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
bulldog steve
July 15th, 2011
8:16 pm
Sorry Spiller no ring for you but I’m available
Tech Rich
July 15th, 2011
8:20 pm
If the NCAA levels this type of punishment to Tech then Ohio State better get the DEATH PENALTY!!!
Terrell Pryor 40, 000 reasons!!!
Tech Fan
July 16th, 2011
3:35 am
This BS is a perfect example of the “Power Junkies” having a pillow fight and then punishing the players and the school, if the NCAA was serious about compliance they would fine AD’s and coaches INDIVIDUALLY, not the AA, and suspend them from participation for five years, that would clean up college football.
Someone should do a cartoon of Peterson, Radakovich, and Johnson in a three man huddle, the caption should be them discussing how to “sink” the NCAA investigation and how they would not suffer any individual financial damage if caught, the players will get punished; that is exactly what they did!!!!
These three guys should be fired plain and simple, they conspired to cover up a minor infraction, if it was even that, and now have the audacity to tell the world “oops my bad” then walk off with all the money they made from that 2009 season and leave the player holding the bag.
Perfect example of how College Football is a “BROKEN.”
tar and feathers party
July 16th, 2011
9:10 am
I refuse to cooperate with the NCAA in anything, I support the termination of the ncaa, fire them all!
NERDS! NERDS! NERDS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS! CHEATERS!
July 16th, 2011
10:37 am
Give up the rings gtu!!!!!! CHEATERS!!!
UGA OWNS gtu…
Always have, always will.
Jim G
July 16th, 2011
2:00 pm
Jake,
What planet did you come from?
Cullowheedawg
July 16th, 2011
5:26 pm
Yes this is from a DAWG, but forget about the school stuff, u jacket players have earned the ring and the ncaa cannot take them back. From an ol DAWG, sine those rings up. Cullowheedawg
No more 9 out of 10
July 16th, 2011
5:33 pm
One thing that seems to have escaped everybody’s notice here, although maybe the dawg fans are just ignoring it, is that the final 3 games of 2009 were VACATED. That means, win or lose, they were “never played.” So that means that the dawgs did not beat the Jackets in 2009, and CPJ’s record against CMR is OFFICIALLY 1-1. Pretty small consolation, but still…….
Atlien
July 16th, 2011
6:13 pm
For the people claiming that the $300 had nothing to do with it, it was the coverup, I’m glad you aren’t a part of the legal system. I saw no evidence of a coverup in the report.
I think the investigator had his feelings hurt, because they are used to other schools schmoozing the investigators to limit the trouble. When GT told him to take a hike, they stuck it to the school.
Rebel
July 16th, 2011
6:41 pm
I remember a lot of comments from the Tech fans about A.J. and how everyone at UGA were cheaters, thugs, blah, blah, blah. The difference is, Coach Richt had the sense to sit him out (knowing that he was under investigation), would have made a huge difference (and wouldn’t be having this conversation) if Coach Johnson had done the same. Maybe now he will realize that yes, the rules apply to him as well. Suck it up, take your punishment.
Old Blind Dawg
July 16th, 2011
8:52 pm
Calling Tech Fan – your proposal sounds good on the surface but how on earth can you justify suspending a coach for actions he really has no control over. Kids (young men) make stupid mistakes but coaches cannot police them 24/7/365.
I guess the thing to do is recruit only high character kids but even they are subject to making mistakes. I bet I could lure at least 25% of the kids on any team in the country into a trap. Especially if they come from a poor background.
The system is broken and the NCAA can’t fix it and they seem hell bent on making it worse.
bigstack
July 16th, 2011
9:42 pm
This is the same NCAA that allowed the players at Ohio State to play in the Sugar Bowl knowing full well what they did. This is the same NCAA that allowed Cam Newton to play in spite of the fact that even Stevie Wonder could see his Dad tried to sell his talents and I don’t believe for a second that Cam had no knowledge unless he is a total moron. This is the same NCAA that continues to allow John Calipari to coach inspite of the fact that trouble seems to find him where ever he lands. This is the same NCAA that allowed Florida State to keep its National Title in 99 inspite of a bunch of crap going on down there surrounding Peter Warrick. They should make Tech vacate the Orange Bowl since they faied to show up for that anyway.
