Billy Momma Drama
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@Crimsonorblue22 Kids with different last names than their mothers, apparently due to Billy and his Mom’s names. Some here seemed to think it has great significance (all those “I could say something but I would get blasted…”–wink, wink–comments) that many basketball players have name “discrepancies.” As if there is something disreputable about it, which I dispute vehemently.
I just figured it is pretty normal when stepchildren are involved, with no great significance whatsoever other than blended families are becoming pretty prevalent. The days of laughing at the kids from broken homes should be long over.
You know me–I don’t stay silent when someone tries to rally the more-fortunate or better-heeled people to the side of snide.
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DanR said:
I’m shocked she (and Billy) stayed silent this long, so I’m way more on her side than the rest of you, I guess.
My earlier comment was not intended to mean, I should have said, that I believe she is hiding something bad or anything. I just never see the big follow-up explanation that always gets promised. Billy’s situation, I suspect, involves complications that could well include gifts from relatives and nonrelatives.
The history of his school moves was all about his mother seeking a better place for him. I believe she has his interests at heart. As we learned with Diallo, sometimes these kids would benefit from having their own legal representation separate from the school as their interests do not always coincide. Many families cannot afford it, and that could be the cause of big delays.
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@mayjay Right. In this case, there were two solid parents who, by all accounts, worked damn hard to get him to where he is today, so the family bashing seems particularly ugly, IMO. Maybe they aren’t doctors or engineers, but they make an honest living, ffs.
OK. After re-reading it, this thread is pretty disgusting. I’m out.
eta: not directed at your most recent comment, @mayjay
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This article indicates Billy’s family dynamics, not really what you would expect and presented without any comments.
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He could’ve went to Europe and made millions? OOOO…kayee??? But thanks for stayin’ … I guess? I’m not sure what to say about that statement. It’s like she is owed something.
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Sooner or later, this thing was bound to blow like a long dormant geyser. A durn shame that the eligible players, the coaching staff and fans have had to spend so many games without a recruited power forward. With 3 ineligible transfers already on the sidelines, this 4th ineligible scholarship recruit adds up to an ugly situation for this year’s squad and Jayhawk Basketball. Difficult for our players to hang tough when forced to play so many minutes. 4-1 lineups are esp. taxing.
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@REHawk Exactly. This has been the frustration. We all had high hopes and expectations for BP and then this long drawn out drama. I don’t think she realizes we are for her son. I don’t know who she is pissed at, but most all KU wants him to play and have been waiting. She needs to help get him cleared and stay off social media.
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@truehawk93 she has been helping, probably pretty hard to hear some of that crap!
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@truehawk93 Social media being what it is, and internet bullies being as they are, I am sure there have been lots of nasty comments flying her way. Asking her to stay off as she tries to follow KU and her son’s progress is not realistic or fair. If she is correct that she has done everything possible to cooperate, anyone could understand her frustration. Unfortunately, many people who are subjected to internet trolling do not have the luxury of trying to step away without cutting themselves off from everyone.
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It’s a tough situation. Difficult to believe everything is above board when it takes this long to figure out. But I have not seen anyone bashing BP or his family. I’m sure it’s happened. But also. You can read any type of negativity anywhere on any social media about anything. Even the most positive of situations. You can read some real trash about any player if you look for it I’m certain. The situation has been plenty largely publicized with constant reminders of “no news”. It’s unreasonable to expect not to have comments. Personally. I wish for the teams sake that the saga would just end. In any resolution. Don’t care which
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She probably shouldn’t have said anything but put yourself in her shoes. How would you feel right now if this was your kid?
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If he was my child, I would have made sure he was not put in that situation. Hard to believe she did not know what was going on.
Let’s just say it…if the car purchase was above board this issue is resolved in one day. The fact that KU chose not to play him and potentially jeopardize wins would seem to indicates KU knew there were issues and if that was the case, the chance that Billiy’s mom did not know about it is zilch… can’t we all agree at least on this?
If anyone has a better plausible explanation I would love to hear it.
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I don’t know if Billy’s mom did or did not know. I do know that it would be hard for me to stay quiet if I had a kid who was being harassed on social media.
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@JayHawkFanToo I prefer to wait it out. Not all of us are perfect parents but good for you!
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You don’t need to be a perfect parent, just a responsible one.
If you read the link I provided above you will see that Billy’s mom partner who is also his godmother was a top prospect at the University of Iowa and part of a class that many consider the Fav-5 of women’s college basketball and she also formed the AAU team for which Billy played. Plenty of knowledge of the NCAA rules at that household.
