Tech players using social media to slam the NCAA
Many of you may have read Sean Bedford’s letter to the NCAA.
Bedford, an all-conference center at Tech the past two seasons, isn’t the only player who is using social media to express his frustration with the NCAA’s decision to strip the Yellow Jackets of the 2009 ACC championship.
Wide receiver Tyler Melton changed his Facebook profile photo to one of Tech’s players standing on the podium after the ACC championship game.
Former inside linebacker Brad Jefferson posted this: Just heard they so called, “took our acc championship away,” dats funny..lol! Take something away from gladiator(ha), YEA RIGHT! All they can say is that they tried…
Former kicker Scott Blair posted this: We beat Clemson twice in 2009. We only needed to beat them once to prove we were the best in the ACC anyway.
Former linebacker Kyle Jackson has asked all Tech players to change their profile photo to a picture of their ACC championship ring.
On Twitter:
Offensive lineman Phil Smith: They can’t strip me of my memories.
Inside linebacker Sedric Griffin: Can’t win for losing as a Techie
Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas: Swear they look for anything
Cornerback Mario Butler: Regardless of what happened I still got my acc ring
Running back Anthony Allen: Well good thing my ring is in a safe place but this is some bull…
A few Clemson players took Tech to task:
Running back C.J. Spiller: @JKJIII: So does this mean we get acc chanpionship rings?” That’s what I’m talkin ab bra I need my ring
If you see more, please feel free to post them in the comments sections below.
– Doug Roberson, AJC Follow coverage on twitter @ajcgatech
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155 comments Add your comment
proud alum
July 15th, 2011
2:25 pm
Very proud of these guys for standing up for what they accomplished. 300 dollars of clothes cant wipe away what they did.
AtWork
July 15th, 2011
2:28 pm
The real issue with me is how every case is handled on priority of the NCAA. With AJ Green, it shouldn’t have taken that long to get a verdict or figure out what was going on. With Bay Bay, shouldn’t have taken all that looking only to find $312 worth of wrong. The real problem is USC, Ohio St, and Cam Newton. In Newton’s case the rules clearly state that if a student athlete or anyone representing the athlete ask for money for play that player is ineligible. It took what 24 hours for them to make a decision but 4+ weeks for AJ Green. Look at the money difference…Bay Bay = $312, AJ Green = ~$1000, and Cam Newton ~$150,000…yet one was cleared almost immediately the other sat out undeserved games and one played only to ruled ineligible for the least amount.
Makes sense to me.
Judge Smails
July 15th, 2011
2:31 pm
I am looking forward to the announcement this fall that Ohio State will be receiving the NCAA Death Penalty. Since the NCAA has decided to show it’s muscle for this petty infraction – when they get around to dealing with the true cheaters in Columbus I am guessing there will be no football program left at OSU.
GT BBall
July 15th, 2011
2:36 pm
I think all 2009 ACC championship football players should get a free tattoo of the ACC trophy, supplied for free from the Columbus, Ohio tattoo parlor involved in the OSU case. Just sayin….
Asdf124
July 15th, 2011
2:38 pm
Look at the bright side Tech fans – the national sports media is hardly paying attention to this; go look at espn.com, si.com, et al. So the embarrassment is relatively minimal, no bowl ban, no scholarship reductions, and no currently ineligable players. Just have to mind your Ps and Qs through the probation period.
workinpuppy must be mental
July 15th, 2011
2:41 pm
You do realize you’re asking (or trolling, pick your verb) if arguably the smartest college football player, Sean Bedford, who double majored Aerospace Engineering and Management, and started all 4 years, was eligible in 2009?
Seriously, troll elsewhere you mutt, and notice that you’re one of the only U(sic)ga fans being “that guy”. To the other Ga fans out there being classy, its good to see us not letting the rivalry get in the way of the NCAA’s issue of “the punishment does not fit the crime”
Also, to Jake, there has never been enough information to change the eligibility status of student athlete 2, especially given the fact that the source of the gifts can only be linked to the cousin, ie the NCAA was looking for something to be wrong and couldn’t find it. Had he had dealings with an agent, then yes, he should have been sat down until the $312 issue was fixed [which the clothing was returned anyways just incase there were any eligibility issues], yet there were none. Watch this http://presentations.dlpe.gatech.edu/proed/gtaa/gtaa_ncaa_response/main.htm and see what you think about whether or not GT officials interfered with the investigations.