Supersize that order, mutt
July 16th, 2011
9:51 pm
bigstack, the NCAA DID make Tech vacate the Orange Bowl, even though it was a loss anyway. I love your Stevie Wonder comment though—-thanks for a good laugh
fosterjoiner
July 16th, 2011
10:22 pm
To all Tech fans you vacated games mean you forfeited any games you won in the three games. The game counts and the ACC Championship is a loss for you. Start thinking about it You lost all three games instead of two out of three games so Clemson has bragging rights over you. Check the rules. You committed insubordination against the NCAA and all schools. If you listened to the investigators and answered all the questions you would not be punished. Tech lost all institutional control of all NCAA sports including basketball and football. Get off twitter and facebook and get a life. If you do not you may be paying a bigger fine to the NCAA and maybe the death penalty.
fosterjoiner
July 16th, 2011
10:29 pm
If you Georgia Tech students and fans do not understand the terms everyone else says and it is too technical for you get out Websters dictionary. It will give you your definition.
No more 9 out of 10
July 16th, 2011
11:00 pm
fosterjoiner, the games were VACATED, not FORFEITED; of course forfeiture would have been meaningless in the two games that Tech lost anyway. VACATING means, according to the NCAA, it is as if the games had never been played. The NCAA did not say that Tech forfeited the win; it says that Tech’s win was vacated. There IS a difference, although the outcome, as far as the ACC championship is the same; Clemson is awarded the championship more-or-less by default.
No more 9 out of 10
July 16th, 2011
11:02 pm
fosterjoiner, I refer you to the following link, from ESPN, no less, for an explanation of vacating games —
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/4734/what-does-vacating-wins-really-mean
l jones
July 16th, 2011
11:06 pm
It’s too bad the kids are penalized. But that’s what happens when your school and your athletics department are run by dishonest crooks. Sorry, kids.
fosterjoiner
July 16th, 2011
11:11 pm
You forfeited the ACC championship to Clemson because you used inelligible players. You could not have won the game without Thomas and you would not have been in the game against Georgia without him. His size against a small defensive back was a 78 yard touchdown pass. It does not matter if you call it vacated or forfeited you doggone know well you would have had no passing game without Thomas. You have not won a bowl game or any bowl games against the major conferences without a passing game. You might call it vacated but Clemson is the “real ACC CHAMPION” because you would not have won without the illegal players.
Wes Durham's Gigantic Bottom
July 16th, 2011
11:14 pm
Which ring is Bedford holding onto……the now fake 2009 ACC Championship ring or the Once a Decade Victory Ring from 2008…..or was that one only for the seniors????
fosterjoiner
July 16th, 2011
11:14 pm
Tell Paul Johnson Georgia is not just another game. Georgia does not need blackboard material to beat Tech. Johnson’s comment supplied the material to beat the “GEORGIA TECH CHEATERS.”
fosterjoiner
July 16th, 2011
11:21 pm
Remember Tech won the National championship with a weak schedule. Knowing the BCS system Tech would not have played in the championship under today’s system because the schedule was very weak.
No more 9 out of 10
July 16th, 2011
11:24 pm
fosterjoiner, if you read the NCAA decision, it says the final three GAMES were VACATED, no mention of wins or losses. You continue to confuse vacating with forfeiting. The fact that in reality Tech lost two of those final three games apparently means nothing; in the eyes of the NCAA, the games were never played, so they cannot go on anybody’s record. Tech DID NOT, according to the NCAA decision, FORFEIT the ACC championship game to Clemson. Read the ESPN link I posted earlier for specific information on vacating, as it applied to Alabama, and thus does to Tech as well. Furthermore, as it turns out, Tech did not use an ineligible player anyway; Thomas has still not been declared to have been ineligible. The NCAA decision was apparently prompted by DRad’s informing CPJ of the investigation, which resulted in the accused players being informed. I will neither condemn nor excuse DRad for doing what he did; I have no idea what his thought process was at the time, or how he justified (if he did) informing CPJ. As a loyal Tech fan, I don’t like the decision, but until it is (if ever) appealed and overturned, I accept it. But don’t try to make it into something that it is not.
Supersize that order, mutt
July 16th, 2011
11:28 pm
fosterjoiner, perhaps you should look at the mutts’ 1980 schedule, if you want to see weak schedules during a championship season. Hell, for the at-that-time-mythical NC you even got to play a Notre Dame team who had had to come from behind just to TIE Tech that season. Notre Dame was hardly a team who should have been in the running for a NC in 1980, and the fact that the mutts beat them in the Sugar Bowl is not really anything to brag about.
