Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A Beautiful Day To Die


Notre Dame University is the most despicable NCAA institution in the nation. Period.


Brian Kelly sends a kid to his DEATH, and all they do is cover their asses, and cover up the incident.


The coach declared in a written statement about the day in which a "severe wind advisory" was issued, and gusts topped a staggering 60 MPH: "It was a beautiful day."


The University when faced with an Indiana OSHA investigation, refuses to turn over tapes because :

The university allowed OSHA to view the team’s practice footage, but it did not turn over the tapes because Notre Dame lawyers said it contained “highly proprietary, trade secret information related to the business of college sports,” documents show.

Then, as if all of that wasn't enough, the tapes the University DID allow OSHA to view, were mysteriously "edited" to leave large gaps in the material.


Dave Bliss was drummed out of college coaching for far less. Yes, he too "covered up" a highly embarrassing death in the Baylor basketball program, but AT LEAST HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH KILLING HIS PLAYER!


Kelly has blood not just on his hands, but how can this scumbag sleep at night?


What does it take to FIRE THIS ASSHOLE? This is the same University that proudly fired George O'Leary for a small resume glitch that was 20 years old. Right?


And the rest of the mainstream sports media has gone quietly along, happily ignoring this disgraceful episode, for reasons that just baffle me.


I guess I have two theories as to why this story doesn't have any "traction" with the usual media outlets.


1. It's Notre Dame. A combination of big money and religion, that keeps proper criticism in check to some degree.


2. It was "just" a student, not an athlete who died.


Something tells me, if Brian Kelly practiced a kid to death on a 100 degree day, he'd have been long gone. The "jock media" (i.e. ESPN) places a higher value on "athlete" lives, and doesn't really give two shits about "civilians."


Whatever the case, kudos to Sports By Brooks which has given this disgusting episode the proper scrutiny. I'm doing my part. But don't hold your breath waiting for SportsCenter to lead with this story anytime soon.


Better to focus your scorn on the Bruce Pearls and Jim Tressel's of the world, and let a guy who callously and recklessly allowed a kid to DIE on his watch, to skate.

12 comments:

  1. That is baffling. But ESPN stopped doing any kind of real reporting years ago. Now if this kid was gay or a member of some other 'oppressed' group...

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  2. I'm with you on this, I know it might seem like you are alone out there beating this drum but I'm in 100% agreement with your take on this situation. They should give ND football the death penalty for what happened, and any administrators, boosters, fans whatever who don't think Kelly should be fired are all in this with the university and espn in having blood on their hands too.

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  3. Anti-ND crap.

    The kid died from a tragic accident that could have been avoided. ND admits culpability. A facility director, not Brian Kelly was probably in the direct chain of command for overseeing equipment maintenance and safety. Kelly watches over his players, others watch over the staff.

    Because somebody made a mistake does not make Kelly or ND evil.

    This is a Bullshit Rant...

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  4. SteveM, are you on something?

    THE MISTAKE THIS COACH MADE KILLED SOMEONE. The kid that was in the scissors lift has no more tomorrows because this coach did not see that it was a bad call!

    I could make a mistake here, at my job, that does not kill someone, and I'd be fired for it. This clown kills someone through negligence, lies about it, and we're Anti-ND ranting crap? Get real.

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  5. Matt, Kelly no doubt had his concentration and eyes on the field not the camera crews. I played ball and was oblivious to everything except the practice.

    ND is responsible. And they admit that. But the culpability thread is administrative not coaching. I.e., whoever oversaw facilities and support equipment should have called the kid down.

    You think Kelly would really have given a shit if for one practice, some video was not shot from 2 positions?

    Czabe is a lunatic ND hater. (Maybe he applied and was rejected.) So he wants to kick Kelly in the head. Hating on ND? Well what else is new?

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  6. I was in South Bend the day it happenned. It was insanely windy and the fact that a kid was actually told to get in the lift and hit "UP" is beyond all comprehension. It was wicked, wicked gusty, not even remotely a close call.

    It was literally the equivalent of the golf coach sending out the golf team for a practice round during a lightning storm.

    There is no way any human being with any sense whatsoever (let alone the best and brightest that attend and work for ND) would put a kid up in that lift unless the head man (Kelly) ordered it (like a hardass football coach would). No one, I repeat no one, with an ounce of sense, would have sent that kid up there unless they feared repercussion from the head coach.

    Just my opinion. And Kelly calling it a "beautiful day" kinda tells the tale for me...

    Truly sickening.

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  7. Show me where Kelly specifically "ordered" to those kids to go up on that day. The default was to go up every day. Kelly was probably mindless about it because crane safety was not his baliwick.

    The order to come down should have come from the senior person responsible for maintaining the equipment and training up the kids. And that was not Kelly. Kelly probably had his back to the cameras the whole time and was looking at players not assessing surroundings.

    You guys just hate ND so much, so insist the blame has to fall on Kelly, not some unknown administrator. Because Kelly is the bigger target that you want to paint as "EVIL".

    ND institutionally made a tragic mistake. They admit it. But the responsibility thread does not pass through Kelly.

    Hate On...

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  8. Hey Steve M -
    I'm not even going to comment on your absurdness. Why? Because you're just as IRRELEVANT as Notre Dame football!!!!!!!!!

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  9. @SteveM... I can't show you anything dipshit. I'm saying the conditions were so egregious that the second the lift was in the air, Kelly or anyone with any authority should have ordered it down.

    And by definition, everyone, including Kelly could see because it was fifty fucking feet in the air. And he's the head guy. It is one of the most disgusting and preventable losses of life I can recall.

    Btw, it wouldn't be "hating" if one of you ND fellating smug aswipes lost your son or brother.

    The whole fucking thing disgusts me to no end...

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  10. Czabe- The Chicago Tribune has done some reporting on this and the more I learn, the more sickened I become. Nobody knows who made the call to put the poor kid up there because nobody from the football staff is cooperating. Kelly tells investigator it was a beautiful day when everyone is bitching about having to practice in the wind at all, let alone go up 40 feet in a lift. Video shows the wind blowing everything all over the place.

    Coach says it was a completely normal practice until one freak gust of wind blew the thing over. I don't know if he should be fired for the accident but he sure as hell should be for lying to investigators afterward. ND is as sleazy a program there is. Just ask the family of the poor girl who killed herself after being raped by a couple of players. Of course ND circled the wagons on that one too and stonewalled any investigation.

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