Advice from Sam Webb: Don't Boo Chris Webber

Submitted by njvictor on November 2nd, 2018 at 12:00 PM

Sam and Ira were taking about this subject on WTKA this morning and I believe it's something that should be shared. If you're not happy that Chris Webber is coming back to Ann Arbor, just close your mouth or keep talking to your buddy. Do not boo him during the coin toss. This a huge recruiting weekend for football and basketball, and booing a former player can only reflect poorly on our university and our treatment of former athletes. With that said, there probably will be some boos and that means that everyone else should cheer that much louder to make Webber and the recruits feel welcome.

Go Blue and Beat PSU.

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ijohnb

November 2nd, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^

Boo Chris Webber?  I hope he does a ceremonial dunk at halftime of tonight's exhibition basketball game.

Anybody who boos Chris Webber does not have a particularly good understanding of what transpired at Michigan from 1990-1998 in basketball.  Yes, he should have told the truth about it to the Grand Jury, but he was far from the only one involved.  I am not sure what people want him to do.  Say sorry?  I really don't think he owes anybody an apology.

Joined: 09/21/2009

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saveferris

November 2nd, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^

Let me be clear, I don't see him that way either, but the popular narrative around the whole incident has been distilled down to the easiest and most visible target, which has been Webber.  The truth is much more subtle and most people can't be bothered to really understand it.  It's easier to adopt the black/white position of Chris Webber is a bad person and move on.

Nobody should boo, but I know there will be plenty on hand who will.

Joined: 07/02/2009

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MGoGrendel

November 2nd, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^

The average fan says "Ed who?" and remembers Steve for the National Championship.  Chris was tagged with everything, even though teammates and someone from another school were also involved.

At this point, he has to own it, but ensure (as much as possible) that everyone understands that he did something as a kid that he regrets as an adult.  I have a bucket load of things that I regret doing as a younger version of me. I'm glad I'm not in out there in the public!

Joined: 01/21/2013

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Sam1863

November 2nd, 2018 at 3:45 PM ^

^^^This. Every one of us of a certain age can look back at our younger years and think, "My God, what the hell was I thinking?" If I made a list of every fuck-up I made in college and through my 20's, I could probably write a small book.

But part of being an adult is taking that critical look at your younger self and, as you said, own it. If Webber simply said something like, I made a foolish mistake. I was young, I didn't think it through, I screwed up and I'm sorry.

I really think that would do it. Most people are pretty forgiving if given the chance.

Edit: And I agree - don't boo. It doesn't look good.

Joined: 04/27/2014

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PapabearBlue

November 2nd, 2018 at 5:22 PM ^

The average fan probably barely even knows this situation was much of a thing. You'd have to be at least middle-aged to even have been old enough to remember it, plus you'd have to have been really into it for a teenager or you'd still yet have to be older (now), PLUS you'd have to have cared that much about sports which most fans don't, PLUS you'd have to care that much about MMB and this is at a football game.

I'd be surprised if 10% of the people there are aware that they "should" be upset let alone enough to boo.

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Section 1.8

November 2nd, 2018 at 12:16 PM ^

No; that is what I have been trying to communicate in this entire affair.  It is a mistake to think of Chris as the primary villain.  But Chris' very big and as-yet enduring problem is that he didn't help make Ed Martin the prime villain.  Chris's silence and criminality helped to wrongfully make the University of Michigan a villain.

I think that perhaps Chris thought that a narrative that would help him was the "poor-college-athletes-don't-get-anything" narrative.  Chris got a fabulous education opportunity at Detroit Country Day School, and then the University of Michigan and somebody got about $280,000 tax-free cash from Ed Martin.

 

Joined: 01/04/2018

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J.

November 2nd, 2018 at 1:52 PM ^

This is a depressing thread.

Chris Webber forfeited his right to cheers from the fanbase when he accepted money, and then again when he failed to come clean about it.  Are these the values that are supposed to define a Michigan Man?

I’m willing to bet that many of you who will be cheering Webber derided OSU fans for cheering Tressel — and you would do so again if they brought him back for a 25-year anniversary.  They’re no different — they broke the same rules for the same purpose.

Michigan is supposed to stand for something.  The only thing Chris Webber appears to stand for is himself.

Joined: 03/11/2012

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Gulogulo37

November 2nd, 2018 at 11:00 PM ^

Very few people here thought nailing OSU for tattoogate was the moral thing to do. We were happy because they actually got punished. North Carolina had some of the most egregious infractions and got away with everything. Not to mention all the legitimately awful things that keep coming out of college sports. Anyone still pissed about Webber taking some money for being good at basketball 25 or so years ago needs to wake up. 

