MU Press Release on Wally

[Nukem2]

Yeah a lot of people assuming the worst just because of public perception. That's a separate issue. Call me an optimist but I'll assume Wojo isn't an underhanded jerk until proven otherwise.

Yup, too many folks on these various MU boards are judging the outcome while not knowing the actual process of what happened. And, yes, I don't think Wojo was being underhanded either. Frankly, it its "almost" in his best interest to speak about the situation. But, we have those unwritten rules of sports This is obviously not a HIPAA or privacy issue. If there is, there is probably even more to the story.

[MUMac]

Yup, too many folks on these various MU boards are judging the outcome while not knowing the actual process of what happened. And, yes, I don't think Wojo was being underhanded either. Frankly, it its "almost" in his best interest to speak about the situation. But, we have those unwritten rules of sports This is obviously not a HIPAA or privacy issue. If there is, there is probably even more to the story.

Are you not doing the same? Your follow-up sentence shows that you are. But, since it is "the corporate line", that's ok. Those of us that take a different school of thought are just being judgmental? Ok, whatever ...

[Nukem2]

Are you not doing the same? Your follow-up sentence shows that you are. But, since it is "the corporate line", that's ok. Those of us that take a different school of thought are just being judgmental? Ok, whatever ...

Well, I just said I don't think Wojo was underhanded. That's not necessarily a judgment. Just an observation as I don't think he is an evil person. You and others on the other hand, have basically thrown Wojo under the bus. I don't know what happened any more than you do. My judgment is that all parties involved had something to do with the final outcome. Too bad we don't know how that sequence of events took place.

PS, in a non-judgmental basketball decision manner, I do note that a poster on one of the MU boards suggested that Wally was not going to play whether he were to be on the roster or not.

Time to move on as no one is going to talk, at least not both sides.

[Phantom Warrior]

Let's play, "Let's Pretend."

Let's pretend that next year in Madison a certain parent of an in-state player) has, reportedly been demanding certain actions by the staff with respect to his son - unreasonable demands. Let's pretend that the kid, though fairly talented, is not a starter and is not even the first reserves at his position to come in off the bench. In fact let's the say that in some games the kid does not even get in the game and that for the season he is averaging around 8 minutes per game.

Let's further pretend that the parent has been complaining all season about his son not being in the starting line up, that he should be a starter ahead of other players the staff feels are better at this point in time than the kid with the whining parent.

Let's continue to pretend that Gard and the rest of the staff have finally had as much as they can take from this parent, that they are not willing to put up with all the moaning and all the demands in the future but they are convinced that they will not stop.

So, to finish our hypothetical pretense, let's say that Gard, with the full knowledge and backing of the athletic director, decides it's not worth it to keep the kid on the team but he can keep his scholarship for another year.

Would MU fans skewer Gard? Some will, of course, because they are anti-Badger no matter what. But I think others - and more than just a few - would come to the conclusion that Gard did what he thought was best for the team overall as that is, and should be, the coach's top priority and responsibility.

We are using UW in our pretend scenario, but a similar situation apparently just played out in Cincinnati with Xavier, only this time it had to do with the player himself not the parent. Supposedly Reynolds, who was a starter for the Musketeers, was basically told not to come back because Mack and the staff were tired of dealing with him and told him to move on.

Reynolds still had a year of eligibility for Xavier, but he already used up a red-shirt season, so he could not transfer to another school. Reynolds does not have the option of being on tennis scholarship or golf scholarship, or track scholarship this coming year, so he's gone, and his only viable option is to declare for the NBA draft. Have any MU fans skewered Mack for this decision? Nope. I think the basic response among the MU faithful would be that it's Mack's choice, and if he chose to jettison a returning starter for the overall good of the team, so be it.

Identical situation to MU? No - player issues versus parent issues. But issues nonetheless.

It bothers me that so many MU fans are willing to throw Wojo - and the university - under the proverbial bus if there is even a chance that his decision was a result of the family's actions/words over the past year.

[Markedman]

I didn't know that about Reynolds. A guy with his talent to be told to take a hike tells you his behavior must have been a real problem.

[warriorfan4life]

This situation has boiled down to those that those that want to believe the worst have done so. Those with open minds have taken a different stance.

[MUMac]

This situation has boiled down to those that those that want to believe the worst have done so. Those with open minds have taken a different stance.

Wow, so only those who take a different stance have open minds? So passive/aggressive! Some really bizarre comments by the lemmings on this board. Yours is at the top.

[Nukem2]

Wow, so only those who take a different stance have open minds? So passive/aggressive! Some really bizarre comments by the lemmings on this board. Yours is at the top.

Oh, I suspect we all have open minds. Some are more apt to form conclusions based on the "evidence" available. To each his own. In the end, there is an outcome in place here. Coaches, player, admins, family and fans will all move on from this outcome in whatever direction they choose. Such is life. Hoping for the best for Wally and his family. Wish it had not turned out this way. But, here we are however we got here.

[MUMac]

Oh, I suspect we all have open minds. Some are more apt to form conclusions based on the "evidence" available. To each his own. In the end, there is an outcome in place here. Coaches, player, admins, family and fans will all move on from this outcome in whatever direction they choose. Such is life. Hoping for the best for Wally and his family. Wish it had not turned out this way. But, here we are however we got here.

And there you go again ... I have seen the evidence and have a different view than you, but I chose not to make snarky attacks to your ability to decide for yourself. This is getting ridiculous!

[Nukem2]

And there you go again ... I have seen the evidence and have a different view than you, but I chose not to make snarky attacks to your ability to decide for yourself. This is getting ridiculous!

No snarkiness intended here. I put quotes around the word evidence because we literally have no hard evidence, just an outcome and some mysterious tweets and a heckuva a lot of conjecture and talk of helicopter parents. If you choose to make conclusions, that's your choice/opinion and i'll respect that. I'm moving on as I, and virtually every body on these boards, do not and never will know the whole story as to how events played out. Let's leave that to the parties involved. I suspect the actions and words leading to that outcome were not all that one-sided ( that's just an educated guess, not a conclusion ).