FSU coach Mike Norvell's self-induced disaster shows why players have more power than ever
Leave it to Florida State to show us how times have changed.
That’s not a dig at the fact that the Seminoles are a shell of their former dominant selves, though I could see how one would infer that.
No, that’s in reference to the events that unfolded late Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
In case you missed it, Florida State found a new way to stick its foot in its mouth. And this time, it was worse than photoshopping Martin Luther King Jr. doing the tomahawk chop.
According to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, first-year Florida State coach Mike Norvell explained how he addressed his team in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
“We’ve had a lot of open communication with our team, our players and our coaches. I went back and forth individually with every player this weekend,” Norvell’s statement read. “And that was something that was important to me because this is a heartbreaking time in our country…”
That caught the eye of Florida State captain Marvin Wilson, who claimed that no such individual communication happened:
(And in case you were wondering, Reed had team clearance to record those comments by Norvell. He explained where and how he records his interviews, too.)
After Wilson’s comment, which many Florida State players echoed, the program faced a self-induced PR nightmare. But FSU’s disaster should shed some light on something that’s become more and more evident than ever — players have never had more power than they do right now.
What Wilson said at the end of that tweet was more powerful than any poop emoji. “We will not be working out until further notice.”
That’s coming from someone who’s in the first round of way-too-early 2021 mock drafts. He’s a former 5-star recruit who decided to stay at FSU his senior year instead of leaving school early for the NFL. In other words, Wilson has a whole lot riding on the 2020 season.
And even he was willing to stand up for what he felt was right. Or rather, what he felt was wrong.
Take note, college football programs. Players are recognizing their rights and the system that depends on them to function.
I mean, even the NCAA is finally recognizing the power that players have. The NCAA! We’re a year away from players being allowed to profit off their name, image and likeness. If that’s not a sign that the times have changed, I don’t know what is. That’s happening despite the fact that TV rights contracts continue to soar, which squashes the belief that players are powerless in this current revenue model.
Now you might still read that and think “nobody is forcing those guys to play. They’re getting a free ride to play big-time college football. Surely FSU can find plenty of people who would take scholarships and they’ll be just fine.”
Um, if even half of FSU’s scholarship players had walked out and refuse to play for a head coach who lied about communicating with players about racial injustice, I promise you the Seminoles would’ve hurt. Badly.
It’ll be interesting to see how players respond in the days and weeks that followed their meeting with Norvell on Thursday morning. Redshirt freshman linebacker Kevon Glenn accepted the apology while fourth-year defensive tackle Cory Durden tweeted support for Wilson after the meeting. Wilson himself actually took to social media to say this:
Took A stand we got what we wanted & we are moving forward 🗣!!! I appreciate @Coach_Norvell for encouraging me to use my platform and speak for what me and my teammates believe In. Be the change that you needed when you was growing up ✊🏾🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/IEaG5qXUIk
— HEAD HUNCHO💧 (@marvinwilson21) June 4, 2020
See those words? “Use my platform.” “Be the change.” That’s spoken like someone who knew he had an obligation to do that when he smelled something fishy with Norvell’s “individual communication” comment (I cannot recommend that video enough).
Being fake in this world we’re living in is not for the 2020 athlete. Nope. We’re living in a time where at places like Mizzou, players are holding peaceful protests in front of courthouses and registering to vote by the dozens.
— Eliah Drinkwitz (@CoachDrinkwitz) June 3, 2020
It’s a little late now, but if Norvell is looking for any tips on how a new coach should support his players, he should probably shoot a line to coaches like Drinkwitz … and not some generated mass text.
At a time when our country is fighting for unity, it seems that college football players are already on board with that. Remember last year when “half” of Ole Miss players talked about quitting the team after the Sunday night announcement that Matt Luke was fired? Offensive lineman Chandler Tuitt said that “there’s no program without the players.” Thankfully for Ole Miss, it made the splashy hire of Lane Kiffin and that daunting possibility in Oxford went on the back burner. But who knows what could have happened if they brought in someone who players didn’t approve of.