Joined: 03/16/2010

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mackbru

November 2nd, 2018 at 2:05 PM ^

You're excusing him just because he wasn't the only one who a) lied to a grand jury and b) broke NCAA rules by taking a large amount of money under the table? Talk about situational ethics. Homers are the worst. Imagine if this were an ex-Sparty. He lied under oath. He broke the law. And he, among others, caused the program to spend a decade in the wilderness. He's no hero.

Joined: 09/01/2009

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Alumnus93

November 2nd, 2018 at 5:46 PM ^

Lying is both on Webber and the program. They should have convinced him to just tell the truth, despite program repercussions.  The spotlight on Michigan is so strong and he seemed to be standing alone among sharks like Martin, and Fisher should have known the danger there. 

Webber knows hes culpable but is pissed the program took no responsibility, and thus has stayed away. His view is they made a ton of money on him, and they did, and thought taking pocket money wasn't a big deal. So be it.   He must not be booed .

Joined: 09/10/2009

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rjc

November 2nd, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^

Sad this even needs to be mentioned.  Some of the best memories of my life revolve around that team and that era and they should be embraced.

Welcome home Chris, it's been too long but we're glad your back!  Put the banners back up while your here!

Joined: 02/12/2010

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bdneely4

November 2nd, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^

I remember getting the black socks and wearing really baggy shorts in youth basketball.  The Fab Five transformed the game with their swag, trash talk, and just their persona on the basketball court in that era and Chris Webber was an integral part of their success

Great memories!

Go Blue!!

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ST3

November 2nd, 2018 at 1:08 PM ^

On the one hand, we were guilty of something so I feel like the banners should stay down (and I don’t believe in Final 4 banners anyway. Win the thing and then hang a banner.)

On the other hand, we are playing PSU this weekend and those pedophile-enabling sycophants restored 111 wins to JoePa’s record.

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maizenbluenc

November 2nd, 2018 at 2:23 PM ^

That last bit is where I am on this: what has happened at Baylor and the rest of the B1G East has put all this in perspective.

I personally think we should hang the banners and fully embrace the Fab 5 for the cultural phenomenon they are - including recognizing the scandal and maybe someday when the NCAA gets sued into it, an editorial on the fairness of not allowing young players to benefit from their fame.

Same thing for the Willis Ward story - own it good and bad.

The truth will set you free ... continuing to pretend - not acknowledge - the good and the bad only causes continued controversy and underlying resentment.

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DrMantisToboggan

November 2nd, 2018 at 12:10 PM ^

Even if you hold on to decades old hate (for a stranger...who was a teenager when he committed his infractions...but I digress) for Webber, PLEASE do not boo.

5-star ATH Quavaris Crouch will be at the game with his mom and grandma.

5-star C (basketball) Walker Kessler will be at the game. 

A myriad of other recruits will be there. 

The game is on national television and there's a good chance ESPN wants to get a Webber at mid-field shot.

 

Don't boo. It's never a good look. Not now, not for our players, not for Webber. Never.

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DrMantisToboggan

November 2nd, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^

What if you're from out-of-region, attending your first game at Michigan, already skeptical about the colder weather, and the game literally starts with Michigan "fans" booing one of their own?

What if all the above is true and the person they're booing is a legend who plays your position in your sport that you look up to?

I think that, if you're not already indoctrinated into Michigan and what it is as a university/athletics department, significant boos would absolutely dampen your first impression of the fanbase and how you'd be treated here.

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1VaBlue1

November 2nd, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^

Webber is either 'hate him' or 'don't hate him', so good luck with the PR suggestion!  Personally, I wish he'd apologize for lying about having taken money.  Something like, 'I'm sorry we got in trouble because I lied, didn't want it to come to that.  But yeah, I took money because we should be paid, dammit!  And I was in college and needed it!'

I want to hear that from him, but I wouldn't boo him, either - dude and his teammates gave us some great bball and fun times that will never be forgotten.  Boo's for that are low class - he was a kid that did what he thought he needed to do for him, and then got caught up in it...

As for the >decade long morass to UM bball?  UM brought that on themselves with poor coaching hires (everyone between Fisher and Amaker - looking at you, Ellerbe), and waiting too long to pull the trigger on others.  Amaker was a great bridge between crap and Beilein - a guy beyond reproach with a national name.  But he was kept a couple of years too long, I think.

But yeah, I digress.  To the OP's point - don't boo Chris!!

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