On a similar vein, a few months ago on Nfl radio Ed McCaffery and an insurance agent were talking about insurance for seniors who stay in school versus declaring for the draft. Under some scenarios the NCAA permits the school to pay for it, BUT most schools don’t come out and offer to do so. It’s up to the player and his family to talk about it during recruitment and when the time comes when the player has the leave v stay decision
That said, the OP is correct in that it’s not a great look, and undoubtedly Narduzzi and staff will have to waste time debunking it, but that’s more the fault of a lousy blogger stirring crap. A blogger this board, BTW, used to hail as one of the “good guys”
Yes, it is more evidence that Pitt should pretty much consider any one even remotely associated as "media" to be a hostile witness. Maybe Paul Zeise as the lone exception. But if Elijah is one of these aggrieved seniors, maybe not anymore, lol.
No doubt things like this are happening at penn state, ohio state etc. Big bureaucracies have processes and inevitably some don't follow them and get snafu'ed. You'd just never read or hear of them, because the associated media pretty much toady and bend over for them.
Heck, think of how many around the PSU program clearly knew that Penn State coaches were raping or enabling the rapes of little boys, and kept silent, and still act as apologists for the school and cover up details to this day on it. That's a incredible extreme and there's a place in hell for those folks. When Ron Cook, Jerry Micco et al pass on, there's a perpetual fire pit waiting for their souls.
The Steelers failures are another timely example. Even the most strident steeler supporters can concede they've kind of butchered things administratively in recent years and squandered a significant amount of talent, esp the past season. There's obviously plenty of coverage, more so than warranted for a team that didn't even make the playoffs. But the media took the signal from the old man on Antonio Brown (they're gonna get rid of him). So now, 100% of the Steelers troubles are focused conveniently on the guy who will soon be gone. None on the flawed leadership that enabled him, and will stay in place.
This non event involving Brown and his baby momma a thousand miles away getting breathtaking coverage, as an example. It would have gotten ignored (or spun as the woman's fault, like with Roethlisberger, Bettis etc), as most Steelers transgressions are, if Rooney hadn't given The Word that AB is to be demonized.
For administrative snafus that give bad optics, being a shill to your subject and dutifully censoring or spinning it is good business, IF the entity is popular. Key qualification!
It's what I always say (irrefutably so), Pitt will always face this kind of hostility in coverage, in all degrees of university business, UNTIL it is a serious winner in one or both of the main sports. Because then there will be significant popularity that comes with it for Pitt, the kind that polio cures and transplant innovations and providing mass employment to the region can't seem to achieve. With mass sports popularity comes next to no tolerance for negativity; thus the media have to kiss its ass.
Suck at sports to your own peril, Pitt