If you don’t want to read it, I’ll tell you the main points.
-DRad went along with exactly the same process he went through with an earlier issue they had with the NCAA back in 2005-6, and during that time, Coach Gailey was in the circle of people informed. So following along with previous precedence outlined and approved by the NCAA, he informed Coach Johnson just as he has done and will continue to do when it comes to player eligibility issues.
-The institute has worked hand in hand with the NCAA for 20 months on this investigation, keeping channels of communication open whenever they could, the only mis-communication coming from the lack of specificity on the NCAA’s part as to whether or not previously outlined precedents on lines of information were being followed.
I fully expect an appeal from the institute. If Cam Newton wasn’t forcibly sat by the NCAA after THAT whole ordeal and Auburn wasn’t penalized, then what the he77 is going on here?
JacketFan4Life
July 15th, 2011
2:42 pm
Asdf12… I don’t think Kyle Jackson was referring to the punishment for his basis of bringing suit… He talked about likliness and gaining profits as well. Regardless, law school will teach him the tools necessary to be sufficient in court. On another hand… good point. I think all these kids are upset and maybe a bit emotional. Who wouldn’t be after having a championship taken from you in the record books?
NCAA
July 15th, 2011
2:45 pm
Sean, we’re coming by to pick up the ring. Please advise where your cold, dead finger will be when we arrive.
James
July 15th, 2011
2:45 pm
Considering its Georgia Tech, Im suprised anyone even noticed
ACC Champs 09
July 15th, 2011
2:49 pm
Kyle Jackson told Sean Bedford “We are suing the NCAA together after law school. I’m dead serious. If they can deprive us of a Championship over $312 we can deprive them of their right to legally prostitute student athletes to make millions while supporting us with nothin…g in exchange. If you are going to you our likeliness, our work, and our emotions to turn a profit, then you are going to support us in a manner that allows us to still live a personal life outside of the modern enslavement that has become of college athletics. You steal from us, we take back what is rightfully ours.”
workinDawg
July 15th, 2011
2:49 pm
workinpuppy must be mental, thanks for clearing that up for me. Sean sounds like an outstanding guy. With Tech playing so many ineligible players over the years, and my admitted ignorance regarding who double majored at Tech 3 years ago, it can be hard to keep it all straight.
wolfman
July 15th, 2011
2:55 pm
After ignoring the Cam Newton pay for play episode then hitting Tech its penalties based on $312, does the NCAA have any credibility left????
Asdf124
July 15th, 2011
2:57 pm
“Asdf12… I don’t think Kyle Jackson was referring to the punishment for his basis of bringing suit… He talked about likliness and gaining profits as well. Regardless, law school will teach him the tools necessary to be sufficient in court”
That may be; allthough he is on record saying this in response to punishment – a factor that could be weighed against him as a retaliatory suit. The problem with the likeness argument, which I theoretically support, is the structure of the NCAA as an Association, and individual institutions as members. The “money” that they make off players is also (mostly) distributed to member schools, therefore he would likely have to involve Ga Tech as a defendant. He has no specialized injury, so it would have to be a class action as well, which doesn’t foreclose, but adds different hurdles. Many suits have been brought in this vein; one of the more interesting being the suit regarding the NCAA Football video games. Regardless, no suit has thudded been successfull, and is unlikely, though not impossible, to happen ever.
fan of shorter passes
July 15th, 2011
2:57 pm
Less slamming, more football! Beat Western Car!
4thand21
July 15th, 2011
3:03 pm
Was this the impact we were bracing for?
Vandy
July 15th, 2011
3:04 pm
The $312.00 is only the tip of the iceberg, and besides, this is the only the ACC championship we’re talking about here—-not something of national consequence—although those ACC boys like to pretend that it is—Big Time—NOT !!!!!!