Now, who knows if everyone in the FSU locker room will fully approve of Norvell. There are certain things that a big-time college football coach cannot afford to do anymore. One is deceive players. Deceiving them for the sake of looking like a better person publicly? Nope. Players will reject that with a Dikembe Mutombo finger wag 10 times out of 10.
I suppose at the root of this is the fact that Norvell is in Year 1 in Tallahassee. He didn’t recruit the vast majority of FSU players, and even if they spent time around him before COVID-19 restrictions, those relationships are still being established.
Whether Norvell misspoke or not, now is the time for coaches to recognize ways to empower their players. Players are going to respond to coaches who do that.
I have no idea whether Sam Pittman will turn Arkansas around. What I do know is that a coach like him who is genuine about his support is going to win over that locker room much easier than the coach who misleads for the sake of his self-image.
“You can tweet about stuff, take a picture or do whatever you want, but actions are strong. I felt like the best way for me to address the situation was to go be a part of what could be a solution.”
– @CoachSamPittman pic.twitter.com/5q9sUMsuCf
— Tye Richardson (Bartleby Gaines 🐐) (@TyeSportsRadio) June 3, 2020
You’ll notice that Pittman said that after he took action by joining his players in a peaceful protest.
Speaking of peaceful protests, you can bet you’ll see a whole bunch of players kneeling during the national anthem this fall. That’ll be in college, not just the NFL. You’re naive if you think college coaches are going to enforce some sort of “no-kneeling” policy. Whether coaches, athletic directors and fans like it or not, don’t be surprised when players exercise their right to kneel in order to peacefully protest racial injustice.
Call this “the protest generation” if you will. The way today’s college athlete sees the world is different from 10, 20 or 30 years ago. Some might call them “the spoiled generation” for not staying quiet and appreciating the value of a scholarship like 20th-century athletes did. Those people would be ignoring the fact that 20th-century athletes didn’t watch their schools bring in tens of millions of dollars of TV revenue with skyrocketing coach salaries … which couldn’t have happened without the players.
No matter how we talk about FSU’s self-induced mess weeks and months from now, let it serve as a reminder entering the first season of this new decade.
Players have more power than ever, and they’re showing that they’re not afraid to use it.
I wonder if you can revoke scholarships for not showing up to workouts, meetings, practice, etc. Were they voluntary workouts? If I just decided not to show up to work until further notice because I found out my boss told a lie to someone else, I would not have a job. These times are tough and we are all part of human race, it’s a very slippery slope now for all.
A scholarship can probably be revoked for that form of protest, but it would also be problematic. I would counter your example with the fact that many people have gone on strike and kept their jobs. But I also wonder why we’re comparing this situation to employment when they are student-athletes, not employees?
‘I would counter your example with the fact that many people have gone on strike and kept their job’
That only happens when there are legal protections for organized labor – pro-union, red states.
Ask the air traffic controllers how their strike worked out for them.
Being a student athlete is a job, trust me. Also, not only do most get paid under their table, their education is paid for. Practice, Games, Film, Meetings, it’s all work. They are working to make it to the NFL. College is free for them because of their athletic abilities and work ethic.
You are confused.
You mean pro-union, blue states…most red states are aren’t union friendly.
DumbDawg doesn’t know his reds and blues
Because, as far as the school’s bottom line is concerned, they are employees and not students, except for at schools like Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, and Vanderbilt.
If the team goes on strike, the university athletic budget will go bankrupt. Greed begets greed, so it is no shock to me.
Look at how it once was, and compare it to the mess we have now.
In 1900, all athletics were extra-curricular escapes from constant studying. Sports were stressed more as a way to stay physically fit, because as the Duke of Wellington had said, “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields at Eton.”
The game itself was only part of a greater entertainment option that frequently included orchestral concerts, circus-like demonstrations, gymnastics, and the game itself was separated by halves, so that the afternoon could have started with music, then another act, then the first half of the game, then the gymnastics show, then the second half of the game, and finally more music.
The cost for admission to this extravaganza in 2020 dollars was a little over $3.
