Rolling Stone Story

I think there were a variety of red flags that should have stopped or at least slowed the publication of this story. For me, the refusal to give Drew’s last name would have been the last straw for using Jackie’s account. As a journalist, I understand that it may not be appropriate to use his full name in a story and, as a woman, I understand that Jackie was probably terrified of him. But it was the writer’s most basic duty to at least contact the attacker to give him the opportunity to share his account of that night. At minimum, the journalist needed to confirm that such a person exists. A simple Facebook search or a request to the university for access to the student directory could have saved Erdely’s credibility and shed light on the holes in Jackie’s story. This whole situation was difficult for me, because there are many points in the story that should be talked about and are a cause for concern about UVA and rape culture. But due to Erdely’s negligence in reporting and clear bias towards Jackie and other victims, readers can’t be sure if any of the article is trustworthy.

Clark Structural Advice

First of all, this feature on Jose Fernandez and his funeral brought me to tears. I may be biased as a semi-Marlins fan, but it was beautifully written and captured the entirety of Fernandez, as his teammates and the community knew him.

I found that this piece illustrated Clark’s tool 27: Reveal traits of character. For casual baseball fans or those unfamiliar with the Marlins, Fernandez’s death was shocking and sad. There have been countless clips and stories on his success on the mound and compassion for fans, and Miami in general. But in reality, Fernandez was a bit of a polarizing character. He was involved in multiple altercations with teammates and opponents, and often butted heads with Marlins’ management.

S.L. Price did not shy away from this aspect of the pitcher. Instead, he focused on it and qualified it in the most respectful and honorable way. Fernandez was immature, and thought himself to be invincible. But Price never wrote that. He used a quote in which a teammate called Fernandez a kid in a man’s body and his nickname in Miami, Joselito, to show that he was viewed as garishly charming and mischievous son of the community. Instead of saying, “Jose was showy and boisterous, but you should still like him,” he showed it by talking to the Marlins, each of whom expressed their frequent frustration or worry with Fernandez, and absolute devastation at his loss.

This made the piece much more genuine. Despite his showboating or questionable decisions, one cannot help but feel connected and drawn to Fernandez, who lived his life so intensely. I think this story is a great illustration of conveying a character trait through showing, not telling.

Things that Carried Him Outline

Part 1: Indiana, The End

Subject is Don Collins, middle-aged and mapping rectangle
- Spent childhood working with father embalming bodies, familiar
Begins digging burial
- Scooping dirt for grave, decides to move it out of sight
Military members arrive and assemble for the funeral
Motorcade took a longer route to cemetery
- Motorcade arrives, flanked by civilians paying respect
Casket, which is specially designed for Iraq vets, is removed
- Reverend leads prayers and songs, including Nine Inch Nails, are played
- Soldiers fire their three shots in perfect unison
The bugler at the funeral is a real musician, which is rare now
- Leatherbee begins playing Taps
- The bugler always keeps his eyes open when he plays at funerals
Folding the flag can be the hardest part for soldiers, close to the family
- Soldiers hands were shaking as they folded the flag
- Huber placed polished shells into folded flag
- Dawson passes flag to general
Belinda Pinckney was assigned to attend funeral, as a general officer
- Connected with the wife, Missie, to help her deal with loss
- Says she must be strong for families, it could be her
Folded flag is held closely to widow’s chest
Service over, people begin parting ways
- Collins begins burying tomb, temporary tombstone for Sgt. Montgomery

Mother remembers baptizing her son in the same church of his funeral
Gail smokes to relieve stress and has a kit to make it more ‘ladylike’
She has lost many people in her life, but losing Joey really got to her
- Looking at her surviving family and friends at the funeral
Many people at the funeral did not know Joey well, various reasons
- People could piece together bits about him, but not his reasons for serving

Joey’s body was escorted to his hometown by two state troopers
- The procession would be three miles long
- Biggest procession they had seen
- Patriot Guard Riders formed in response to fundamentalists taunting families at soldiers’ funerals
- Micah Montgomery’s friend, Charles Dunaway, volunteered to be official escort
- Townspeople lined the sidewalk to watch the procession
- People crying for family
Joey used to work at steel forge
Joey’s best friend, Ryan Heacock, distraught over losing friend
- Friends in high school as outcasts
- Introduced Joey to Missie
- Ryan sold paintings to Joey
- Ryan designs tombstones, including Joey’s
Mourners line the streets with flags
Joey was homeless after high school, troubled
- Went to Florida to live with sister, Mindy
- Ryan visited to help Joey and Mindy
- Joey asked mom to take him home
- Came home, became father to Missie’s daughter
Two more pregnancies, little money, so Joey joined the Army
- Inspired by brother
- Life felt properly aligned in Alaska
Gail last saw Joey on Christmas, took family pictures
- Joey is coming home again
Joey looked good enough for a viewing
- Gail and Missie spent a long time looking at him
- Tried to replace Joey’s ring to find glove was filled with cotton
Army chaplain Jim Staggers waits for plane
- Joey would be honorable transfer
- Staggers felt calling to be chaplain
- Prepared family for funeral
Guardsmen can tell a lot about a soldier by carrying casket
- Kept game faces with light casket
Staggers begins prayers
- Missie and Gail approach casket with family to pay respects
- Carry casket back to hearse
Two state troopers would join National Guard