Vandy
July 15th, 2011
3:05 pm
this is only the—–sorry ’bout that
George Stein
July 15th, 2011
3:06 pm
Good lord. The idiots are out in force today.
anotherdawg
July 15th, 2011
3:13 pm
Good for Sean! As mama says, the NCAA is the Devil!
3 Strikes and you should be out
July 15th, 2011
3:13 pm
Sean – If the NCAA decides to rip that ring from you they can do it and you will like it. Your school lied to the NCAA and they made an example of you – deal with it. Three infractions cases (1999, 2005 & 2009) in 10 years should be grounds for the NCAA death penalty. Go read the 26 page brief from the NCAA – you are no longer 2009 ACC Football Champions. You can lie to yourself but as Jim Rome says “The Scoreboard doesn’t Lie” and right now your 2009 team now has a vacated win for the ACC Championship.
Auburn Fans – your day is coming soon as your coach found out recently as Julie Roe Lach told your coach recently.
Asdf124
July 15th, 2011
3:17 pm
Let me clarify; based on current law, I don’t think it will happen. If the players are successful with that cause of action, it will be in the video game case – it is by far the strongest case so far. That case goes to trial in 2013. Regardless, I take exception to the “you steal from us and we’ll get even” nature of Mr. Jackson’s statements. Truth be told, the two issues are completely unrelated. That being said, I understand his frustration.
JacketFan4Life
July 15th, 2011
3:18 pm
Asdf124… Always wanted to be an attorneyn and always been a fan of him and Sean as student-athletes so I found his comment especially interesting. You sound like an attorney yourself. You should introduce yourself to him. But beyond that, what, if any legal approach do you think GT or these players could take in regards to the punishment, or a likeliness/licensing?
Bhorsoft
July 15th, 2011
3:19 pm
I don’t have a dog in this fight, but the NCAA really screwed the pooch on this one. Instead of punishing those responsible the coverup, resistance, or whatever you want to call it, they punish the kids they are supposed to be looking out for.
Let Tech keep the championship. Maybe make them forfeit the championship dollars. Suspend the coach for a bit. Ban the AD from attending games and events for the season. Go after the real culprits, not the kids.
UGA79
July 15th, 2011
3:20 pm
… and you can show that ring and explain how your title was vacated for NCAA violations. Like APS Superintendant Bevery Hall keeping her bonus for high CRCT scores.
UGA79
July 15th, 2011
3:24 pm
@ kevin Hudson
“you can’t go back and wipe the game away,they played it and tech won.”
Can’t take the CRCT away from APS kids, they know they took it and passed!
Eisendawg
July 15th, 2011
3:26 pm
Cudos to Sean for refusing to send in his ACC championship ring. What would be really cool is send them one with no meaning, like the one celebrating the lone win over UGA. lol
UGA79
July 15th, 2011
3:27 pm
This kind of defiance is what the NCAA referred to as “non cooperation”. No real remorse, just anger. Where is the anger toward the cheaters internally?
Asdf124
July 15th, 2011
3:30 pm
JacketFan
As far as the punishment, I’m sure they could appeal through the NCAA, but they cannot through the courts. In sum there is essentially nothing they can do about that. As far as likeness, Ga Tech itself can’t – and wouldn’t – do anything; it is decisively against their interests. The players have a remote chance – I’d refer you to my earlier posts and the pending litigation regarding the NCAA video game. As far as talking to Mr. Jackson – that would be a direct in person solicitation, and a violation of Ga legal ethics. I won’t be doing that
puppydawg
July 15th, 2011
3:37 pm
So where does this put GT in the Fulmer Cup standings? On the first page of the leaderboard, no doubt!
acc champs?
July 15th, 2011
3:41 pm
I thought UGA and USC were co-Acc champs in 2009. the game in tampa, witnessed by hundreds, was a consolation prize to two teams that lost to .500 sec teams the week before
Harold Potter
July 15th, 2011
3:42 pm
Awww, ain’t that cute. LOL
BehindEnemyLines
July 15th, 2011
3:47 pm
As a lifelong fan it’s disappointing & embarrassing to see players who I would have assumed are good guys whining like this when the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of a teammate, a former teammate and the administration. Want to be upset with somebody, there’s no shortage of targets within arms reach. Losing a lot of respect for GT watching this play out and after more than 40 years of fandom, that’s the biggest disappointment of all.
