So, now we have the report on Eric Bledsoe’s eligibility and while the report seemed inconclusive, a lot of parties still want to debate it in the press and on twitter and so on …. and that’s fine. That is what freedom of speech is for. Debate it all you want. As for me, my final words on the Bledsoe transcript situation?
IT’S OVER
And appropriately, it is time to move on. Murky language aside and despite the constants whispers of wrong doing, this situation is over for the University of Kentucky and John Calipari. To be honest, it was never a UK and Calipari issue. It was not a Pete Thamel issue or it should not have ever been. And to be honest, it really is nothing that we should have ever known about … period.
But first, my final words on the issue that precede “It’s over”.
At the root of the matter, was an inner city kid, Eric Bledsoe, who was trapped in the waste of an educational system that fails many kids every single year. I have friends that are teachers and they can simply tell you that the job is a hellacious job. The work is never ending and the pay is crap. But the rewards are immense. Because unlike so many of us in our mundane 9-5 jobs in the corporate world, they get to reach out, touch a life, and make a difference. And you know what, sometimes the teacher is left with the decision as to whether they should reach out, and give a little nudge that can propel a kid out of the inner city and into a college campus where, hopefully he can flourish.
Fly free, little bird.
Am I saying this is what happened with Eric Bledsoe? I have no idea. And neither do you. And neither does Pete Thamel. Neither does Pat Forde. And neither does the law firm that conducted the interview. In the end, only Eric Bledsoe and the teacher that gave the grades know for sure. And that is how it should be.
Everyone praised the movie “The Blind Side” and Michael Oher was made out to be an incredible inspiration for the power of determination and the will of the human spirit. Truth is, it was a Disney movie which really glossed over most of the truth. But it made people feel good and truth be damned, that is really all that matters. Oher was a kid that needed help, got it, and once he grasped that second chance, he apparently flourished. Everyone goes home feeling good about the situation at the end of the day. So where is Eric Bledsoe’s Disney movie?
Instead, he gets an obsessive cunt (sorry for the use of the word, but there really is not another one that fits), Pete Thamel, who somehow obtains a copy of Eric Bledsoe’s transcript illegally, and because he is being funnelled information by either Rick Pitino, Rick Pitino’s kid, or Pat Forde, goes on a three month witch hunt of Eric Bledsoe which ends with nothing.
What’s that? Rick Pitino and his kid are involved? Yes, that’s the rumor. Although it was never proved, it probably should not be repeated. Well, Pete Thamel had no proof about Bledsoe and trashed him for three months, so we have reached an era where it’s OK to print rumors and present them as the truth. But the difference between my self and and Pete Thamel is that I don’t report rumors as the truth and if I report a rumor, I address it as a rumor. So here is the rumor:
"Since Eric Bledsoe was down to a final two of Kentucky and Florida, there really was not a lot of reason for a lot of schools to have a copy of Eric Bledsoe’s transcripts. It is widely speculated that Pat Forde wanted ESPN to go with this story about Bledsoe’s grades, but after it was reviewed and revealed to be just made up garbage by a writer with a anti-Calipari agenda, it was passed on, and instead of having his “hard work” wasted, Pat Forde sent it to Pete Thamel. Now, Thamel received the transcript from an assistant coach at the University of Florida, Richard Pitino. Rick Pitino’s son. The same Rick Pitino that co-wrote a book with Pat Forde."
Now is that rumor true? I don’t know. I think in part it is and I think that the true investigation should be into how so many people got hold of Eric Bledsoe’s transcript and how there really is no shame in blowing up a 17 year old kids privacy and embarrassing him nationally. Will that investigation ever happen? Don’t count on it. So in lieu of a $10,000 investigation, I pronounce the above rumor to be true. Deal with it.
I also have a confession. I have to say that I have probably been a victim of receiving the “benefit of a doubt” on a grade about a dozen times in my academic “career”. And I am sure many of us have received the same. Do you recall the horror of waiting for the grades in the mail only to realize that the dreaded C that you know you deserved had been transformed into a magical B? What happened?
In my case, all the teachers at my school knew me and my parents and thought I was a pretty good kid even though I would rather play the class clown instead of apply myself and study. And they knew that my parents would make my life a living hell if I came home with a C on my report card. So guess what? My teachers liked me, and knew the outcome of a C, and decided to make my life a little easier, hoping that I would apply myself at the next level.
Did I ever acknowledge the grade or thank the teachers for doing it? No. After the fact, I knew that I had earned that grade and you could never get me to admit that it was not earned. Is this what happened with Bledsoe? Hell, I don’t know. Maybe. No one does. And it’s really not up to us to discuss. It never was.
So these are my last words on the Eric Bledsoe grades issue. We know that Kentucky is going to talk with the NCAA about it and maybe sort out what really was known, but that does not constitute an investigation. And I don’t know if any of the other writers on this site will want to discuss this further. If they do, bully for them. Keep in mind, I am not done with Pete Thamel. Like a bad reality show villain, he will be back and make other appearances. And I will be waiting for him. And yes, if there ever is
a true investigation of who linked Bledsoe’s grades, I will be on that. But as for the mundane “reporting” on this issue?
IT’S OVER
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