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@JayHawkFanToo read it
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@JayHawkFanToo maybe she helped pay for his car and that was illegal?
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Don’t you think that being that involved in college basketball and AAU she would know what is or isn’t legal?
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@JayHawkFanToo she’s his mom too
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Then it would not be illegal, right?
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@JayHawkFanToo idk, NCAA has some crazy rules!
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The NCAA rules are fairly straight forward and readily available and the great majority of student athletes have no problem following them.
I know you are trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, I understand and I get it but your grasping at straws. Again, if the car would have been obtained on the up and up the issue would have been resolved in one day. The fact it has taken this long and KU chose to sit Billy would appear to indicate that there were irregularities, don’t you agree on at least this much?
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@JayHawkFanToo You don’t have any evidence they didn’t do things right, so why speculate so extremely. When we do have info, have at it. Impatience is not an excuse for jumping to conclusions. “Must have done something wrong” is a bit much.
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@DanR What parent wouldn’t be pissed that their kid is costing their team a chance at a 14th consecutive Conference Championship and a realistic shot at doing anything in the NCAA Tournament?
That’s just good parenting.
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@DanR oops - just read further about your explanation - so never mind my smart ass remarks.
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I absolutely believe it’s completely reasonable to think things are not above board in the BP situation. Why would we think anything else at this point honestly? What’s the other option? The KU compliance office has it out for BP? Not likely. The KU compliance office has whiffed on this entire situation and is completely incompetent? Hmmm. I think let’s hope not lest we find out what all other irregularities have been mismanaged thru the years. Is it speculation? Of course. But it’s a very very reasonable assumption at minimum. I realize some don’t wish to believe that and that’s fine. But the other options are much like @JayHawkFanToo says in my opinion “grasping at straws”. I also realize the entirety of society likes to decide what is politically correct and who can say what about what these days. But none of this is bashing BP or his family. Maybe other ppl and posts are doing that. But suggesting that there’s been something illegally obtained in the eyes of amateurism with the current info we have is simply not and unreasonable thing at all.
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@cragarhawk There are so many variables in any investigation that any difficulty or complication can thoroughly gum up the works. Self’s discussion of this in last night’s KC Star article is quite enlightening, and might help dispel the urge to assume that a serious infraction is causing the delay.
We think of these things as just asking for some info and documents, then submitting it to the NCAA. But just figuring out who to contact, how they should be approached, and what to ask can involve numerous hours of background investigation, interviews, and acquisition of other documents. Strategy and legal advice sessions all have to be squeezed into normal staff routines, which for a bb team includes trips to games almost every week, and recruiting visits more often than we realize. There are also inevitable media sessions and meetings with supervisory school admins who don’t want to be left out. And all that is just what is involved in the school, and doesn’t even address the need for followup after followup as people don’t have what you want or don’t want to provide it and require persuasion. When the information gathering becomes complete, there is another lengthy round of legal involvement in the preparation of affidavits, with many possible exchanges to get every T crossed and I dotted while everyone tries to make sure there is no unexplained fact, unidentified name, or unexplored avenue.
Then there is the the hint we received from @RockChalkinTexas that they are trying to acqquire funding to pay for the car. Title tracing, loan applications, employment and pay histories, credit checks (and perhaps cleanups), proof of sources of funds for months if not years–all that can be a mess, especially in a nontraditional family where unmarried folks have lived together for years and shared expenses. And people and banks and car dealers do not always respond when you want them to. It took my car dealer 5 and 1/2 weeks just to send me my tags and regis to replace my 6-week temp ones, despite my calling them weekly, and I finally got them only 2 days before going on a cross-country trip. What is important to our fans may be a lower priority to third parties, assuming they cooperate at all.
And then the NCAA is going to take time to go over everything with their own magnifying glasses.
Self says the amount of detail they have had to gather in an effort to anticipate any issues is staggering. Anyone who has conducted a financial investigation knows that finding out what happened can be the easiest part. Being able to track it all down and prove it without leaving any stone unturned can be, simply put, the biggest pain in the ass you have ever experienced.
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I saw this tweet posted on another board that could actually be some solid information in this whole situation.
“The Billy Preston situation will come down to the NCAA’s definition of what a pre-existing relationship is. How long do you have to know someone, so that they are considered a family friend and not an agent/representative.”
