Ryan Lochte

One thing that surprised me about sports, as of late, was how “Lochte Gate” was handled.

Lochte first told USA Today about the incident on August 14. The USOC spokesperson, Patrick Sandusky, made a statement about the incident but then an IOC spokesperson denied the allegations.

The only other people quoted in that article about the incident were people who were not present for it. Lochte’s mother was quoted as was Michael Phelps. Two people who had nothing to do with the situation and we’re going off of here say. Neither of the other two swimmers with him were asked about the incident.

I feel like asking the two swimmers who were with him would have been the most logical thing to do.

Gunnar Bentz didn’t even release a statement about what happened until nearly a week after the accused situation occurred.

The way the handling of this incident surprised me because the reporters, and or media outlets, seemed to speak to Lochte and everyone else but neglected to speak to the two other swimmers.

I believe this could have been handled in a much more efficient way. Unfortunately, it was not and now Ryan Lochte has a long road a head of him.

PSU Reaction

When the Jerry Sandusky-Penn State case broke I was in high school. I really didn’t care much for college sports yet but my first reaction was “all of my friends who are penn state fans are going to be pissed.” That and I was appalled at how something like this is able to go on for so long without anyone saying or noticing anything.

After reading the articles from the Patriot, a few things surprised me. The first is how it was swept under the rug for so long when there was comparable evidence.

The second is the fact that so many people showed their pride. To me it displayed one of two things. The first is that they didn’t really care about what happened and just cared about a winning season. The second, however, is that they stand together as Penn State and will continue to wear the blue and white through the good times and the bad times.

Exploring Vox Card sets

The vox card set that I didn’t know a lot about was Brexit. I know what happened but I didn’t totally understand it.

The first few cards gave me a basic knowledge of the EU and it’s creation as well as why Britain was apprehensive about staying in it post the 2008 economic crash.

It seems also that the British were tired of not having total control over their whole country. They were subjected to some “ridiculous” laws and most changes had to be done on the “european” level. Meaning if one country opposed, the motion or change did not go through.

Migration rules also were a big factor this year especially after the crisis in Syria.

On the other side the PM David Cameron expressed the benefits Britain receives from being in the EU like free-trade zones.

Now since Britain has left, the EU may not let them back in easily nor could they have all the benefits they had previously.

The cards then go on to explain what could happen in Britain tries to regain access into the EU or if it doesn’t.

Journalist I Admire

The journalist I would say I admire the most is Chip Towers.

Ethics

This article goes into detail about the ethics clause in Kirby Smart’s contract, something that was never signed in Mark Richt’s last deal with UGA.

As Towers put it, it is a “It is essentially a disciplinary clause and it is found in the compensation section of Smart’s new contract. It gives the Georgia Athletic Association the right to withhold pay from the head coach in the case of a material violation of ‘one or more of the duties, obligations or expectations … that do not rise to a level warranting termination.'”

This may have had something to do with the controversy surrounding Jack Baurele a few years ago.

Sony Michel

This was written after Michel broke his forearm ATVing.

Towers reported that Michel told his brother, Allen Pinder, that he felt he had let the team down and that was the worst part of the injury.

Towers makes it clear that Michel didn’t feel bad because he wasn’t going to be able to play for eight weeks, but because he let his teammates, coaches, and fans down.

I admire Chip because I know what kind of person he is outside of media. He is family oriented and isn’t looking to write “gotcha” stories about players. He wants to show the other sides of them as well. I think that value is highlighted in the story about Sony.

Chip is also a person who sticks to his values and gets done what needs to be done. He could have taken the story on ethics in many different directions but he kept it professional.