Kiffin crossed the line on this one

[orange+white=heaven]

Football will be played. Kiffin will win or lose. This will be forgotten. Maybe not in South Florida, but everywhere else.

What remains to be seen is whether Lane Kiffin will continue to speak so freely in the future. My guess is that every now and then we'll see more blurbs, it just seems to be his nature.

 

[utmba93]

It was like a 9 year old saying everyone else sucks because he couldn't be the pitcher.

It's more like CUM saying Kiffin sucks because UF couldn't get Nuke.

Of course, I realize my analogy is insulting to any self-respecting 9-year old who has grown out of his/her whining phase.

 

[OrangeEmpire]

So anybody who criticizes your column is insensitive to other people and cares more about winning football games than poverty, huh? Awesome.

I expect my elected officials to fix poverty; I expect my football coach to win football games. I don't confuse the functions of the two, and while I think it's generally a good thing to have a decent concern for other people's feelings, I don't inflate "sensitivity" up the point where I confuse it for being anything tangible or important. Kiffin needed to apologize for his comments, and he did. The citizens and football players of Pahokee can choose to hold a grudge or not. I see no point in burning the jet fuel to fly UT's plane down there because his apology will somehow mean more if he reiterates it in person, just like I see no point in writing a pious column about how awful Kiffin's comments were two months after he already apologized for them.

I'm sorry....

 

[volmanbill]

Nobody? I doubt that. It was an unfair stereotype.

Obviously you've never been through Pahokee.

Opinions are opinions and even though you get paid for yours, I disagree.

Obviously there was an issue from the beginning in Pahokee. Should it have been made public? Maybe, maybe not. If UT wasn't going to get a fair shake no matter what...why not? I guarantee you that those players and their families want every conceivable opportunity to get out. Finding out that the coach wasn't necessarily on the same page wouldn't sit well with anyone.

This is ONE high school out of the entire country. Who needs who more? I don't think other H.S. coaches are going to take this personally and deny their players the chance to hear from the UT staff.

 

[SamRebel35]

What was Kiff's demeanor like when he delivered the comments? Was he snickering or chuckling in some way? If he was simply stating, in a matter of fact way, that it is a very impoverished part of the state/country, then this has been blown a little bit out of proportion.

 

[lawgator1]

perfectly valid observation is probably right, the inferences from said observation are simply amusing.

now, exactly what did I rephrase? You took the route of calling the man the ambassador of Tennessee. I just carried it a no more absurd, yet completely logical overreaching conclusion.

No I didn't, griff did. I do think he's an ambassador of sorts for UT, don't you?

No smart ass. He was describing the environment that he was having to recruit in and showing how tough it was. Not only does the principle try to keep kids from going to any other school, not only is the school a strong hold for your Gators but it is a very poor area.
Now I have learned that Gators and Gator fans are cry babies but you are going over baord on this one. I'm surprised that Foley or Urban havnt demanded an apology yet. And speaking of that where is the oplogy from Urban to AUB?

You honesly think he was paying them a compliment for facing such adversity so well?

That's freakin hilarious.

 

[UT IE 95]

Seriously, this is on the principal's website?

My goal for Pahokee Middle Senior High School is for our school to become an "A" school as well as make annual yearly progress. I would also like for every student to graduate and go to college.

Annual yearly progress? Really?

 

[VolBeef88]

What was Kiff's demeanor like when he delivered the comments? Was he snickering or chuckling in some way? If he was simply stating, in a matter of fact way, that it is a very impoverished part of the state/country, then this has been blown a little bit out of proportion.

That is the point! He was giving a description and since Griff no longer has the access he once did he is acting like a baby and furthering this story.
He so far is a damned hypocrite because as of yet he has not made his apology to the state of Minnesota.

 

[lawgator1]

That is the point! He was giving a description and since Griff no longer has the access he once did he is acting like a baby and furthering this story.
He so far is a damned hypocrite because as of yet he has not made his apology to the state of Minnesota.

Oh, please, that's just nuts. You know full well he was making fun of the area and the people living there.

 

[utmba93]

Obviously you've never been through Pahokee.

Opinions are opinions and as well written yours may be, I disagree.

Obviously there was an issue from the beginning in Pahokee. Should it have been made public? Maybe, maybe not. If UT wasn't going to get a fair shake no matter what...why not? I guarantee you that those players and their families want ever conceivable opportunity to get out. Finding out that the coach wasn't necessarily on the same page wouldn't sit well with anyone.

This is ONE high school out of the entire country. Who needs who more? I don't think other H.S. coaches are going to take this personally and deny their players the chance to hear from the UT staff.

You know that's true. These kids have a chance to become professional football players and have been cursed by a jackarse for a principal who wants to pimp his alma mater as the only option for them.

If I was in Pahokee and had a son who played there, I'd be asking my principal for an explanation as to why he won't let UT offer them such an opportunity.