Further tweets by this same person spoke on this making sense into why it took so long to gather information/evidence, why his Mom says they are innocent and why KU had to turn over documents to the NCAA. From what we gather Billy’s family has been involved in Professional Basketball in some capacity in the past. The car could have been provided by a friend of the family and that relationship is in question and has required a paper trail… Who knows.
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If they did things right, the issue would have been resolved in a day or there would have not been an issue in the first place. If they did things right, KU would be playing Billy and not sitting him while the investigation goes on; remember that KU sat Alexander when it sensed a rules violation and it turned out to be a wise decision? If Billy and family felt everything was done above board they would have asked that Billy start playing a long time ago; even now, the family has nor asked that Billy start playing, at least not publicly or that we know, right?
There is nothing “illegal” with someone giving Billy or you or me (I wish) a car; however, it is against NCAA rules and every HS athlete with aspiration to play college ball knows it. I have gifted money before and you have likely done so yourself and so you probably know that as long as you stay within the $10K IRS limit, is not even taxable. There is now an appeal against the FBI indictments that states there was nothing “illegal” with Adidas or any other firm giving money to an individual; it might be against NCAA rules but it is not illegal. I indicated before that the actual crime might end up being tax evasion by the recipients and not the money itself.
There is no doubt there were “irregularities” of unknown extent in the acquisition of the car and KU self reported it to the NCAA, it would have not done so if it thought it was above board. Don’t you think Coach Self is on the phone every day telling the Compliance Office that it is costing him dearly on the basketball court…and we know his word carries considerable weight at KU? Right?
There seems to be a lot of smoke and likely a fire; it might have been a small fire and already extinguished but the smoke has already created a lot of damage.
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@mayjay I understand your point of view. It probably is a pain in the ass that we will never fully understand. Obviously the situation isn’t as clear cut as “the car is registered to BP or his mother and she has the documents to prove that and how it was acquired”. That would be the day or 2 scenario… In which it would never have had to have multiple more facts gathered, multiple parties contacted and interviewed. Pain in the ass t’s crossed and I’s dotted. And weeks and weeks of getting to the bottom of it before having to turn it over to the NCAA. So while yes I will admit it is possible that everything is above board and it’s just been a perfect storm/nightmare paperwork fiasco or whatever. I still contend it’s reasonable to assume the opposite. Also feel it’s okay to speculate. After all, that’s all any of us do here about any subject honestly. Minus the posting of obvious facts, stats etc. When they are available.
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Self’s latest comments regarding the duo of P and Sousa
Bill Self says Kansas’ basketball program will find out “very, very soon” if and when freshman forward Billy Preston will be able to play in games for the Jayhawks.
“It’s a situation right now where we think we could know any minute on what his situation is,” said Self, KU’s 15th-year coach, Wednesday night on his weekly Hawk Talk radio show. “We actually feel very good about what the NCAA has in their hands what we submitted,” Self added.
Kansas recently submitted to college’s governing body findings over an issue that that KU has said concerns the financial picture regarding a car Preston has been driving on campus this school year.
“We were hopeful for one (answer) last week,” Self said of final word from the NCAA on whether or not Preston can play. “The reason we didn’t get it … it’s not the NCAA’s fault folks. They way it (KU’s findings) had to be submitted, it had to be turned in after it was completely done with corrections so that way the NCAA doesn’t come back and say, ‘We need more information.’ We tried to make it a complete file.
“When we got it (completed), it was very close to Christmas break. People who need to review it (at NCAA) don’t report until Jan. 2 (after a holiday break that started Dec. 22). It’s been 10 to 12 days with not a lot being done with it. That’s not anybody’s fault at all. I know it’s frustrating. It’s more frustrating for Billy and obviously his mother more than anybody else. We think we’ll have a final decision on this very soon. When that decision is made we are optimistic and hoping for the best.”
The fact Preston has been held out 14 games while KU compliance looked into this case is quite significant, Self said.
“If there is a problem, which we are not saying there is, but if there is one, he has already sat how many games now? Fourteen games? Gosh dang,” Self said. “We certainly hope and believe that would be sufficient (penalty) if there is one (problem). We are not even admitting there is one. That’s where we are at right now.
“I’m trying to be patient. Certainly the NCAA knows obviously there is a lot at stake, but what is at stake more than anything else is a young man’s well being. I’m certainly hopeful that we’re going to have him real soon.”
Self addressed the matter of why this has taken so long for this situation to be resolved.