Part Two: Dover AFB

Soldiers bodies are taken back to the U.S. via charter plane, used to be commercial
- Now planes that only transport fallen soldiers
Kalitta crew randomly assigned to haul bodies
- Make mental maps of routes and places
Crew had never been to Seymour before Joey
- Smaller town, bigger turnout
- As it became more common, people got more practiced
Casket moved to ball mat in hangar, family really feels it at this point
- Jones doesn’t watch
- Tons of people showed up in Seymour, remember most trips

Mortuary is tough place to work – Cory Larsen
- Only 12 permanent staff, many volunteer to return
- Giles doesn’t discuss what she sees
- Dignity, honor, respect
- 3,431 is Joey’s number
Five days at mortuary, processed
- Nothing dangerous found on him, no personal effects
- Counseling and mediation rooms available
Chaplains are always available
Joey was “believed to be” status at first
Autopsy to document and predict
- Joey likely killed instantly, close to explosive
- Morticians must close eyes
- Fluid replacement and repair of body
Want to make body viewable to family like they remember
Body put in casket in full uniform, then flag

Richard Formica – moving bodies is important job
- He was there when Joey came in
- Lists of “incoming sheets”
- Chaplain struggled with religion
Transfers are given red carpet
- Honor guards march out, crew always struggles
- Sparks leads prayer as cases are loaded into trunk
Formica – job is always difficult, always a family

Part Three: Forward Operating Base Falcon

Terry Slaght was friends with Montgomery, KIA south Baghdad
- Slaght to arrange flight, wants to be with friend
- Loads Joey’s body into truck, placed in bag
- Slaght waits
Micah hears of Joey’s death, calls aunt and uncle
News coming in at base, not sure who
- Vicki tells Gail, word spreads
- Ryan tells Missie, friends gather to support her
Joey was in Humvee listening to music, other people in vehicle too
- On phone with Missie, explosion, told her he’s ok
- Driving down dirt road, pull into patrol base
- Captains brief men on mission, raid of a farm
Executing raid, Joey walking point
- Explosion
  - Loud noise
- Other men couldn’t see Joey, unclear on what had happened
- Rudberg fell and saw Joey’s uniform
Joey’s body is gone from waist down
- Know he’s dead, call in KIA, carry him out
Gathered belongings and silently walked to Humvee
- Joey placed on hood
Bostick thinks about Micah, doesn’t talk to him til brother dies
Troops salute the trucks at base, become emotional
- Body taken to the morgue, chaplain leads prayer
- Other soldiers cannot sleep
Joey is placed in Black Hawk to be taken home, others salute

Personal Story Interviews

My two interviews thus far have been of compliance directors at UGA and Kennesaw State. After speaking with them, I have shifted my focus a bit on my story. Instead of examining the differences between Power 5 and smaller Division I compliance programs, I’m going to look into the lack of subpoena power in the NCAA and how it affects the ability to conduct investigations and enforcement processes.

After reviewing my interviews, I might want to revisit Mr. Senour and Mr. Flippen to get more details on their opinions on NCAA enforcement and see if they have any specific experience with investigations. My interview category has only been compliance directors so far, but now I need to consult the legal actors that work for and represent institutions in order to get their input on the process. Dr. Suggs helped give me the following interview list, which I’m hoping to get through.

Janet Judge, Sports Law Associates

Chris Schoemann & Mike Glazier, UGA legal consultants

Erik Christiansen, NCAA

Chuck Smrt, The Compliance Group

Julie Roe Lauch & David Price, former NCAA enforcement chiefs

Gene Marsh, Jackson Lewis Birmingham

Mike Buckner, Holland & Knight

Glada Horvat, UGA academic eligibility adviser

NCAA compliance open records

The main records I think I will be looking at for my personal story will be the NCAA infractions of the schools in my story. These lists should be available of the NCAA compliance website, but the database is actually very cumbersome and is proving pretty difficult to use. I’m also thinking about looking into the finances of each school, including salaries of compliance directors. Open Gov should provide these figures for officials at state schools and I can look into the schools’ taxes as we did in a previous assignment to compare different conferences and their distributions to member schools.

Complaint Summary

Yay law!

The gist of this case is a fairly simple, albeit broad, allegation that the NCAA and Power Conferences operate as a price-fixing cartel. This would mean that the defendants would be in violation of the Sherman Act and liable for breaking federal antitrust laws that prohibit price-fixing and anti-competitive practices. The plaintiffs in the case are Division I football and basketball players who received full athletic scholarships to NCAA universities, as well as two classes of football and basketball players who are in comparable situations. Plaintiffs assert that defendants engaged in anti-competitive behavior by setting caps on the amount of compensation an athlete could receive for his services (full grant in aid) and took part in conspiracy, as there was not another reasonable forum where these athletes could provide said services for compensation. The defendants then make billions of dollars from the performances and related activities of the plaintiffs.

