Once upon a time, I thought Kelvin Sampson had been foiled by his ego.
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Surely, the former Oklahoma basketball coach turned cheater turned Indiana coach turned cheater had broken the rules repeatedly because he thought they didn't apply to him. Surely, this was a case of entitlement.
Then, Sampson went and started text messaging his former players.
The day after accepting Indiana's contract buyout amid swirling NCAA problems, Sampson sent a barrage of text messages to the Hoosiers after their victory at Northwestern. The players said they were happy to hear from their coach, but really, this was a dumb move by Sampson.
Listen, I know he's close to these guys. Sampson has always been a softie for his players. But using the very instrument that got him into trouble to contact them? Continuing to use the cell phone to contact players?
Does Sampson want to make the punch lines easy?
There was nothing illegal about his contact with the players, but there was definitely something stupid about it.
Perhaps Sampson's ego had nothing to do with his problems. Maybe it had more to do with his smarts.
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Call Jenni Carlson for hot sports opinions at 867530DUMBSPORTS! Or, blog for “Ryan, Oklahoma City” for his great sports knowledge. He is the one at your office that stands next to the water cooler and tries to say un-huh and yep when the men are discussing sports but eats lunch with the women every Thursday at Zio’s.
Why does this woman keep her job? This is truly a dumb story consistant with her prior column offerings. Truly an embarrassment to the newspaper and she is certainly not worthy of the national attention and support she received from fellow journalist over the OSU incident.
Note to Jenni. Have you thought about writing for another department at the Oklahoman? This sports journalism thing doesn't seem to be going so well. I understand that "classifieds" is hiring and I have a friend who has a friend who has a friend that knows someone in the department. Let me know if I can help.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that laughs when I read a Jenni Carlson article and it's not because it is funny. Sampson seems to be an ego maniac and perhaps an idiot but not because he sent a text to people he cared about. BTW I am a Sooner fan.
You are so right Jenni, it wasn't against the rules, but it was stupid. What is amazing to me are the fools that still feel you were wrong with the OSU article. Since it has all been proved true, and Coach Gundy looks like a mad man all over you tube, espn and everywhere else that is looking for humor.
Actually, he was banned from contacting the players by the contract buyout with Indiana so he violated that contract. It seems that he can't play by any rules when it deals with a phone. The irony is that he could have used text messages instead of phone calls and been fine with the rules.
This is an example of an ignorant sports writer trying to create a story. I stopped reading her crap after her OSU fiasco... but erred due to convenience. I won't make the same mistake again... worthless.
how else would you suggest he contact them? perhaps he should have bought a box of greeting cards and mailed them. this is the one of the dumbest stories Ive read in quite some time.
What a lame story, nothing to write about today? I get it so he used a cell phone to break NCAA rules, so now he can't use a cell phone anymore? What is wrong with you?
The Q&A: OSU point guard Byron Eaton 03/01/2008 The guy wearing No. 00 for Oklahoma State sure looks like Byron Eaton, but the junior point guard sure hasn't been playing the way he'd played his first...
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Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.
To the Editor: Could you put a big red banner at the top of every Jenni Carlson article so the innocent bystander won't get sucked in.