Supersize that order, mutt
July 16th, 2011
11:32 pm
No more 9 out of 10….I read the ESPN link you posted, and it would appear you are absolutely correct, although the link only addresses vacated WINS. It doesn’t say anything about vacated games which were losses. However, I think your logic rings true.
fosterjoiner
July 16th, 2011
11:32 pm
Under your point You still lost to Georgia and Iowa and it is still a loss in your loss column. I have Tech fans in my family and a friend I play trivia with and you CANNOT subtract a loss from your record no matter what. Both games are losses you like it or not so stop trying to erase the games from the record. The Clemson game was a win that was vacated. If you want the win does not exist but to Iowa and Georgia is a loss to you.
No more 9 out of 10
July 16th, 2011
11:41 pm
fosterjoiner, I KNOW we lost on the field to both THUGa and Iowa, but the NCAA decision says the final 3 games were VACATED because of an UNVERIFIED ineligible player for Tech. What that says, whether you like it or not, and whether it defies logic or not, is that the games do not count. That means that they don’t count for anybody involved in them, I know Tech lost them on the field; YOU know it, but according to the decision handed down, apparently the NCAA does not. It’s just another example of how screwed up the entire NCAA is. They could have said that Tech had to vacate any wins in those final three games; but what they said was that Tech had to vacate the games, apparently regardless of the results.
Dirty NCAA
July 16th, 2011
11:43 pm
We all know that the punishment doesn’t fit the crime and with the NCAA your guilty first. There is no balance since they are investigator, judge and jury. Maybe some DA will look into the NCAA investigation methods to see if any wire tap or privacy issues were violated since this apparently began with them looking at phone records. Or maybe the IRS should look to where the millions go and whose is living a little over their inflated unearned salarys. Fiesta bowl anyone?
NCAA your a joke.
fosterjoiner
July 16th, 2011
11:50 pm
I just read the NCAA ruling and it says “a vacation of all wins during the 2009 football season after November 24 which is when the university was notified of the eligibility issues. You can go to the tech website and pull up the NCAA ruling. It does not mention vacating the losses.
fosterjoiner
July 16th, 2011
11:52 pm
I went to the Tech website and their response to the ruling and you can pull up the NCAA ruling. Take that Tech fans.I agree about what you said Supermut about the 1980 season.
No more 9 out of 10
July 16th, 2011
11:54 pm
what I originally read on the AJC site was that Tech had to vacate all GAMES played after November 24
fosterjoiner
July 17th, 2011
12:00 am
It might be a misquote in the AJC. I pulled the ncaa ruling off the Tech athletic website. You can look at the ruling word for word. I have seen misquotes in the paper and reading the AD he read it the same way. I am sorry if I looks like I do not believe you. It is on the Tech website and you can pull it up if you want to.
No more 9 out of 10
July 17th, 2011
12:02 am
ok, then if true, I stand corrected. However, the Clemson game was NOT a forfeit, as you claimed earlier. The ultimate result may be the same, more or less, but it just vacates the win; it does not say Clemson won it.
fosterjoiner
July 17th, 2011
12:05 am
I am sorry for the trouble but the quotes at the Tech press conference says one thing and the ncaa ruling says another. ALL wins vacated during those three games.
No more 9 out of 10
July 17th, 2011
12:07 am
ok, fosterjoiner, I really only meant the whole thing in jest to begin with. I KNOW we lost, but if what I read had been correct, it would have made for a helluva lot of fun nagging the mutts about it. LOL
fosterjoiner
July 17th, 2011
12:12 am
I am listening to a tape of the ESPN coverage of the ruling. They did not mention the NCAA’s games the loss. They only mention the only win.
fosterjoiner
July 17th, 2011
12:40 am
You do not need to go to the TECH WEBSITE. This website has a copy of the report and the section which includes the section talking about the vacating the wins and not all the games.
robynbarry
July 17th, 2011
1:48 am
There’s absolutely NO NEED to pay any recruiting services. Good colleges will get BURNED by these scumbags. The AAU basketball recruiting process is nothing but an agent pay off scheme and wholly descpicable to participate in, but they ALL are doing it http://bit.ly/rfJns6
YellowJacket
July 17th, 2011
10:21 am
The NCAA are definitely pro same sex marriage.
YellowJacket
July 17th, 2011
10:23 am
What’s a UGA degree worth?
About 100 grand less than you paid for it.
Dumb ass.
dawgfan
July 17th, 2011
7:23 pm
Can’t be a victim. The problem is Dan Radovich, Paul Johnson and Bud Peterson.. Those guys really screwed it up for you.
Tech Fan
July 17th, 2011
7:35 pm
Old Blind Dawg:
The problem with college D1 athletics is the “fortunes” that are paid out to coaches and administrators, not to mention the fortunes available to “agent” that can sign elite athletes out of college.
