JSU President repsonds...Labeling JSU players 'thugs' unfair


B

bluphiiijsu

Creative Director
Labeling JSU players 'thugs' unfair


The Webster dictionary defines a thug as "a tough or violent ruffian,
a hoodlum or a gangster."

At Jackson State University (JSU), we have students who are working
on their education. We encourage them to pursue extra curricular
activities including sports because we endorse their holistic
development. Our students are diverse and eclectic, but I can say
with absolute confidence that they are not thugs.

According to The Clarion-Ledger's Sept. 23 account of the football
game between Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State (MVSU)
universities "It was thuggery, not football."

The article did not simply reprimand ballplayers for poor
sportsmanship, Sports Editor Mike Knobler's commentary placed the
players in a category that is harsh and, frankly, unfair.

The Sept. 22 game between MVSU and JSU was not the finest hour for
either team. Adrenaline was high and calls from the referees did
little to maintain control. Both teams could have used more of the
self-restraint we work to cultivate in young people. Members of both
teams have been disciplined, and we have reminded our players of the
importance of sportsmanship, dignity and perception.

I used the word perception because it was clear from The Clarion-
Ledger that our students must be more conscientious of their image
than other college football players.

The behavior of these teams was inexcusable but it is not uncommon.
Brawls of this nature occur from time to time in so many sports. We
expect more from our students; we do not condone this type of
behavior under any circumstance. But we also understand, and want our
students to understand, that they are not thugs, regardless of what
The Clarion-Ledger carelessly prints.

As president of Jackson State University, I will not tolerate anyone
calling my students, nor the students enrolled at any Mississippi
university, thugs. We are extremely proud of our student athletes. At
nearly every game they are a fine representation of JSU spirit.

This one game, a tasteless instance, should not be the standard upon
which they are judged. These students made a mistake, but so did The
Clarion-Ledger.

Ronald Mason, Jr.

President

Jackson State University

Jackson
 



Thats right!

The Clarion Ledger displayed very poor journalism skills. When Ole Piss and Miss State beat each other to a pulp a couple of Thanksgiving's ago they called that school spirit. I'm glad our president has the balls to challenge these subpar "journalist".
 
Mike Knobler is a racist and an opportuninst. He was just waiting to take his shot.....couldnt stand to see all the good things going on.
 
Originally posted by Get Ready
Mike Knobler is a racist and an opportuninst. He was just waiting to take his shot.....couldnt stand to see all the good things going on.
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Are you guys sure this wasn't the Houston Chronicle? This line of criticism seems familiar.
I would even bet that the author of the article didn't even didn't even see the incident for himself. I am willing to bet that he wasn't even at the game and that his information was second hand or that someone just showed him that one clip of game film and he wrote about it.

This is a mild example why I can't believe so many people say they don't understand why anyone hates the USA. Sad to say because I am an American, but this is a good example of the double standard and lies the great USA is built on. Two PWCU's go at it and it's school spirit and a hundred other excuses. Two HBCU's and they are Thugs. This is SAD.
 
Not every HBCU president would say something like this to defend their students when the media attacks them. I am glad that JSU's did.
 
Seems real funny to me that some of you were on the other side of this fence when other HBCU's were involved in a fight. You catogized an entire school as "thugs" and "a gang" just like this author. Most of you were not there and only saw news clips. Interesting.
 
Originally posted by Lewis
Seems real funny to me that some of you were on the other side of this fence when other HBCU's were involved in a fight. You catogized an entire school as "thugs" and "a gang" just like this author. Most of you were not there and only saw news clips. Interesting.
Click to expand...

Lewis,

Please don't try to twist this, because there is a difference between this story and yours.:rolleyes:
 
I'm so glad somebody finally called Knobler on his screw-up. I've had several discussions with Knobler and he's isn't a huge fan of JSU. He's a Harvard Grad trying to win a Pulitzer by writing about the thuggish Jackson State student-athletes.:rolleyes:

It is a shame what happen. I totally disapprove of everything that happened, but this was Knobler's time to shine, so he went for it. He's an idiot and has nothing better to do with his time than to shine bad light on the black folk. Anyway, I am extremely pleased with the way Dr. Mason responded to this situation. I would love to be in Jackson this weekend to check out the "ole boy" sweating this weekend!:D
 
Lewis and Lacumba,

Please don't confuse SWAC Page smack from a newspaper editorial. And please don't confuse putting women in the hospital to a football team fight. Y'all know darn well there is a difference in both instances.

