Alford apologizes for incident Pierre Pierce incident

[SoCalPat]

Mind you, this happened at Iowa, more than a decade ago.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9161070/steve-alford-ucla-bruins-apologizes-handing-02-iowa-case

I don't think I've ever seen an instance of a coach doing a 180 like this so long after the fact. Better late than never, but for as big of a fan I am of Alford, never in a million years could/did I think he handled this situation anything but horribly.

[SeattleUte]

First he says that he suspended the player, but he doesn't mean by this that his player is guilty. His "strongest statement" is that he believes his player is innocent. Then the player pleads to a reduced misdemeanor charge.

How is this horrible? I don't even see how this is not respecting the investigative process. He's entitled to express his belief, and in fact the prosecutor never proved the alleged charges. Is Alford supposed to have been clairvoyant enough to have foreseen that this player would again get into trouble with th law? This apology seems very bizarre to me.

[LA Ute]

First he says that he suspended the player, but he doesn't mean by this that his player is guilty. His "strongest statement" is that he believes his player is innocent. Then the player pleads to a reduced misdemeanor charge.

How is this horrible? I don't even see how this is not respecting the investigative process. He's entitled to express his belief, and in fact the prosecutor never proved the alleged charges. Is Alford supposed to have been clairvoyant enough to have foreseen that this player would again get into trouble with th law? This apology seems very bizarre to me.

It is bizarre. I wonder what prompted it?

[SoCalPat]

First he says that he suspended the player, but he doesn't mean by this that his player is guilty. His "strongest statement" is that he believes his player is innocent. Then the player pleads to a reduced misdemeanor charge.

How is this horrible? I don't even see how this is not respecting the investigative process. He's entitled to express his belief, and in fact the prosecutor never proved the alleged charges. Is Alford supposed to have been clairvoyant enough to have foreseen that this player would again get into trouble with th law? This apology seems very bizarre to me.

You really need to become more familiar with what actually happened. Alford went to the victim and asked her to not press charges, and even went so far as to pull the Jesus card in asking her not to do so. Alford also insisted that Pierce was innocent even after the plea arrangement was being written up -- with said plea being plenty of evidence that Pierce was guilty.

For one who has professed the superiority of the Pac-12 in more than just the athletic arena, you'd figure that when it comes to women's rights that this is an incident UCLA couldn't simply brush under the rug. Additionally, Alford saying he did everything by the book per Iowa's wishes and instructions is a flat-out lie. No way would they condone the pressure Alford put on the victim to drop the charges.

I think Alford is a great coach, but there's no justification for how he handled this situation.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/03/31/bernstein-ucla-hired-a-scumbag/

[SeattleUte]

You really need to become more familiar with what actually happened. Alford went to the victim and asked her to not press charges, and even went so far as to pull the Jesus card in asking her not to do so. Alford also insisted that Pierce was innocent even after the plea arrangement was being written up -- with said plea being plenty of evidence that Pierce was guilty.

For one who has professed the superiority of the Pac-12 in more than just the athletic arena, you'd figure that when it comes to women's rights that this is an incident UCLA couldn't simply brush under the rug. Additionally, Alford saying he did everything by the book per Iowa's wishes and instructions is a flat-out lie. No way would they condone the pressure Alford put on the victim to drop the charges.

I think Alford is a great coach, but there's no justification for how he handled this situation.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/03/31/bernstein-ucla-hired-a-scumbag/

I wasn't aware of these facts. I based my comments on the ESPN article that you originally linked.

[SeattleUte]

Students of my posts know I'm a great ally of women.