There is no “accountability” of coaches or administrators, these guys know the “golden parachutes” that are negotiated in their contracts; they also know the “risk reward” aspect of cheating, example, if he cheats to sign a high value recruit, he knows he has at least two years before any investigation renders a finding, if an investigation is ever started, (these guys are professionals at crossing the line and not getting caught;) during that time he collects his contract salary, bonuses, speaking fees, endorsements, all the perks that a fan base can shower upon him, AD’s the same to a lesser extent; if cheating, or violations, are discovered he may get “fired”; not really a big deal because he’s already pocketed millions, and the really sad part, other schools will line up to offer these guys new jobs.
Agents on the other hand can entice and seduce athletes with “money” and “stuff” with no fear of retribution, then conveniently tip the NCAA if they don’t get what they want from the athlete; this is a whole different can of worms.
Anyway the bottom line is Coaches, AD’s, Agents, the NCAA are all motivated by the almighty dollar, and there are ton’s of dollars in college athletics; until these guy’s are held accountable with their personal wallets, or even “jail time,” nothing will change, in fact it will continue to get worse.
The players, and fans, will continue to get the shaft and these yahoo’s that are suppose to be watching the store will continue carrying the goods out the back door.
The GT sanctions are just a blip in the big picture; the system is BROKEN from the perspective of “Amateurism,” “Student athlete,” and “School spirit”; the “Bag Holder” is always the PLAYERs and Fans.
Lastly, I’m not naive enough to believe that Peterson, Radakovich, and Johnson didn’t speak at length about this situation, they developed a strategy to neutralize the investigation, then one of them botched the plan.
yellow britches
July 17th, 2011
10:32 pm
Who are these people? Is this the same group that wanted to banish Chief Osceola as the FSU mascot? The same group that turned the St. John’s Redmen into the Red Storm or Red blob or whatever they are now. When are real men going to stand up to these politically correct dictats and call them out for the stupidity they propagate on the rest of us.
UGA graduate, fan, and parent
July 17th, 2011
10:52 pm
I’m a UGA fan and graduate, but I have to admit that this ruling is crap. The NCAA is so inconsistent with their rulings and makes a huge deal about the most insignificant infractions while ignoring much more troubling ones. How could an intelligent group of adults justify this decision for GaTech and the UGA decision with AJ Green after their decision about Auburn and Cam Newton? Does anyone believe that Cam did not know his father was shopping him around for $200,000 and even if he didn’t know, doesn’t this provide a huge loophole for uncles, brothers, friends, etc, to shop around a player and (wink wink) and keep the player in the dark?
I’m sorry GATech…you didn’t deserve this.
Naysmith
July 18th, 2011
8:57 am
It’s past time for the NCAA to put a fork in this joke of a program for once and for all and end the constant embarrassment that is Tech athletics in the fine state of Georgia.
Even while cheating they still cannot compete. If any school deserves a death penalty verdict it’s one that has been forced to vacate wins TWICE less than 10 years apart.
What an embarrassment.
George Stein
July 18th, 2011
10:46 am
We never vacated a single win before, Naysmith. Get your facts straight.
WHITE and GOLD
July 18th, 2011
12:28 pm
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/The-2009-ACC-Champion-Georgia-Tech-yellow-Jackets/146821005394958
beachdog
July 18th, 2011
12:44 pm
30-24.
still #2 in GA
Can't spell cheat without T-E-C-H!!!
July 19th, 2011
9:03 am
The crooks from North Ave. yet again bring shame and embarrassment to the great state of Georgia. But I do love the misery and venom it also brings to the worst fan base in all of sports
Another Dawg
July 19th, 2011
10:38 am
Sean Bedford is an idiot. Even worse than the NCAA “punishing the players who did it the right way” is the fact that he absolves Tech of their wrongdoing. The reason the NCAA is punishing all of the players is because they freely associated themselves with an institution who recognized a player made a mistake and then tried to hide it and/or impede the investigation, rather than owning up to it and holding him out (or at least pushing for resolution prior to the game.) It sucks that he did all the right things, or at least didn’t get caught doing the wrong things, and has been punished for it, but this isn’t news to anyone. He should have chosen a school that runs their program more effectively in dealing with NCAA infractions. I have no more sympathy for him than I do for USC or tOSU players (nor will I for Auburn players.) When programs are clean, they own up to the missteps of their players and deal with them appropriately, even if it hurts the team’s performance on the field. End of story.