2008 Woodie Awards
Unbacked commentary fuels Felton fire
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Opinions
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The evidence? Slipping performance.
The punishment? Essentially, it's death by dismissal.
In this case, the punishment doesn't fit the crime, as much as this newspaper led you to believe the opposite.
The Red & Black did more than act irresponsibly in publishing the views of five University students (Feb. 13) when asked whether or not Felton should be fired after the season - it also threatened a man's livelihood.
The rationale behind running the piece (I'm assuming) hinged on Athletic Director Damon Evans' statement that Felton will be under review at season's end. At that time, Evans, as he does every year, will "look at things in totality and then go from there."
What exactly did you expect? For Evans to berate the job Felton has done this season coaching a team that is arguably second-worst in the Southeastern Conference?
The Red & Black is unnecessarily stirring the pot, toying with this man's career. Let's be honest here: Felton is not getting fired anytime next month, and he's not getting canned anytime this off-season.
The Athletic Association tacked on an extra two years to Felton's existing deal after Georgia's National Invitation Tournament appearance last spring, keeping him under contract until the 2010-2011 season. Contracts aren't binding, but Felton's commitment to the University has been.
Right now, that's all an embattled coach can firmly stand on. Right now, Felton is merely on a quasi-probation.
Lest we forgot how this season progressed and what Felton has had to deal with.
Here's the abridged version: Promise morphed into turmoil. The top two scorers from a year ago are playing basketball elsewhere (and may God help those programs). Another player quit around New Year's Day. Another, this year's second-leading scorer, was twice arrested and just finished serving a three-game suspension. At one point during the South Carolina game
Feb. 13, Georgia was down to six scholarship athletes, seven players in all. Six players have left the program in a two-year span.
So The Red & Black piled onto the hysteria. It shoveled more dung onto the heap already sitting in front of Felton's door. And it did so irresponsibly.
The "general consensus" among five people standing in front of the library was a collective wave goodbye to Felton. After reading the responses, there is only one logical conclusion: Those five don't care who the coach is. They just want a winner on the court.
And to assume that point would neglect Felton's finest attributes. He's a disciplinarian, attempting to build teams the right way in a college sports world skilled in cutting corners.
If Evans went ahead and fired the strict disciplinarian - the dream coaching characteristic for every collegiate athletic department - then Georgia essentially is choosing success over stringency.
Georgia would be the next Indiana. Georgia would be the next Minnesota. New Georgia would revert back to being Old Georgia.
Given talent, I think Felton can succeed. After recruiting one of the best classes in the SEC, he will have that chance. But to drop Felton before he gets a chance to prove his worth would be premature and may only create further chaos in a program desperately searching for order.
Right now, firing Felton, and worse, talking about firing him, is not worth it. Simply put, you can't convict the guy yet. If the same mess transpires next year, then we all have a right to question if he is the right man for the job. But stoking the fire for a possible late-season departure, when you know full well he's not even up for consideration until March, is irresponsible journalism at its finest.
Felton probably never will bring national championships to Athens. But Georgia has a chance to be relevant next year, and that's something it hasn't been in far too long.
Whether or not Felton himself is relevant next year remains to be seen because, according to The Red & Black, it seems like he already has been fired.
- Ryan Lavner is a junior from Canandaigua, N.Y., majoring in newspapers.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 7
roommate
posted 2/20/08 @ 11:10 AM EST
what a hack
Dilly Plate
posted 2/20/08 @ 11:34 AM EST
"Felton probably never will bring national championships to Athens."
THEN FIRE HIM. The UGA athletic department has far two much money and recruiting potential (on name recognition alone) to be a doormat teat in the SEC (overall, a weak basketball conference). (Continued…)
Scrappy Doo
posted 2/20/08 @ 12:22 PM EST
"Felton is not getting fired anytime next month, and he's not getting canned anytime this off-season. "
This just in: Ryan Layner has a crystal ball and knows for sure that Felton will be head coach next season. (Continued…)
this guy is ridicolous...
posted 2/20/08 @ 12:27 PM EST
what are you on felton's payroll? and why are you so worried about the opinions of five people on the street about whether or not a college basketball coach should be fired? do you really think damon evans' decision on whether or not to fire felton is going to hinge on those five opinions? as far as the six players that have left the program in a two year span i wonder who recruited all of those players? that couldnt possibly be all-mighty dennis felton could it? look i'm not here to bash felton or say whether or not he should be fired but you attacking the paper as a whole for running a column similar to those that get ran in hundreds of papers across the country is simply a joke. (Continued…)
layner's an idiot
posted 2/20/08 @ 3:13 PM EST
Yes, real intelligent article, I guess we shouldnt have high expectations of one of the top athletic schools in the nation, and certainly top 3 in the SEC. (Continued…)
Karma's a bitch
posted 2/20/08 @ 4:49 PM EST
Well clown... before you go bashing Ryan Lavner (not Layner) try "google"ing his name and see the HUNDREDS of times he has been published. And you also might just see his name as one of the recently selected MLB. (Continued…)
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