I hope there is a coach or school dumb enough to try to revoke scholarships. I guarantee that school will lose any chance of being able to recruit a black player in the future. If you support revoking scholarships prepare for your school to become irrelevant on the football field.
And if they continue to placate them, fan support and $ will dwindle. Choose your poison.
“..if they continue to placate them?”
WTF?! There’s a much larger issue here than scholarships and attendance!
That white privilege kicks in automatically, don’t it?
Volman, whether you like it or not “white privilege” is a racist term. Using the color of anyone’s skin in this context is racist.
He’s a Vanderbilt fan. His team has never been relevant on the football field.
A School would be beyond stupid to consider doing that, especially right now. Use Mizzou as a prime example of what happens to a school that fails to proactively react to current events, let alone simply remain silent. That didn’t just hurt Mizzou’s ability to recruit (Which was already bad) but also shot enrollment into the gutter.
If the players weren’t already holding all the cards because of COVID, they certainly are now.
Use Mizzou as an example. After placating the social justice morons, enrollment and $ went away. So go ahead. Play that game. See where it goes.
Wish yours had swallowed.
Chr1781 you are absolutely correct. And if any fan on this site thinks their school is immune from this type of racial problem happening you’re kidding yourself. On misstep or slip of the tongue and your university football program will take a downturn.
If I remember during the Missouri incident, that they are student athletes, and protesting is a normal part of student activity. If they were employees they would be represented by the labor board and have all the rights that go along with it. I doubt FSU wants to go that way….
Thats about right, and I believe the NCAA backed up that Athletes are students first. However it certainly doesn’t change the situation. Could they remove the students? I’m certain they could execute that plan, but it would be just about the worse decision the school could possibly make from a marketing standpoint for the institution.
Not to mention Mizzou felt the duel effect of being brought into the spotlight. Many African American students that would have come rightfully were scared away. Then all of the entitled white families that don’t understand racial issues in American nudged their kids away because the school “Caved” to the protesters demands. For the school, at least in the short term, these situations are lose lose. Schools need to show their support for the athletes whether they truly think believe that’s right (Which I hope is true), or for the financial sake of the institution.
“Then all of the entitled white families that don’t understand racial issues in American nudged their kids away because the school “Caved” to the protesters demands”
Change “white” to “black” then change “don’t understand racial issues” to some other critical assessment
and people would be screaming raaaaaacist
he who angers you controls you ….
“Don’t understand.” Yeah, real tough in America right now, what with the free housing, Obamaphones and education, it’s real tough out there.
At what point did I say how hard it is to live in America? All I’m stating is the facts of what higher education institutions have to keep in mind. I understand that a user that would name themselves “JonnyReb” is probably feeling on the defensive right now (unless of course you’re a troll), but come on how naive do you have to be to not get the full picture here?
The Lost Cuase is far behind us now.
Oh I’m neither sorry nor defensive about anything. No amount of protests, riots or media bias will change that.
But I forgot how I was entitled, what with my family coming over on a boat and working hard. I’m so sorry you’re offended by that. As I tell anyone who thinks I owe them something: kiss my @ss.
Lol how am I offended by your family coming over on a boat and working? Congrats? Everyone’s family did that?…. Speaking of your “free education” sounds like you may want to start paying for it down in Arknsas haha.
Wow, dumbdawg I’m glad you took my comment seriously and you’re actually quoting what people say now and not what is in your head
Well, first of all, I don’t live in Arkansas. I make way too much money to stay down there. Second, you mean, as what, one of the few Americans who actually pays taxes. Your people should write mine a thank you letter every year.
Even more hilarious, just my grandpa in 5 years had probably contributed more to this country then what your entire lineage has. About all your lineage did in Arkansas was contribute to the shrinking gene pool there.
Also Just Incase “your” people is meant to be racial, I’m 100% white.
Lol, JohnnyReb, I’m sure your ancestors are beaming with pride that they crossed an ocean and busted their asses so their decedent could go pretend to be a dead Confederate complaining about social justice warriors on a sports website. You definitely sound super successful and not at all sad or pathetic.
PS,JR, after the draft, Marvin Wilson will pay more in taxes next year than you’ll earn in lifetime.
