Penn & Teller: Bullshit

Submitted by Enjoy Life on
I call BULLSHIT. There has been a ton of stuff posted. But, I have not seen very much addressing the following: If you actually read the freep article, you will note that the words are chosen VERY carefully. Why? Because, it is all BS. 1) The headline "Michigan program broke rule, PLAYERS SAY" (emphasis added). Ahhh, the freep is not actually alleging that M broke any rules (that might be subject to libel). 2) "If the NCAA investigates and concludes that U-M willfully and repeatedly violated the rules, the NCAA could find the football program guilty of major violations for the first time in the football program’s history." Notice the wording. If I was ten feet tall, I could be a really good basketball player. 3)The freep knows how many of the sources were "ex" versus "current" players. Yet, they chose not to even give a count. This would in no way have jeopardized the anonymity. 4)Hawthorne: "I work out at 8. We’ll work out from, like, 8 to 10:30. WE COME BACK LATER,...(emphasis added). No mention about the fact that there was obviously a gap when the players were not even at voluntary practice. I could go on but you get the point. The freep KNEW this was BS and that is why they chose the words VERY carefully. No basic reporting questions let alone an independent investigation. To quote Penn & Teller: BULLSHIT!!!!!

TMos53

August 30th, 2009 at 11:41 PM ^

I love Penn & Teller: Bullshit, mainly because I love Penn & Teller but they make really good points and show how a lot of stuff really is bullshit, my favorite episode is the one about PETA.

jericho

August 30th, 2009 at 11:42 PM ^

I noticed the carefully chosen words and vague breakdown of players as well. They say things like,"5 players did not dispute the allegations." What the hell does that mean? If they said,"No comment.", that is not disputing it I guess. It doesn't mean they confirm it either, but that doesn't support their hate fest so it's left out. I also notice that the number of active players that "complained" is also left to your imagination. They keep saying former and active players say such and such, but they only directly quote one active player. Yep. Bullshit.

Tacopants

August 31st, 2009 at 12:13 AM ^

To be completely fair, if they said "3 current players" and the coaching staff knows that 2-3 current players are very unhappy and/or consistently complain about their situations, it tends to narrow down the field.