexual predator perhaps in US history run largely unobstructed for 20 years and then closed ranks when people started digging around.
February 2nd, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 7:18 AM ^
My favorite passage:
[Couch] blah blah blah...
[Author] - Cool, he gets it
[Couch] - "On the other hand..."
[Authour] - "God fucking dammit"
LMAO!!!
It is amazing how many Spartan slappies are refusing to see the big picture. I'm not sure if they don't see it because they don't want to, or they're just incapable of making the connection; or if they just refuse the connection because its bad for thier beloved coaches. I generally trust the <stoopidity, foolishness, aloofness - what's the right word?> of people to get big picture views wrong, but this particular one is an important view.
Either way, it's not a good look for them.
February 2nd, 2018 at 7:45 AM ^
That's a great fisking of a total moron (Couch). The headline, though, is partially correct. ESPN is the outlet that gave Adreian Payne cover by its gauzy coverage of Payne befriending a terminal cancer victim. It was a disgusting move by Izzo and Payne - as soon as they're feeling the heat of the rape accusations, they put Payne on a PR tour with that poor girl.* One of the most cynical moves I've ever seen.
So yeah - ESPN is doing great coverage of this story now while Fox Sports (i.e., the one who owns MSU's media package) ignores a huge story. And they deserve credit. But they also provided a rapist shelter, and we should not forget that.
*And FFS don't tell me about "I don't care why Payne befriended that girl, it gave her and her family some happiness." That's such a bullshit bumper sticker argument - Izzo could have gotten any player on that team to visit her, and from someone who's had a very sick young child visited by athletes, I can tell you firsthand that character and authenticity matter a lot. The fact is MSU, Payne and ESPN used her as a prop. Neg away.
February 2nd, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^
Yeah, I've never gotten the "but the sick child felt better" defense. I'm sure Larry Nassar didn't sexually assault EVERY patient he saw, and probably helped a couple overcome injuries. Doesn't absolve him of everything. And yes, I'm not equating Payne to Nassar. But it was common knowledge that Payne and Appling had these accusations against them, and for ESPN and MSU to think they'd be good representatives for their school is assinine.
February 2nd, 2018 at 7:55 AM ^
Rationalism and denial are the defense mechanism running rampant in East Lansing these past few weeks.
February 2nd, 2018 at 8:44 AM ^
The line that works for me is the one about where the doting fanbase doesn't want their heroes to fall. We can see the level of irrational thought the fanbase is willing to go to to protect their heroes. The main question is what lengths is MSU willing to go to protect their sacred cows? It seems that sacrificing some young maidens and any semblance of integrity or responsibility is not too much for MSU. But, I am fan of actually doing the work to know instead of just assuming guilt.
February 2nd, 2018 at 9:23 AM ^
February 2nd, 2018 at 9:42 AM ^