Chr, it isn’t. I don’t care if you’re white, black, or blue, I don’t care about you or the rest of your clearly intellectually challenged family. I’m also not from Arkansas. It’s just that my world views aren’t based upon the likes of Colbert or what your left wing history professor told told you. You’re grandpa. That’s really moving. Why mention grandpa? Because you’re a 20-year old little sh*t who has not and never will amount to anything who wants to brag about his grandpa squirming away a couple of dollars in a dip can buried somewhere in his backyard?
Lifelong Dawg, who cares, he’ll be out of the league in 5 years. By then he will have blown whatever money he made in the league on blow and hookers.
By the way, Chr, grandma should have swallowed.
And by you people, I mean liberals. I have no respect for you and what you believe. You can protest, riot, post your stupid sh*t on Twitter, none of it matters because I don’t care what you think. Same reason I don’t listen to people who think the earth is flat, you’re a bunch of inferior idiots.
So keep holding your dumb@ss signs and wearing your fist shirts. I have my own. It’s pretty similar. Only difference is the middle finger is extended. Have fun being woke, idiots.
Mizzou’s enrollment cratered as well as suburban kids weren’t going to go to a school where radicals had taken over the campus. Too many other choices
The thing is though that this isn’t happening in private. Other recruits are seeing what is happening. You think any of them want to go sign up and play for Norvell right now?
It’s even worse if he punishes these players. Retaliation in the form of revoking scholarships will
a: make your football team terrible
b: hamstring any attempt you make to bring in quality players in the future.
Conner, you’re so sensitive. Politically speaking.
What was political about this?
It looks like we have another pot engaging in name-calling
He chunked his coach, and team, under the bus.
A mature response would have been to confront the coach and have a discussion. Allow the coach to explain himself.
Given his statement “we will not be working out until further notice” he should be booted from the team.
It doesn’t sound like he chucked anyone under the bus. It sounds like he has support from teammates. When a prominent public figure unnecessarily and publically spreads a lie, I think we should be grateful to those who reveal the truth. If a coach uses his players as part of a lie to make himself look better, that is the betrayal. I have no problem with those players then speaking up for themselves.
I don’t understand why all of the focus here is on criticizing the player. If we keep trying to focus on nitpicking the response instead of addressing the actual problem, we’ll never make any progress. Let’s stop complaining about how loud the fire alarm is and try to actually put out the flames instead.
Some people have totally accepted that lying is the norm.
wot,
The focus is on the player because he took to twitter to air out problems/issues that should have been discussed internally, at least initially.
We don’t know to what degree the coach was lying or telling the truth and we don’t know to what degree the player(s) are being accurate/truthful.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between.
A thoughtful, mature-minded, reason-driven, team first person would have a discussion with the coach before using social media to broadcast his initial response and emotional reaction to the World.
Seeing how the coach has already apologized for lying, it’s safe to say the coach is lying and the player is accurate.
gator out west
How old are you? What do you do for a living?
Do you understand how the fusion of culture, politics and economics work in this country? Messaging, brand management, stakeholders, PR crisis management etc.
Maybe the coach was telling a “lie,” or maybe the coach took the high road and as they say, took one for the team.
But to my point
The player in question could have still approached the coach differently, come to a good resolution and avoided the all the bad PR for his team.
I’m a PhD scientist. What are you?
Is it so hard to believe someone lies for the sole purpose of making that person look better? This explains so much.
I’ve been alive long enough to watch 3 UF NCs. How about you?
Not a “PhD” but net worth is an 8-figure number (8 digits to the left of the decimal point.)
.
.
“Is it so hard to believe someone lies for the sole purpose of making that person look better?”
Care to elaborate?
I’m going to counter your question with a question.
Why should the player keep the lies and issues within the team, but the coach is not responsible for actively lying about his actions to the public?
Why is the paid person allowed to lie in public, but the unpaid player has to keep everything quiet and internal?
Simply put, the coach wanted the publicity, and didn’t care to actually do the things he said he did. He put himself and his career before his players and his team.
So, if the coach isn’t going to put the team first, why should the players?
