Time to Demand to Know????

[lb071964]

You mean there’s a chance that someday I can come to your level of understanding about the fallout? I look forward to such an enlightening. Again the situations you have used are not close to what’s going on in this situation. I agree that situations in the past have been communicated differently but you know those situations are not close to the depth of this event. With your level of understanding, you must know this. And yes I understand these YOUNG MEN made some horrible decisions here but I choose to pray for them and hope they come out of this stronger and wiser. My tendency is to not discard young men like trash for making a poor decision, but that’s just me. I also tend to believe the authorities and experts handing a given situation are doing what is legally required and in the best interest of all involved, but that’s just me. I’m done posting here, I’m going to focus on my ability to understand instead.

[Da Coach]

I don't expect you to agree with me, just don't dismiss other informed opinions because you don't agree. Again, I have heard from at least a dozen people who are angry and don't intend to renew their season tickets. I'm sure there are others. I would hope this is something that is taken seriously and not denigrate those people. The last time I predicted fallout was when there was a coaching change in 2011. I believe you disagreed and were in favor of the changes then. Everything I predicted came true- drop in attendance that would never recover, record losing, drops in donations, revenues, etc, years to get back to where we were, and more. I was even mocked for predicting Jim Les would win championships before Bradley did again, but I was right.

I don't want to see Bradley basketball harmed like it was before. That's my only concern. I hope you and people at BU are willing to accept that some of the same fallout could happen again. I am not trying to tell Bradley how to handle things, but they can't completely dismiss fans and treat them like they have no right to have concerns or ask questions.

[Tommy]

I choose to pray for them and hope they come out of this stronger and wiser. My tendency is to not discard young men like trash for making a poor decision

I think that's great. Maybe try showing the same understanding and grace toward people with opinions that differ from yours, as well?

If you go back and look at your exchange, one person handled themselves like an adult and another did not. I'll let you decide which one was which.

[Da Coach]

lb071964 is a passionate and dedicated fan, and we certainly need all of those we can get. We just differ on how things are being handled now. And again, to be clear, it is not the coaching staff that is making the decisions, it is administration. I am most concerned about the impact this situation is having on the Bradley program into the future. IMO, we are seeing some of the same PR mistakes the administration a decade made by dismissing fans' concerns and alienating a segment of the fans. Bradley took 6-7 years to recover and get back to success and 20-win seasons. That was a long and painful period for fans, and we saw almost half of the attendance and season ticket sales disappear, as well as significant drops in membership in Braves Club and BSS membership, which has still has not recovered and maybe never will.
I do have much greater confidence in the people running the program than I did a decade ago, and I hope we can recover better than we did then.

[AZ BU Fan]

Seems like I may be the only one posting on this thread that doesn't know what happened!

Since I stopped buying BU MBB tickets and don't donate anymore after retiring, I'm not entitled to.....

I better start working out and losing weight if I want to be alive when BU finally wins a MVC Regular Season Championship!

[AZ BU Fan]

I fully understand anonymity for high school and younger kids who break the law. I could even be talked into anonymity for college age kids who are first time offenders of misdemeanors. College kids on full ride scholarships, academic or athletic, who are involved with possible misdemeanors or felonies, should be held to a much higher standard. Information about, or suspicion of, a crime shouldn't be with held from the public unless a District Attorney deems it would jepoardize a fair future trial.

[Da Coach]

To be fair, although the Springfield PD still has not closed their case, nobody has categorized anything as a crime yet, just team rules violations.

[patrick_o'brian]

I just don’t understand why the case is taking so long to evolve. Are BU’s attorneys not giving SPD access to the players? Are the other parties not cooperating? Are they waiting on DNA? So many questions. Do I feel entitled to answers? Not really! Do I think 14 days is a long time without any update? Without knowing circumstances, who knows? I think that’s what is on everyone’s mind and why emotions are high.

[Mikovio]

I’m frustrated but not surprised. Apparently Henry was easy to clear but the others likely require interviewing the accuser(s) by the police and states attorney investigators, determining credibility and then deciding whether to file charges. They have months to do so and normally they would be deliberate about it. Why should they expedite this just because a conference tournament is in a week? I’m sure they’re in no rush.

And from Bradley’s perspective, you don’t want to step on the toes of or interfere with any possible defense your student athletes may have available to them. You also expose yourself to potential slander/libel charges if you repeat nonpublic accusations that you don’t know for a fact to be true.