How does this principal sleep at nights knowing that he is depriving kids who need the scholarships the right to choose whichever one they feel affords them the best opportunity? How can they make such a choice without spending time with coaches who travel all the way down there to see them?

 

[SamRebel35]

That is the point! He was giving a description and since Griff no longer has the access he once did he is acting like a baby and furthering this story.
He so far is a damned hypocrite because as of yet he has not made his apology to the state of Minnesota.[/QUOTE]

I don't see how the statement that Griff made was disparaging to Minnesota in any way.

 

[VolBeef88]

No I didn't, griff did. I do think he's an ambassador of sorts for UT, don't you?





You honesly think he was paying them a compliment for facing such adversity so well?

That's freakin hilarious.

I didnt say such a thing. I said he was making a description of the area. How far off was he? He wasnt laughing or being a smart ass he was being matter of fact and direct.

 

[voltilifall]

espn portrayed pahokee in the exact same light as kiffin did last year when they ran the story of barefoot high school football players chasing rabbits. the fact of the matter is that pahokee is backwards and poor, and they do have a high likelihood of not wearing shoes and being gator fans. the thing that upset them so much was that kiffin's criticisms of their community are true.

 

[VolBeef88]

Oh, please, that's just nuts. You know full well he was making fun of the area and the people living there.

No, no he wasnt.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Football will be played. Kiffin will win or lose. This will be forgotten. Maybe not in South Florida, but everywhere else.

What remains to be seen is whether Lane Kiffin will continue to speak so freely in the future. My guess is that every now and then we'll see more blurbs, it just seems to be his nature.

Presumably by next year he will have figured out that there is no such thing as a "private booster function," and that anything he says out loud at one of them might as well be printed on the front page of ESPN.com. Either they do things differently out in the Pac-10, or the internet-driven news cycle has ramped up considerably even in the few years since he left USC.

 

[droski]

I didnt say such a thing. I said he was making a description of the area. How far off was he? He wasnt laughing or being a smart ass he was being matter of fact and direct.

god forbid poor people get told they are poor. I hear obama's black too.

 

[VolBeef88]

That is the point! He was giving a description and since Griff no longer has the access he once did he is acting like a baby and furthering this story.
He so far is a damned hypocrite because as of yet he has not made his apology to the state of Minnesota.[/QUOTE]

I don't see how the statement that Griff made was disparaging to Minnesota in any way.

Sam that is my point. Neither was what Kiff did making fun of Pahokee and the are. A description and an isult are differnt things. Griff knows that and him saying this shows a bias. He is not getting the same access as before and he and a few others in the local media dont like it.

 

[VOLnMiami]

Good article. Reality is that Kiffin does not think before he speaks, it is a major character flaw for someone in his position, and he needs to just hold his tongue a bit here and there.

Kind of reminds me of a certain former gator coach :ermm:

 

[droski]

Either they do things differently out in the Pac-10, or the internet-driven news cycle has ramped up considerably even in the few years since he left USC.

it's the latter probably, but i've seen pete carroll at private events many times and the guy never says anything that could get back to him.

 

[SamRebel35]

Sam that is my point. Neither was what Kiff did making fun of Pahokee and the are. A description and an isult are differnt things. Griff knows that and him saying this shows a bias. He is not getting the same access as before and he and a few others in the local media dont like it.

Ahhh, ok I understand now. You'll have to excuse my lack of speed when it comes to catching on to such analogies.

 

[NCGatorBait]

Good to see Urbies in everyones head!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lawgator1]

The notion that Kiffin was "just giving a description" of the area, and that he meant no insult by it, is probably the single dumbest thing I have ever read on this board.

And that is saying a lot.

 

[weezy potter]

The notion that Kiffin was "just giving a description" of the area, and that he meant no insult by it, is probably the single dumbest thing I have ever read on this board.

And that is saying a lot.

the only way to determine if he was insulting the community is to actually hear the audio clip. don't know if you have LG, but i have, and it sounded to me like he was describing the area, not insulting it.

 

[orange+white=heaven]

Presumably by next year he will have figured out that there is no such thing as a "private booster function," and that anything he says out loud at one of them might as well be printed on the front page of ESPN.com. Either they do things differently out in the Pac-10, or the internet-driven news cycle has ramped up considerably even in the few years since he left USC.

I think he's learned some lessons he'll remember up to now.

I also think Kiffin has a serious streak of 'I'm better than you' in him. One has to have that I guess to have gotten so far so fast. Fact is he rubs a lot of folks the wrong way. But it's the football being played that he'll sink or swim on, not internet fodder.

We've got miles to go before we have an honest assessment of Lane Kiffin.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Are we really supposed to believe that there are people down in Pahokee, unemployed and living in crappy trailers, thinking, "Oh God, I lost my job and my situation is awful, but I feel even worse about it because of what the Tennessee football coach said about us three months ago, and the fact the high school principal thinks that he didn't apologize enough"?