He didn’t admit to lying. Saying he did is actually a lie. He said he shouldn’t have used the word, every. Silly gator.
Dumbdawg, have you never heard it is best to be thought of as a fool then to speak and let it be known?
Dawg of War, you are full of opinions, but short on facts. The coach claimed he talked to each player individually. That’s not what happened. Wilson wasn’t the only person who never heard from the coach; in fact, the team held a meeting and the FSU AD said many players were mad about the coach’s claim. You’ve talked here about brand messaging and maturity, but Mike Norvell is twice the age of the players he coaches and he’s the one who publicly claimed he was talking to his players when he wasn’t. He was the one who “went public” when he made false claims. Maybe if he’d shown the “team first” attitude you Wilson lacks, then he would have actually reached to his players instead of just telling people he did.
Also, Dawg of War, if you’d actually watched the video or learned more about what happened, you would know that Marvin Wilson is already incredibly mature and reason-driven. And while you can claim all you want to be worth 8 figures (I’m writing this from my super yacht myself), Marvin Wilson actually will be come next year. But first, he came back to school, not for a chance to win a NC-that ain’t happening at FSU this year-but to get his degree. That’s impressive in its own right.
Now please don’t make me ever have to agree with a bunch of Gators again.
I agree with the player. Norvell definitely has some explaining to do.
Norvell screwed up, but I don’t agree with the method in which the player displayed his anger. But, maturity reaches everyone at a different age…and sometimes never.
Yeah, he’s the Captain and the first thing he does is go to the media instead of the source. Great example, someone else needs to be the C.
Why does the coach get to grandstand in public, all for the sake of his image, but the player has to keep everything quiet? The coach is supposed to set an example. He could have (1) actually done what he said he did, and (2) not spoken about it publicly. That would have been leadership.
I’m with the players on this one.
Actually, it’s probably the very fact that he is captain and the best player on his team that he did this. He wasn’t the only one who was mad, but he may have been the only one who could risk criticizing the coach. And, if going public should cost him his captain’s position, what should the punishment be for the coach lying in public to begin with?
It just makes him sound like a hypocrite. I mean he’s ticked off the coach didn’t go one on one, so instead of the kid taking the opportunity to go one on one and handle it the right way he just did exactly what the coach did. Two wrongs don’t make a right, if anything that’s the lesson the entire country is struggling with right now is it not?
I agree with you Lifelong Dawg. He’s doing what a captain should do and speaking for his players.
Booches, he’s not a hypocrite. The offense he is upset with is that the coach lied. If Wilson were lying right now, then he would be a hypocrite. But he isn’t lying, he’s stating his case and representing his players and their interests. This isn’t two wrongs don’t make a right because Wilson isn’t in the wrong. It’s a justified action to take in response to what Coach Norvell did.
I hate respecting a Nole.
So do I
The Missouri Tiger football team organized and lead a March through Columbia to the court house, kneeled for 9 minutes, and every player registered to vote. It was attended by the coaches and local police, with Coach Drinkwitz supporting his team and leading by example with more than just words.
In a time when we’re short on content, I’m just amazed SDS can’t be bothered to write about it and it gets relegated to an anecdote in a random article about FSU.
Not only that, but Cuonzo has been a beacon not just recently but for years.
Great news for MSU’s enrollment.
Good point Tiger
Well, I have already quit basketball and the nfl out of boredom with hearing about everyone’s “feeling”…..now this
I am running out of sports…..at least baseball has the decency to make it all about money…..
I’m just so sick of all this $hit. Connor is probably brainwashed by MSNBC. I don’t agree with what coach or player did. Should have been kept in house. Why is everything about a “platform”? Wannabee talking head? Get some credibility first. Connor is trying so hard and relishes his occasional appearance on Finnebaum ( I saw he was going to be guest and turned channel and haven’t watched since). I’m just so sick and pray that we have season so all of this nonsense will take a backseat to real sports and competition.
Play the friggin game and shove your social justice agenda up your @ss.
The only thing your post is missing is a few “boy” and “know your place” comments. Though I’m sure those were edited out.