The biggest screwup in this (other than the player(s) involved) seems to be DRad, and given his recent propensity for screwing up stuff, it’s time for him to be gone. I don’t see much reason for hope until that happens.
St. Richt
July 15th, 2011
3:47 pm
Hey Bhorsoft, why don’t you tell us what our coach did to warrant being suspended?? Its our AD D Rad that dropped the ball on this fiasco. And it sounds like our attorney/compliance officer is the one who really ticked the NCAA off. Suspend him and our AD, but leave CPJ out of this. He should never have known in the first place.(mistake 1 by D Rad) And if and when you did tell him, its inexcusable to leave out the part about “not being able to talk to the athletes in question or let them know that they will be questioned.”
D Rad is the one who looks silly in all of this.
St. Richt
July 15th, 2011
3:49 pm
BehindEnemyLines, when you say you are losing a ton of respect for GT, lets hope you mean D Rad in particular and the compliance attorney clown that caused all of this. But its not like we’re a dirty program. Stupid yes, dirty no.
Rodney Dangerfield
July 15th, 2011
3:52 pm
“Hey Wang, I think this place is restricted so don’t tell them you’re Jewish OK, fine”
St. Richt
July 15th, 2011
3:55 pm
This is a serious question and not meant as a shot in any way: but has the NCAA completed its investigation at UGA? The “out of the blue” timing of our issues at GT leads me to believe there may be many ongoing investigations out there at other schools that we don’t know about. It looks like they are just now wrapping up investigations on things that took place in 2009. And given the AJ Green thing happened in 2010, could one assume that they’ve not yet wrapped up the entire investigation? I know they ultimately cleared AJ to play and that Georgia sat him down until they did so. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they have washed their hands of the investigation completelyl, does it? Just look at our case at GT- the NCAA investigated Derrick Morgan initially, found nothing that designated an infraction, and then continued looking until they found other issues.
coachx
July 15th, 2011
3:57 pm
I’m a Dawg fan and totally understand how lame the NCAA.
Rodney Dangerfield
July 15th, 2011
4:00 pm
@St. Richt -
“This is a serious question and not meant as a shot in any way” Your blog name indicates that it is. AJ Green and UGA has been cleared because they COOPERATED in the begining. Something tech did not and thus, the situation they are in today.
I think that it is too steep, but the NCAA is tired of schools making them look like fools and will be out for blood.
Terry
July 15th, 2011
4:13 pm
St. Richt, A J Green was not cleared, and that’s why Georgia did not let him play for the first two games of last season, when the NCAA finally got around to it, they penalized him for Four Games,and he gave the $1,000 that he got for the jersey to charity.
eric
July 15th, 2011
4:15 pm
it’s all because tech didn’t cooperate and is a ‘repeat offender’. still, the ncaa has lost control. there is no due process. no checks and balances. do the schools or individuals have the right to a trial. i really do wish the big conferences would say screw you and create their own division.
jabster
July 15th, 2011
4:45 pm
Tech SELF-REPORTED and fully cooperated with the investigation 10+ years ago, and they got burned then, too, with accusations of “lack of institutional control” and penalties that were considered too harsh back then. Now does everyone understand why Tech might have been less than fully forthcoming? Once bitten, twice shy.
St. Richt
July 15th, 2011
4:50 pm
I understand AJ was cleared and understand that the powers that be at Georgia didn’t make the same stupid mistakes that our AD apparently did when AJ was being investigated. I was only asking if the NCAA has officially closed all investigations related to Georgia, which it appears from the responses they have. You never know what they’ll find, no matter how trivial it is, if they looked beyond what was just initially an inquiry into AJ Green. I guess what I’m trying to do is better understand the timing of all of these things and why they take SO DAMN LONG to wrap up.
