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Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
Pinkel drilled it - just absolutely nailed it. Make that guy the University President for all I care.
He couldn't have walked the line any better. He came out early and issued a statement of support for his players (not a statement regarding the righteousness of the cause). And when it was said and done and he had an opportunity to expound, he said exactly what he should have - my support was about a players right to be a student.
And to that degree he's right. Students should be allowed to say whatever dumb shit they want to say - it's part of being a college student. At 20 yrs old with your first taste of freedom, you have no idea how the world works, you're easily inflamed and you've now become subject to as many little echo chambers as you could possibly want to be in (I guess they call those 'safe zones' now). Stupid protests are part of what college life is about and ultimately, football players are welcome to do so.
About the only thing I could have seen him do any differently was also say something encouraging players to express themselves and their ideas but to remember that freedom of expression doesn't create any immunity from consequences. But really, even that may simply have been more words than needed.
Pinkel had a lot to lose here and very little to gain. He needed to be extremely careful in how he handled it and in the end, he did a perfect job salvaging a situation that could've absolutely imploded on him.
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I agree he had a lot to lose. He was in a tough spot. IMO, he went to far by lending his name to their cause (by tweeting his support) whether he personally agreed with the cause or not. He could have let the kids be kids on their own by simply not coming down hard on those who missed practices/meetings/games, etc.