Let’s just be honest about this for a minute. You don’t respect me and I don’t respect you. All your protesting and hooting and hollerint wont do a d@mn thing but reinforce what I already know. I don’t care what your color is, I just don’t and will not ever respect your ideology. You’re not interested in a conversation, you’re just using race and the media as instruments to further your agenda. You don’t want to live in a world where I exist and vice versa. Split the country into the United Socialist States of America and the Conservative States of America.
I am particularly amused by those who say I need to have a “conversation”……
I stopped by the gad station/convience store this morning……people were grabbing coffee, gas, on their way to work…..you know real life…..no one seemed to be interested in having a “conversation”
Stopped by the donut shop…..no luck there either……I mean besides …..what will you have, two glazed, thanks for coming in……a pleasant black gentleman by the way
Does anyone know who I am supposed to have this “conversation” with please?
This is nonsense. You have ESPN setting people up. If you don’t 100 percent toe their agenda, then they come after you and fabricate a false issue where there is none. This is nothing more than a front for the communist leftist agenda, using people as scapegoats to drum up racial division in exchange for votes. Enough.
Drew Brees can’t say that he doesn’t support kneeling during the national anthem, mind you while not discrediting their B.S. agenda entirely, without backlash from other athletes and a teammate telling him to “shut the f*ck up.” That’s telling. They are not interested in a conversation. Wake the he@l up people.
Agreed. The strategy is to create as much chaos and fabricate as many false narratives as possible to get Trump out office in November. If they were really interested in bringing people together …we were for about 48 hours after Floyd’s death. That lasted until the first store was looted and the first building went up in flames. It was never about Floyd. Sad.
I don’t know if you happened to see the memorial service, and not to disrespect a guy who died, but it seemed pretty clear to me that nobody really cares about George Floyd as much as they relish the opportunity to use his death for their political benefit. The whole thing began to look like a celebrity funeral. A presidential candidate is in attendance. The whole thing became a spectacle to draw media attention.
Coach Norvell is probably praying for a distraction right now like a bunch of Florida players getting arrested or a hurricane bearing down on the gulf coast.
This seems to be blowing over, no way FSU fires him just for that. All he needs is an 8-4 season, decent recruiting, and then they’ll forget all about this.
I believe one thing FSU need to do is beat Florida!
The reason they won’t is because their team is probably loaded with kids using your kind of grammar, half stepping true lefty
Not this year, The last couple years of Jimbo and then Willie left the cupboard empty. Norvell just shortened his leash though, FSU are truly delusional, if he doesn’t win they’ll point to this and claim he lost the team
I’d play golf somewhere.
No disaster. They have all kissed and made up.
After reading the article and the comments I am totally confused. The coach said he talked to every player and a player said it wasn’t true. Got it. Can anybody explain why this is a race issue?
Any player that even thinks about kneeling during the National Anthem better keep their ass in the locker room. If they want to disrespect our flag, I don’t want them on the field, no matter who they are! I served my country to give them the right to protest, but during the Anthem is not the time!
Agreed. If we can expect to see it, they can expect to hear boos and a waning interest in college football, fewer donations to the school’s athletic fund, etc.
I don’t think it’s appropriate, but we served to give them that right. It’s like burning a flag. It’s disgusting, but I won’t let it ruin my day. When nfl players started kneeling, I recognized it as a right as long as their employers didn’t object. I just choose to exercise my right to no longer watch. Freed up my Sundays. They do their thing. I do mine. They are no longer one and the same.
Yeah but he’s expressing his feelings about it same as them. That’s where there seems to be a disconnect. If they want to, that’s fine but we don’t have to support them. And what they did to Brees and the Sac Kings announcer is the problem.
What happened to Brees is pathetic. Some of the left are clearly looking for a race war. I’m not going to give it to them.
Agree, and respect you. I think the issue is bigger than race, though. I think it’s part of a broader attack on our individual liberties, particularly amongst those whom the liberal elite disagrees. The entire idea is to break the country into factions, use a populist message to identify a common enemy, and to silence anyone who disagrees with their agenda by threatening their livelihoods. Brees is lucky. For most of us, if you end up on the wrong side of this, you won’t even get the chance to make a half-hearted apology. You’ll be done.
