DRC, I'm really bothered too. It'll be passed off as Benton's unapproved visit to Auburn, Benton's questionable academics, A numbers crunch, etc; but I'm convinced it was totally due to Ruben Randle's dad manipulating the recruiting process. The recruiting arena was turned into the showroom floor of a car lot. This goes far beyond a father looking out for his son's best interest; It is all about how quickly RR's abilities could be turned into a big professional contract that produces a ton of revenue for Mr. Randle to manage. And this is why Mr. Randle started playing trump cards at the last minute about competition issues that did not really arise at the last minute. Don't expect Ruben to be like Lafell and stay at LSU for four years of elegibility. How do you think Mr. Randle would feel if Tim Moulton and Chris Toliver really came on strong this spring and were ahead of Ruben on the depth chart allowing RR to take a red shirt year? I think there would be public bad blood from RR's dad with threats of transfer. Whatever happens with this kid will not be played out in private. How do you think Russel Shepard's parents would react if Russell had to redshirt? I feel bad about this whole situation because I don't think it's over. I think it's just begun. There is one thing I think we can count on: Coach Miles is the captain in charge of the LSU ship and all decisions will be based on what's best for the team. Mr Randle better hope that it coincides with what he thinks is best for him and his son.
sorry, but since there were sweeping generalizations about how some people felt, i figure i could do the same. no offense intended. i have no problem with the justification that miles made a decision that benefitted the program at the awful expense of one kid. it was a no win decision not a no brainer. but i definitely don't claim to know the details. just things people have suggested.
Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met. This information is usually of an embarrassing and/or socially damaging nature. As the information is substantially true, the act of revealing the information may not be criminal in its own right nor amount to a civil law defamation; the crime is making demands to withhold it. - definition per Wikipedia. What they did is not illegal. He gave a public ultimatum, he did not blackmail Les. Have you never given an ultimatum to someone to get what you want? For all we know he might have been bluffing, he might not have been. He was doing what he thought was best for his kid. Was he lied to by the LSU staff about depth? I don't know. But he didn't teach his kid anything wrong, and I'm most assured he did give him a life lesson in how the real world works some times. Not saying it was the most ethical of choices. I'm not say I would have done it the same way, cause God knows I haven't been in a situation where I have an 18 your old son who is one of, if not the most highly recruited football procpect in the country this year or any year for that matter. I would like to think I would let him make the decision and stay out of it etc. But I'm not going to tell you how I would act in a situation I will probably never be in.
Miles was put in a tough position and had to make a choice. It was regrettable that Randle's father put Miles in that position. I think Miles made the right choice for LSU.
I wish folks quit saying, "we dont know all of the details" some of us do and have discussed it at length in the PMs. Bottom line is this, RRs dad pulled some shady chit, Miles went along with it. RR and Benton had no problem playing together, but RRs dad was afraid for his son to compete. So to me deep down in his heart he believes Benton is better than his son. He should be ashamed of himself for that. This has nothing to do with the 2 recruits.
Miles was put in a tough situation. Interesting to note that so many people bashed Miles for his excessive sense of loyalty all year long in regard to the co-DCs.....loyalty only goes so far everyone says...his job is to to do what is in the best interests of LSU, bottom-line. If he does not then move his happy-ass down the road...... This was the consistent theme throughtout the last half of the season. So now, Miles does show a little ruthlessness in regard to the best interests of LSU and now everyone wants to scream about loyalty. Well, what about the loyalty of the LSU fanbase? Do we boo the team or not? Well we do when they don't do what we want....boo-hoo, no MNC. Do we stick by the coach or not? We do if he wins....if he loses then can his happy-ass. All I can say is thank God Miles is in charge. Nobody is perfect, sometimes life isn't pretty, but more often than not he gets it right........he may have whiffed on this one a bit YOU HAVE TO TRUST THE MAN'S JUDGEMENT......THERE IS NOBODY OUT THERE THAT IS ANY BETTER.....DO YOU MORONS UNDERSTAND THAT OR NOT??
which teaches his son a bad lesson. instead of working hard to become better, removing the competition is the easy way out. i am not happy at all about the situation but my anger is towards the person that put coach miles in the position to have to make such a crappy decision in the first place. and to do it at the 11th hour is an even bigger disgrace. (disappointed in miles, angry at the father.) and i am afraid miles may regret the decision just because he now has a meddling father on his hands who is likely gonna try to tell him how to coach. in which case i hope he tells him to stfu. and maybe it would not have been from everyone, but had we lost rr, i think a lot of people would have been calling for clm's head. it was a damned if you do damned if you dont position.
Houston Nutt put the final nail in his coffin at Arkansas when the "Springdale Five" arrived on campus, demanding parents in tow. I think a meddling parent is a hindrance at any level of a child's athletic/academic career, but to take it all the way to the college level is a disservice to the kid--they have to grow up and take care of themselves at some point. I'm disappointed in the situation, and there is no rationalizing what Coach Miles had to do. Maybe karma bit us back with the Kenny Bell situation. Maybe it will be a problem later on. There's a whole thread in another section of this forum, making Bo Pelini sound like a bad guy for pulling a guy's offer last week. This whole thing stinks to high heaven.
