ESPN's Brent Musberger Hopes Indiana Does Not Fire Kelvin Sampson

Here's the way ESPN's Brent Musberger signed off on Tuesday night's Indiana-Purdue game:

"We certainly hope that we see coach Sampson Saturday, still on the sideline with the Indiana Hoosiers," Musberger said, referring to Indiana basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, who is expected to be suspended or fired in the next three days because of the multiple rules violations the NCAA says he has committed.

Let's unpack that quote a little bit. If Musberger wants to see Sampson coach on Saturday, that means he doesn't want Sampson to get suspended or fired. So either Musberger doesn't think Sampson committed the violations the NCAA has accused him of, or he doesn't think these violations are offenses worthy of firing a coach.

If it's the former, Musberger is sitting on a huge story. All of the ESPN reporters who have investigated this story, led by Pat Forde and Andy Katz, have given strong indications that Sampson did, in fact, commit the violations he's accused of. If Musberger has information that his colleagues haven't reported, why hasn't he shared that information with ESPN's viewers?

If it's the latter, Musberger ought to explain himself a bit better: If Sampson did break these NCAA rules, repeatedly and after being warned, why on earth shouldn't Indiana fire him? Does Musberger just believe coaches shouldn't be held accountable when they break the rules?

Either way, Musberger's statement doesn't make a lot of sense.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-20-2008 @ 8:28AM

James said...

Musberger needs to go to the sideline too, but not behind a microphone. Also on ESPN, someone should tell Dick Vitale that there is a prohibition at IU against naming a building facility, for a living person. Is he just trying to hold his audience with his rants or is he uniformed? I'd imagine the former, and if not, take the time to educate yourself, Dickie V.

2-20-2008 @ 9:09AM

john.epax said...

James, I think members of the Mellencamp family would be dismayed to hear of John Mellencamp's death since the John Mellencamp Pavilion sits beside Memorial Stadium at IU.

2-20-2008 @ 11:22AM

rick griffith said...

Maybe Musberger thinks that this should be handled after the season. Any firing or suspension right now penalizes the players, students, and other fans during the season; especially not fair to the players. Handle it after the season so it does not distract from the game of basketball during the crucial, exciting end of the season and March Madness.

2-20-2008 @ 5:13PM

Wade said...

I don't know if that's what he thinks or not. He was all over Sampson during the first hour and a half of the game. Even said something along the lines of "give Sampson a phone now and he'll give Martin a call in the middle of the game". I thought it sounded like he was TOLD he needed to be more partial. Rewatch the broadcast and notice how his comments change after the last 4:00 tv timeout.

2-20-2008 @ 10:39PM

Brett said...

I watched the game with a mixed group of Indiana and Purdue fans. Brent Musberger's loving comments of Sampson was the laugh of the party. He just became plain goofy!

As far as the penalty goes who watched the game in our group felt that he should be let go immediately. Out of 11 people, 9 of them felt I. U. should sit out the post season. This was the reasoning. It is clearly understood that Sampson disobeyed the rules...he admitted to that earlier this year and took the $500,000 pay hit. The NCAA most likely has the phone records to document additional rule breaking.

If Gordon, or some of the other members of this year's team were recruited illegally, I would not want the NCAA Championship banner hanging in Assembly Hall if we were to win it! It would always serve as a reminder of the year we played by a different set of rules.

It is widely known that Gordon had committed to attend Illinois and changed his mind...was this due to the additional phone calls. I don't know, but the question will always be there...was he pestered so much that he finally gave in and said yes, to Sampson?

2-21-2008 @ 1:17PM

John G. Davis said...

First, I am not a Musberger fan, in fact, far short of it. I still remember him obviously exhorting on Kansas against Oklahoma during the pre-game of the 1989 NC game as if OU had not dispatched KU three times during the season all by large margins.

Second, I am one of those OU fans who was not 'glad', but relieved KS went to Indiana on his own. I was not happy about the violations because, in my Sooner sunglasses, his teams, although having good records, were just plain boring...when contrasted with Billy Tubbs' teams who somehow managed to get us to the NC game, have good teams, and stay out of trouble.

But, I am sick of all the piling on by national bb pundits, LED BY ESPN. Since when does Musberger, or anyone else, have to justify their journalistic opinion with Andy Katz and Pat Forde? Whiz on both of them, especially Forde and his obvious anti-OU slant, pro Missouri slants....

Hey, Pat, are you one of the national pollsters who voted Missouri and their bugger picker, whiney boy QB ahead of OU after OU just bloodied their noses not once, but twice in the same season? Perhaps you think your darling Missouri boys are deserving of a second 'mulligan'? ....dork.....