Connor, props for allowing free speech by not shutting down the comment thread despite the dissension and disagreement. In that regard, you have won my respect.
Lol…Somebody’s medication is kicking in.
And yet I’m not one of the animals burning down buildings and robbing stores. When will their medication kick in?
And there you go begging to have the comments turned off.
For what? Stating facts about criminals? I don’t know why this is so hard for you people to grasp. No, they aren’t worthy of sympathy, nor should we ignore what they’re doing.
Now why would Norvell even think he needed to make a “statement”? Last time I checked FSU was in FLORIDA and had nothing to do with the “murder in Minneapolis”! The entire episode was staged so organized “protests” could begin! There are as many or MORE white people shot or killed by police than blacks. Where were the RIOTS when that immigrant officer murdered the sweet lady from Australia? Did Norvell need to talk to his team then? Did multiple stores get looted and destroyed? Did a 77 yr old BLACK retired Police Captain get MURDERED by looters? This whole incident is BS and just another excuse for public unrest! Now what Norvell did was EXTREMELY STUPID – did he not think that he would be asked who he talked to or that his players would be asked? If he makes a SIMPLE STUPID MISTAKE like this, just imagine what he’ll do on the sidelines! Ask yourself another question – I’m not being racist here – just want an HONEST answer! Would a WHITE coach still be at FSU??
Norvell is white you moron.
I was being sarcastic! I still think he’ll be fired or will simply “do the right thing” and step aside! How can you overcome a complete lie to a team composed of mostly black players?
Lol now I see what you did there
Lots of respect for the Mizzou players and staff to kneel in honor and respect of the deceased police officers who have been killed in the line of duty defending their communities from domestic terrorists. Really upstanding of Drinkwitz (every single time) and crew. I think their behavior serves as an example to the rest of us.
So now we have a college football team, full of people whose brains haven’t fully developed yet, that get to hold a team hostage because their coach hasn’t knelt at the altar of wokeness to profess his sins strongly enough yet. How can a coach lead a team when the players have all the power? This is how college football dies.
How can a coach lead a team when lies or at least exaggerates what he’s doing for his players? Maybe it’s time to start to start expecting more from the people at the top.
Making over the top comments is no better than what he did. He has already made up with his team.
Man do we need football back. This site is no place for worldly politics.
Athletes sign a contract but bottom line they are there because they choose to be there by their own will. They can walk away any time they want. This is a different time and generation. If they disagree or don’t like something their solution is to either quit or burn it down.
My statement isn’t judging whether it’s right or wrong but I wonder if he’ll be lied to again in the future? He’s just getting a little taste of the real world. I’m sure no one ever lies in the world of the NFL. Sometimes you just have to pull up your jock strap and go to work and get paid.
This is different than just getting lied to. This is being lied about and having your name and the name of your teammates being used to prop up the image of a coach during a moment when the country is in active protest. People are lied to all the time especially in athletics. This wasn’t a broken promise about a spot on the depth chart. This was much deeper than that.
“The country is in active protest.” False. I can assure you we here in Suburban American have just gone on living our lives.
Agree completely……I am bored with it all and sick of hearing about “feelings” and having conversations…
Will someone please grow some balls….
wow, what a mess.
hhmmmm, well Conor, I suppose it’s good that you want to write about social issues and college students, but you need to focus your story better. You are drawing some cause and effect relationships that just don’t exist, and when you try to expand these to say certain events are all about the power of college football players over their universities then your story goes from inaccurate to grossly inaccurate and over simplified on top of it.
In Pinkels last year, a protest that broke out in St. Louis over an incident that wasn’t a simple thing even in St. Louis, to know or draw conclusions from…..In Columbia it turned into a power play where a relatively small group of students lied openly about facts in hopes of getting the University to expand scholarship hand outs to athletes to include GROSS AND EXTREME reverse job discrimination. Everybody involved by accident or choice became extreme losers over it. Nothing good happened because of it. Don’t try to take this example and say it was part of positive social evolution.