For smack purposes, you cats had your fun with the Valley fight, just as we had fun with the SU-PVU band incident. But you didn't see one of us put that stuff in a newspaper, did you???

Y'all know it ain't the same.
 
Like I said before.... DOUBLE-STANDARD!:rolleyes:

__________________________
<H5><FONT COLOR="0000FF">We Are SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY!!!

Smack Us Now!!!
Worship Us Later!!!</font></h5>
 
Originally posted by Lewis
Seems real funny to me that some of you were on the other side of this fence when other HBCU's were involved in a fight. You catogized an entire school as "thugs" and "a gang" just like this author. Most of you were not there and only saw news clips. Interesting.
Click to expand...

Interesting..... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
 



Get Ready, I am not a brick wall, thank you.<br><br>To the rest, I do understand that thier are differences. I must state again that I would never wish on anyone what happened to that girl. However, those and similar statemets were made about Southern's band all over the media and even here on the sports board. Some of the similarites are not everyone in Southern's band participated in the fight, some
just walked off. I know one member who attemped to just walk away and was hit in the head
by a thrown instrument (clarenet) resulting in a injury to the head. Had he turned around
he may have been injury as badly as that girl. But to most of you, if a girl throws an instrument at someone (very dangerous),
there is nothing wrong with that, but if she gets hit back, that makes a whole group (school) thugs.
And that is just what this guy did, labeled a whole group. You can't deny that some your players had a fight. But you don't feel that it was fair to label all of you thugs or one side of a two sided fight thugs. Read the letter from your President again.
 
Originally posted by Lewis
However, those and similar statemets were made about Southern's band all over the media and even here on the sports board.
Click to expand...

Name one media outlet/news report that labled the SU band as thugs.
 
Missing the forest for the trees

Is there anything uncommon about a fight breaking out at a football game??? Hell no!!! Happens all the time.

Is there anything uncommon about a band fight breaking out at halftime of a football game??? Hell yes!!!! Doesn't happen all the time.

The fact of the matter is, of all the fights that have occurred on the field involving teams from Mississippi, we are the only ones to labeled as "thugs". Ole Miss-Miss. State a coupla years ago was not thuggery to Knobler, but JSU-Valley is.:rolleyes:

What the hell ever.
 
Robber, I agree with you about the fights at games in Mississippi. The Tom Joyner show drug Southern thru the mud about the incident. Most of the worst talk was from our own people, and they focus on that one news clip to form an opinion about the entire band and school. As far as fights between bands, at most PWC, there is no rivilary between bands like at HBCU's, so it is an entirely different atmosphere.
 
Originally posted by Lewis
The Tom Joyner show drug Southern thru the mud about the incident.
Click to expand...

No the show didn't drag Southern through the mud, and it still didn't label the band as thugs. As a matter of fact, he (Tom Joyner) asked that Dr. Greggs appear on the show the same day that PV's band director was on the show, and he declined.

Then you all cried foul because you didn't like was was said after declining the interview, so you asked the local radio station to take him off the air.

So again I ask, who in the media has labed the SU band as thugs?
 
Lewis,

Tom Joyner Show is full of comics. That's what Jay, Myra and Ms. Dupre do. They crack jokes. Tom gets in on it too. Even Sybil every now and then. But as Same Ole G pointed out, they never call SU's band thugs.

And while HBCU bands have intense rivalries, name another instance of a band fight on the field at halftime of a game. I remember the BOOM and Bama State's band getting into in the parking lot after a game. Reprehensible. Shouldn'a happened. But name that halftime fight for me please.

These two cases are polar opposites. Recognize that.
 
Originally posted by SAME OLD G


No the show didn't drag Southern through the mud, and it still didn't label the band as thugs. As a matter of fact, he (Tom Joyner) asked that Dr. Greggs appear on the show the same day that PV's band director was on the show, and he declined.

Then you all cried foul because you didn't like was was said after declining the interview, so you asked the local radio station to take him off the air.

So again I ask, who in the media has labed the SU band as thugs?
Click to expand...


damn that is what happened!! LOL
 
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