I see a ton of stories from this case, many of which have been explored by journalists in the past. One point particularly strikes me, though. The plaintiffs claim that NCAA price-fixing eliminates competitive behavior because schools cannot offer more than full grants in aid to their athletes, but these practices have not worked because certain conferences (SEC) still dominate in championship events. So I think a story might be getting the schools’ perspective. Do they want to eliminate NCAA regulations and have the freedom to offer recruits large sums of money to play? What about lesser-known Division I schools that may not have the prestige in football or basketball?

I also think it would be interesting to hear the Ivy League’s take on this whole controversy. What do its member schools use to recruit athletes when they are not able to offer athletic scholarships? How do NCAA regulations indirectly affect their programs?

Georgia Open Records Laws

Working for an attorney, I send and facilitate open records requests at least once a week. The phrase “Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act…” is practically etched in my brain.

Usually, these companies and medical providers are fairly cooperative with these requests and produce the requested documents in a reasonable time. We also ask in our request that the documents be produced within 60 days of receiving the letter and make it clear that we are willing to pay any reasonable copy and transfer costs.

That being said, releasing an individual’s medical records to an attorney for a civil suit is completely different than a collegiate athletic department releasing it’s annual budget to a reporter. I think the new laws are extremely damaging to the public, because we generally have a short attention span. If a reporter cannot get the requested documents for three months, public outcry and/or interest in an important story may be chilled. I’m disappointed in these laws. I think they give institutions far too much time to clean up their acts and be deceptive with finances and other information.

From my experience, the best way to tackle these new laws would be to remain persistent. Continually send follow up requests within the three month period to ensure the school understands that the story is not going away. Unfortunately, being a pest is often the best way to get information in these situations.

Georgia Volleyball in a Graphic

I covered Georgia volleyball last season, and it was clear that the team did not fair well against conference opponents. Honestly, I could have chosen a variety of statistics to show weaknesses in Georgia’s offense and defense, but I picked three that I think show a complete picture of the team’s shortcomings.

The Bulldogs finished 0-18 in Southeastern Conference play in 2015 and 5-25 overall. They also finished last in the SEC in kills, assists and digs. I chose to make a Tableau graphic to illustrate these stats, because they represent issues in offense, defense and team play. As is obvious in this graphic, Georgia’s average stats per set are significantly lower than all of its conference opponents. It would not be difficult to argue that any one of these stats accounts for the Bulldogs’ record, but I think showing all three gives a more accurate picture of the season. Accordingly, Texas A&M has the highest combined average per set in kills, assists and digs. The Aggies were the 2015 SEC champions.

Revised Story Memo

Given the time constraints of the semester, I think the best angle for my personal story would be to focus on the have/have-not issues in terms of NCAA compliance. This would likely manifest as a case study type of story, comparing the programs at Georgia and a smaller NCAA school in the area.

I would still like to explore the bigger picture questions I listed in my first memo, but it will be on a smaller scale and focused on just a few scales. I’m hoping to find some valuable statistics and information from the NCAA to extrapolate on trends I might find, but my reporting will be focused on compliance programs at UGA and another school, like Savannah State or wherever I can get access.

Key questions

Which schools have NCAA compliance programs? Is money a major factor?

Are these programs effective?

What do compliance directors do in their daily work?

How are athletes and athletics affected by these programs?

Does the NCAA view Power 5 schools differently than smaller schools in terms of compliance and enforcement?

Personal Story Memo

I want to get into the changing NCAA regulations in collegiate sports, and the difference in the compliance programs between Power 5 schools and other, smaller conferences. This story will likely involve a good amount of number-crunching and analytic work, which is exciting for me.

Topic: Trends in NCAA regulations, compliance programs

Key questions
1. How have NCAA regulations changed In the past 20 years or so?
– Compare regulations and what constitutes a violation, according to NCAA bylaws from 2016 and any other available years.
2. Has there been an increase/decrease in violations during this time? Why?
-Chart major violations over the past 20 years or so. Are they infractions of new regulations? Is there a “learning curve” for changing NCAA regs?
3. Who has NCAA compliance programs? Are they concentrated in Power 5 schools?
– Search major school websites and contact athletic departments, check policies of Power 5 conferences
4. What do these compliance programs actually do? Are they effective?
– Interview compliance directors and other officials who oversee the programs
– Chart the violations and infractions of major universities with compliance programs
– Interview athletes and coaches from these schools to find out the culture of compliance and NCAA regulations in their programs
5. How do schools without compliance programs monitor their athletes and programs to avoid violations?
– Compare Power 5 schools with “have not” universities in terms of the frequency and severity of infractions
– Interview athletes and coaches at these schools for comparison
6. Case studies of NCAA violations
– Charleston Southern
– Todd Gurley
– SMU “death penalty”
– etc.

I’m seeing infographics galore for this story, including maps, charts and other visual comparison and trend tools.

This has the potential to be a deep story, so I know it will evolve as I start researching and I might not be able to cover everything I have listed. But in an ideal world, these are the questions I would like to dig in to for my personal story.