If you are going to claim that student-athletes need to get paid more than the value of their grants-in-aid tuition+room+board+books+fees, maybe you ought to explain why this is not more a fair trade. Also you need to address the concept of amateurism which is already grossly compromised by the traditional aid I described above. It’s perfectly valid for colleges to stand on a long accepted and appreciated concept of holding a line between professional athletic entertainment and college athletic events. The fact that you flippantly left all this out of your story really just says “click-bait and lazy writing”.
Norvel made a dumb claim about his team communication. He didn’t expect his own student athletes to make their program and his coaching look bad in front of the national media over it. The fact that they called him on it simply means that some of the players on the FSU roster felt like using the FSU football team to call attention to police training and public reaction to police behavior. This by itself is not a sign of a team, nor a coaching staff, making good decisions. Having two dumb factions is not better than having one, or no dumb factions. Nothing good or social upward happened for anybody here. It was just a mudball fight with no possible winners.
If they don’t wanna play, there are plenty of one and two star athletes that’ll be happy to accept a scholarship.
Multiple articles on this site about Norvell messing up. Not one about he and the players clearing the air and making up. Agenda?
I’m sure FSU could pull scholarships, but I also bet there is some kind of internal appeal system at FSU, and the athlete(s) would probably get some sympathy. And most of all, it would be a PR nightmare for FSU, whether you think they’re right or wrong. I can’t imagine a big-time program like FSU pulling scholarships for that kind of thing.
No prospect would sign up to play there under the threat of losing their scholarship when they speak up for themselves. You’re right it would be a PR nightmare and every recruit would watch it. FSU was going the wrong direction with Taggart and now they are taking a nosedive.
Sure looks like Florida State is Zero for Two in Their Last Two(2) Head Coaches. Wait till they Lose a Lot of Games this season, then it all comes back to This Lie & “How He Lost-The-Locker-Room”.
I guess Florida State wish they had hired Drinkwitz! He is very underrated HC! Also he have done good things for Mizzou and the players so far!
Children, children, enough of the back and forth. I know football is lacking but let’s stay focused. Wilson is right to call Norvell out on a lie. And I’m sure Norvell is thinking that walking Beale Street is not so bad about right now. But, players just sitting out? Wilson May go to the NFL but many others need to play to get noticed. It’s a two-way street, baby.
I think this article sets a record of being showcased the longest. Can we move on SDS?
Well, this has been an interesting read. These times let us see everyone’s true colors. How I see this:
1. There is no issue if Norvel doesn’t go public and lie about how he handled a very sensitive subject.
2. Wilson showed true leadership in responding to this lie. Showed true leadership in stepping up and putting his beliefs above potential back lash.
3. Reb, your side lost the war in the late 1800’s.
4. I am a Republican, in my ’50’s and done fine professionally, but realize that we have major problems in our country and fortunately the johny rebs of the world are slowly becoming the minority, although their inbreeding will keep their lineage behind in the times, with those big ears and noses…
Reb, before you respond, please yell Pig SOOIE!
LOL
usually dont agree with gators but this post was top notch imo
Ole Miss is marching this morning for….well, something?
Maybe they can get this out of their system and get back to what they do best…….losing games…..
This is goofy nonsense on the part of SDS. The coach and player have moved on. SDS hanging on to this is telling. It’s not a good tell.
Ok we know we know black lives matter and ALL white people are racist and condemned to hell and blacks love whites. Can we move on now?
Not until you shave your head.
We will see over the July 4 weekend in Chicago if black lives really matter..
So far this weekend in Chicago, so far….over 20 dead….
Tell me again about black lives mattering?
Okay SDS, time to update the home screen.
I do not care anymore about protests. I hope Nothing changes. I love my country. If you don’t like it you are free to leave. Go ahead. No one is standing in way. Good riddance. Go loot and riot In China. Do us all a favor. Traitors!
Amazing how many racist, bigoted good old boys—emphasis on “boys” frequent this site.
The same losers who fear social change and likely, voted for Chump.
Seeing a trend…