Asdf124
July 15th, 2011
4:53 pm
“do the schools or individuals have the right to a trial?”
Short answer – no.
Rodney Dangerfield
July 15th, 2011
4:55 pm
Now that last post St. Richt. I agreee on. Always takes too long.
I think we all can agree that the NCAA are just looking for any reasons now to jump on a school because of the Auburn’s, OSU’s and Southern Cal’s. It stinks for the other 100+ schools out there.
They feel that this makes up for the lameness they had for the 3 above mentioned schools.
St. Richt
July 15th, 2011
5:20 pm
Rodney, given the timeline we’re seeing on these types of things, I would expect that Auburn, Ohio State, and Oregon’s cases will all come to a head by 2011 or 2012. Or more like 2015 or 2016 if they send in that crack team of investigators that looked into USC and Reggie Bush.
Mama Says
July 15th, 2011
5:22 pm
Let’s look at the facts please.
The investigation : Can anyone tell me what class the NCAA attended that taught them to inform the suspect school that they were coming ? Does anyone see the police calling the suspect and telling them they are going to talk to his friends and then getting mad when he tells them what to say ? Simply a very poor investigative practice by the NCAA. COULD BE LOOKED AT AS A TEST OF THE GT STAFF—–IE A SET UP
Issue at question : player taking clothing from possible “runner”–$312 in particuliar. If we look at the facts both players were leaving for the NFL. They did not get anything to COME TO TECH. iT WAS NOT TECH GIVING THEM GIFTS TO STAY. They were being solicited to leave, in particuliar they were being primed by an agent who wanted to represent them in the future contract negotiations they woould enter with a NFL franchise—-nothing to do with Tech or the NCAA.—-So Tech did not cheat ! matter of fact it works against Tech’s interest to have two of the best players leave early.
Actions of Tech Admin’s : Tech administrators have been contacted on previous matters and as documented in those past investigsations, by the NCAA, they conducted an internal investigstion of their own and self sanctioned. So how can a school conduct an internal investigation and not talk to the students ? Either way the NCAA put Tech in a poor position. Tech would have been penalized if they did nothing and let Thomas play, pending NCAA notification and they are criticized for doing something. Had Tech reported that the players violated the NCAA rules the school would have been lauded for helping.
BOTTOM LINE—-THE NCAA SET THE TONE—-YOU NEVER INFORM THE TARGET THAT YOU ARE INVESTIGSTING THEM., POOR INVESTIGATION ON NCAA’S PART. We should all be able to agree if it is a school matter the NCAA may need to be involved however when a player is seeking or being solicited for actions he will take AFTER he leaves college the NCAA should stay out of a private matter.
bulldog steve
July 15th, 2011
5:35 pm
Without those players, Tech does not win the ACC championship. Period. If UGA would of had AJ last year for those first 4 games, their season would have been completely different. Period. UGA did the right thing, Tech, not so much.
Maggot Killer
July 15th, 2011
5:52 pm
Wish i had the crying towel concession on North Ave !!
REAL STORY — ajc had this storied buried ’til 6 HOURS before the ruling !!
Letter to hewitt goes back Dec ‘10, Mar & Apr ‘11 also part
of NCAA investigation timeline. Where was ajc “award
winning ” staff.??? Hmmm . . . .
There's a difference and it's huge
July 15th, 2011
6:02 pm
Read Sean Bedford’s open letter to the NCAA. Now read Caleb King’s post on Twitter about leaving UGA.
Need any more evidence of the difference between Tech’s student-athletes and the illiterate goons at UGA?
Steal the clothes next time
July 15th, 2011
7:47 pm
yeah that is too bad about Demaryius Thomas and the $300 gift of clothes. Too bad the Pastor Uncle that became his guardian a few years ago didn’t shop around and receive 6 figures for the first round draft choice to play at the school that came up with the cash. Also too bad, Demaryius didn’t just steal the clothes and if the police came to the door asking about it, all he had to do is just throw the clothes out the window, Then all would be hunky dory today. NCAA wouldn’t have a problem with either.