“There’s a lot of different things that go into it when you go through all records,” Self said. “As an institution I know we have done a nice job of being very thorough to the point we presented this after more interviews and things like that that you can imagine. If you think of it like this, if you are looking into something and someone tells you one name, you’ve got to go talk to that one name. If somebody tells you two names, that’s two more names you’ve got to go talk to.
“It takes a little bit longer to do a thorough job to present to the NCAA where they could make their final determination. I know we as an institution believe we have been very cautious and very thorough and basically a young man has been hurt a pretty fair amount by something that he is totally oblivious to,” added Self, who did not expand on what that might be.
“Still,” Self continued, “by the rules and letter of the law, the rules say this, that you have to approach it that way.
Self added that “it would be nice if we would have been able to get all the information to them a month ago. That’s not the the NCAA’s fault. That’s not our fault. That was us continuing and attorneys continually trying to put the thing together (for NCAA review). I wish it was something you just say, ‘OK here is the situation. Boom. Here is one piece of paper that describes everything that could possibly have transpired with this.’ It’s a little bit more complicated than that.”
As far as the final report to the NCAA, Self stressed: “I feel good about it, that it’s an honest assessment on what has transpired.”
Meanwhile, the NCAA also is reviewing freshman forward Silvio De Sousa’s amateurism status, as it does all incoming student-athletes. De Sousa recently graduated from IMG Academy and is going through the normal process to get cleared to play college basketball, in his case starting immediately.
Self said it still could be a few days before De Sousa is cleared for participation.
“There’s obviously questions when you have an international player,” Self said. De Sousa hails from Angola.
“What teams did he play for? What travel teams did he play for? Were there professionals on the travel teams? If there were professionals did you get expenses? Did you get more than expenses/ How did you get from there to here? Who paid for it? You have all these amateurism questions that have to be answered,” Self said. “We just have to get them answered. We think we can have all answers hopefully to the NCAA in the next day or two. They’ll follow up if they have anything more they need to find out about.”
Self said De Sousa is in the process of learning the system and is a ways away from being able to contribute in games.
“He’ll need time. You need time to play without thinking,” Self said. “OK, if we run 2-3 zone what do you do? What’s the base thing to do if we run man or whatever. It’s getting him comfortable with the most simple things. We’re still probably a week or 10 days if things go perfect where he’d be able to play significant minutes and help us.”
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@JayHawkFanToo You’ve made number of posts on this topic, and the NCAA. I could not agree more. You’ve hammered this issue perfectly.
It is quite easy to demonize the enforcer of the rules, and to whine about rules, but that usually comes from folks that don’t follow the rules (or even with notice of the rules, with everything on the line, still don’t take even the most obvious steps to ensure compliance). Excuses flow like a river. And the whining ignores the reason that there are so many rules, and so much specificity – because if you don’t have rules and specificity, the rules collapse under the pressure of the exceptions, as noted by good lawyers.
It may sound stupid that kid can’t accept one lousy meal from a KU alum, but that meal turns into a weekly event, a daily event, to twice a day, to stocking his refrigerator; then if it’s food, something that’s a necessity, why not clothes, or pizza money, or whatever. Everything is a slippery slope. That’s why on the edges, rules enforcement sounds petty. But it’s that “bright-line” that eliminates the slippery slope. That’s how the integrity of the game is protected. And the reality is, the integrity is in very large measure actually protected.
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“If there is a problem, which we are not saying there is, but if there is one, he has already sat how many games now? Fourteen games? Gosh dang,” Self said. “We certainly hope and believe that would be sufficient (penalty) if there is one (problem). We are not even admitting there is one. That’s where we are at right now.“
I believe this is called a non-denial denial?
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The NCAA is a big, easy and convenient target for people that really are clueless about its role in college sports.
The great majority of student athletes go through the process without any issues and it is the tinny minority that in many case have been given passes before college that believe the rules don’t apply to them that get in trouble and the “go to” answer is to blame the NCAA for doing its job.
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Think of it this way.
Let’s say two kids meet in high school on the basketball team. One kid (let’s call him “Superstar”) clearly has a college future. The other (let’s call him “Regular Joe”)is going to end up being just a regular HS basketball player. Regular Joe and Superstar become friends. Even though Regular Joe isn’t from a rich family, they do okay and they help Superstar out from time to time - rides to games, AAU tournaments, spending money on the weekends, etc. - because when Regular Joe and Superstar hang out, they don’t want Superstar to be left out.
