Rep. Wayne Ford Holds Adrian Clayborn to Higher Standard Than He Holds Himself

Oh wait… that would require having fans in the first place

Were charges pressed before the Orange Bowl?,

why I never criticize folks who get arrested while not wearing pants.

Adrian Clayborn is a role model by virtue of being an athlete.
Rep. Ford, by virtue of being a politician, is an anti-role model.

The money involved here is tiny. Tiny. Perhaps he also has a daughter or a staffer who is a known thespian as well. Moreover, there’s no real equivalance or similarity between what Clayborn and Ford are respectively accused of here, outside of some gigantic umbrella of ethics. If Clayborn was accused of selling comped tickets for a profit or something like that, then we could talk.

I think you’d be better served just addressing the Clayborn issue directly (or perhaps you already have) than taking this angle, which looks grasping to me.

I have to say that the esteemed Representative from Des Moines needs to worry about the educational crisis that this state is currently undergoing along with the huge budget shortfall that will lead to public safety and public works suffering. I like OPS could care less about R or D, or B or W or H. I want my public servents to do what is best for this state and do it without grandstanding. This whole thing looks like a smoke and mirror, look at what the left hand is doing while the right hand hides something.

A.C. will get his day in court and will serve a fair and just punishment under K.F. If the last few years have taught me anything it is that K.F. is not scared to make the tough decisions about star players. I.E. Dominique Douglas, James Cleveland, ECT. One should not throw poo if you are stepping in it yourself.

and saw a bunch of vasectomy ads…
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/state-rivals/82325-state-representative-clayborn-others-4.html

never going back

While it is only rumor at this point, I am sure some of the iowa writers will confirm it off the record….

Clayborn punched the cabbie as a result of a racial slur. I guarantee Rep. Ford, the founder of ‘Urban Dreams’ and recent honoree at a Black History Month dinner, had no clue he was commenting on a racial sensitive case. Had he known that, his opinion on the subject would have been different, which makes him an even bigger hypocrite. And how tacky and unethical is it to call out a student athlete out by name?

In college, I unwisely got an OWI in Iowa City. By Rep. Ford’s opinion, I should have been booted from school myself. I love the idea of making a stupid mistake only to have my entire future snatched from me by a guy that a little more that 5,000 people elected into office.

I guess my whole point is…this guy is a douche. He needs to be ousted from office. Have him learn a life lesson…don’t mess with an Iowa Hawkeye defensive end.

…from a PR standpoint, I think (I hope) it is suicide for a politician to challenge publicly the university’s athletic department on matters such as these.

A politician that chooses to publicly criticize such an inconsequential aspect of a university’s operation should, in a truly free society, do so at his/her public relations peril. The local government has not been pressured to deal with Clayborn differently. And by all accounts, they are not. So this is not an issue for a politician.

There is a reason why the ENTIRE world comes to America for its education (as an example, Great Britain with 1/5th the population of the U.S. has 114 universities, we have almost 5,000). For universities to be world class, they need tremendous freedoms, and most obviously freedom to teach and research in ways that might just be inconvenient to external political groups or government authorities, without the institution being targeted for repercussions. Athletics is an extension of the university in every way. How they handle a student-athlete is not separate from the central mission of the university. Universities are sacred places too. The learning process by its very nature is one where mistakes must be tolerated and learned from.

The ancient and original notion of a university was one where it would be separate from everyday life, a place where time essentially stopped, and reflection would be embraced, experimentation was core. That is why universities were walled in, ivy walled if you will, and when students emerged after elaborate ceremonies of completion, they were different and would integrate back into the everyday world—fully expected to change that world.

If we have our politicians dictating the behaviors of the university, trying to squeeze it through public pressure, as Ford is attempting here, then all that accomplishes is to make the state of Iowa, its politicians and the University of Iowa (should it succumb to that pressure) look like a bunch of hillbillies. No confident government is ever anxious about the work of a university. No rational government ever micromanages the work of a university.

I see no reason to attack him personally though. The logic of his behavior is fodder enough.

this is just table pounding by a politician.

There are a lot of factors at play in the “Taxi Incident” that just can’t be done justice in a throwaway PR speech. Isn’t Clayborn allowed to have his say in court? Doesn’t the court system have the right to make rulings as it sees fit without the constant threat of political meddling? What kind of medication is StoopsMyAss on that he can make such lucid arguments at 5:50 in the fucking morning?

I wish my Hawks (white, black, copper, caramel and otherwise) would behave better. They live in a county where law enforcement treats college students in a way that borders on harassment. I notice that was left out of the speech. They (student-athletes) need to know that Big Brother is watching when they go out on the town in Johnson County.

Had Capt. Kirk given AC the bounce before the courts worked this through, and the courts then found AC not guilty, what then? What kind of speeches would we hear? When you invite young black men to play football in a state that is overwhelmingly white, patience has to be the watchword.

Take young men who are rough by nature (because they are football players; I’m talking all Hawks now), give them instant adoration, mix in the alcohol and drugs found on every college campus, add girls who are every bit as horned up as they are, and see what happens.

Follow that formula then count the mis-steps and awful acts by the hundreds of players who have gone through Kirk’s system. I’d say the good captain is doing pretty well; better than most, in fact.

Maybe next time, the Nightmare Beast can avoid controversy by setting up a non-profit organization that looks suspiciously like a money laundering scheme. That seems to be how the game is played at the statehouse.

Stepping off my soapbox now…

piss me off.

That is all.

I accepted the challenge, and held myself to a BHGP standard. Whither to now?

Punching a guy in the face isn’t the way to solve conflicts no matter what was said to you. Although assaults happen daily in every town all over the country his name bubbles to the surface because he is one of the highest profile players in an increasingly higher profile program. People are going to rip him and the program simply because they can.

The more telling thing to me is that Clayborn hasn’t had any trouble since this incident. Which means one of two things, 1) he realized this isn’t the best way to solve problems or help him make really serious bank on Sundays in 2011 or 2) the U of Iowa is doing a better job of covering it up. I highly doubt #2 is possible – Iowa City is far too small of a town to have him do anything that isn’t noticed. It seems that Representative Ford hasn’t learned that same lesson yet. Although not researched by myself, I understand he has had a track record (if not criminal record) of fringe behavior. If AC would punch someone else or have problems with EtOH the second offense would warrant a multi-game suspension or dismissal from the team, dependent on severity.

Having Rep. Ford comment on moral behavior is truly a plank in his eye along with stepping over a line that some public officials just can’t resist, using the mistakes of athletes to get their name in the paper. But whatever he says doesn’t excuse the behavior of AC. This KID made a mistake and now is dealing with the consequences by learning from it, taking his punishment and moving on. No political commentary intended here; our former president picked up an OWI when he was 30, blew it off as a “youthful indiscretion” and the country as a whole agreed – one offense isn’t damning, a pattern of behavior is. AC hasn’t displayed a pattern and hopefully he won’t. The state legislator should leave AC/U of I alone. Rep. Ford should stop trying to advance his career by lashing his wagon to high profile individuals. Let the IC police do their job, the football program mind its own house, punish AC for this and make sure he does nothing else that would require severe action.