Demar Dorsey/Rich Rodriguez/Michigan fans

by Mike, Friday, February 05, 2010, 08:51 (5969 days ago)

Sorry to keep bringing this topic up, but I find the way this story is playing out fascinating.

When I first heard Michigan was signing a kid with an arrest record, it didn't seem out of the realm of possibility that there could be mitigating factors and that Michigan was taking a reasonable risk. I thought this might be an instance of a kid who may have gotten into trouble once due to the crowd he was surrounded with, but who was looking to separate himself from that environment and get a fresh start. However, when Rodriguez refused to provide details of Michigan's diligence and decision-making process with regard to Dorsey, my suspicions flared.

The local papers responded to Rodriguez's evasiveness by doing their own research. It turns out Dorsey is not just a kid who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time on one occasion. Dorsey has been involved in at least three burglaries, two of which he confessed to. Additionally, he wore his football gloves to conceal his fingerprints during one of the burglaries, which is significant in that it likely indicates his involvement was premeditated. He wasn't simply riding in a car with some friends when, without any advance knowledge on Dorsey's part, those friends decided to commit some burglaries. That he brought gloves with him suggests that Dorsey planned his actions ahead of time. As the facts have emerged, this looks less and less like a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and more like a pattern of intentional behavior.

I have also found the Michigan fanbase's reaction fascinating. We've had our experience with local reporters attempting to make a name for themselves by going after the football program. But where we were angry at Weineke and Carroll for attempting to make an issue out of trivialities (e.g., Clausen violating an obscure Indiana blue law that perhaps 2% of the population even knew about), Michigan fans are angry at the local press for unearthing serious, disquieting information that the Michigan coaching staff was hoping would be swept under the rug. I'm not sure how anyone but the biggest Cook-esque homers could find fault with the local press here. The timing of this is also interesting, in that a concurrent story is an assault by several Michigan State football players against other members of the MSU student body. Michigan fans are outraged that these players are being given second chances. Cook is apparently even marketing a shirt that refers to Sparty as the place "where second chances get second chances." It will be interesting to see if he will continue to use that line, since Demar Dorsey is currently on his fifth chance (at least that we know of).