Is that illegal? Is that wrong? Is that against NCAA rules? That’s a gray area, because they met in high school, when Superstar’s skill and opportunity were clear. But it’s clouded because the two kids are friends.
Now let’s say that Regular Joe’s family does have quite a bit of money, so it’s not just $20 on the weekend, or a trip with the family to a chain restaurant to celebrate a birthday - now it’s paying for prom tuxes and limos, or paying for AAU trips. Is that illegal? Wrong? Against NCAA rules?
The question of how long you have to know someone has long haunted the NCAA because sports cross the normal income lines drawn by real estate and work. A talented, athletic kid can get a chance to go to a private school that he could not otherwise afford, where he ends up becoming friends with kids he would never meet, or dating a girl whose father owns a bunch of local businesses.
But to the NCAA, those relationships were created because of the kid’s athletic talent, so they can be questioned.
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@JayHawkFanToo Informative noninformation.
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@cragarhawk I agree it is perfectly reasonable to assume there is something, and Self’s comment seems to reinforce that. It is the inferences that his family is dragging their feet to not comply because they are crooked, and the accusations that KU compliance is screwing up, that I think are based solely on the delay, that I think are unjustified. Flowing purely out of fan impatience, and leading to the anger at her for daring to speak out.
I would love Bill’s salary, but I couldn’t handle all the crap.
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@JayHawkFanToo Actually it sounds a lot more like a non-admission admission…
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@mayjay … so you’re saying @JayHawkFanToo is right, correct?
@justanotherfan You’re choosing to play in the NCAA, you deal with their rules. Insert “mentor” for average joe, and you see the enforcement issue.
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@JayHawkFanToo If you feel the need/desire to gift any more money to anyone - send me an email.
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mayjay said:
It is the inferences that his family is dragging their feet to not comply because they are crooked, and the accusations that KU compliance is screwing up, that I think are based solely on the delay, that I think are unjustified.
I can’t remember anyone saying that Billy and/or his family is/are crooked. In fact, I specifically indicated that even if they received money/car/benefits from a third party, there is nothing illegal or crooked about it…it just happens to be against NCAA rules designed to provide a level field and that every othre student athlete complies with no issues.
I don’t seem to recall any allegations either that the Compliance Office is screwing up. I have pointed out that hey are just doing their due diligence as any competent and responsible office would do.
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My days of gifting are gone. I am planning for my own retirement now.
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@JayHawkFanToo I wasn’t just referrng to here. I have read comments telling his mom to just shut up, telling them both to take a hike, and excoriating our compliance department for neither knowing about the car nor getting the investigation settled quickly.
@HighEliteMajor Sometimes he is right, and other times…maybe not so much. Heck, sometimes you are right, and even I am.
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A broken clock is right twice a day.
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@JayHawkFanToo We used to have a grandfathers clock that had a loose minute hand. Sometimes, but not always, it would slip back down toward the 6 instead of going on up around. It was maddening to figure out when it was right.
Yes, watching that damned clock for hours, waiting to see if the hand slipped, is what sent me over the edge.
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You need to come back from the edge.
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@JayHawkFanToo Might join the Flat Earthers, what the heck. As long as I’m here.
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@JayHawkFanToo I said he was sleazy. I’m sorry his mom’s feelings are hurt. Maybe i shouldn’t be this way, but I care more about KU basketball than i do his Mom’s feelings. Common sense says there is something that was done that was not within the framework of the rules that are clearly laid out. Maybe it was a simple mistake - maybe it was willful disregard of the rules. Now, i absolutely don’t agree with fans reaching out to the family and saying nasty things at all- that is way, way out of bounds, and should be condemned. But, that is far cry from complaining about a kid that didn’t follow the rules, and severely impacted his team.
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Innocent until proven guilty. Isn’t that what makes our country judicial system stand out?
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@KUSTEVE I am always glad that KU has a rep for trying to follow the rules. The stories told by prior players always paint a picture of the concern by our coaches of how the players develop not just as players but also as quality young men.
With that in mind, I doubt HCBS would work so hard to protect B Preston’s eligibility if he doubted his character.
And, since we obviously want to hold athletes to a bright line test of knowing exactly what is legit and what is not, I fervently believe that all of us KU fans report every nickel of our income including gains on sales of cars and other personal property, estimate all our Goodwill donation deductions using actual FMV, and have always made sure to pay all use taxes on out of state internet purchases.
