1. OPPOSING FANS & MEDIA REACTION:
Don't expect folks to be swayed into thinking that the Ducks aren't still guilty of violations after reading Scott's articles. The intent of his research isn't to build a case for Oregon's innocence, but to simply shed light on the relationship between Lache Seastrunk & Willie Lyles. The desired result is to bring to light the fact that the media driven picture of Willie Lyles as a heavy influence in Lache's life and due to that, steering Lache to Oregon, is simply NOT factual based on the evidence uncovered. I don't expect fans of other schools to admit their minds are now more open to possibly accept something other than the media version of the Ducks as guilty. They are fans, esp of rival conference schools, who see our possible downfall as their chance to replace us. Flimsy ground on which to base their hopes, but many are in that boat.
On the other hand, what I do expect is the journalistic side (if I dare call them that) to at least grudgingly admit that what Scott has uncovered definitely has merit and give it its proper due in the overall pool of information of the Lyles/Oregon investigation. I hope for this, but given the reality of how most of our media operates these days, their reaction to Scott's latest effort will likely be the same. Only a few, such as Dave Smith of 750 The Game radio in PDX, have given Scott props for his work. In the end, even if Oregon ends up with little or no sanctions via the NCAA's findings, most of these same media types will simply conclude, "Oregon's still guilty, they just got away with it."
2. SECONDARY BENEFIT UNCOVERED:
The "relationship" part of the picture, though the primary gist of Scott's research, is not the only thing that he uncovered. His thorough work also revealed a significant by-product that helps paint a different picture of Oregon's involvement. His interviews reveal (though he isn't the only one to uncover this) that the timeline of events clearly indicate that when Oregon entered the picture as a serious player for Lache's eventual signature, that other schools, especially USC, were considered well above the Ducks and the likely destination. We are clearly not portrayed as the school of initial choice and not one where said Willie Lyles is pimping for. When one sets out to get at the truth of a particular matter, often times what results from that is much additional information.
3. HOPEFUL BENEFIT IN AIDING NCAA INVESTIGATION:
Scott's work does NOT change the fact that Oregon made some mistakes in how they handled their business relationship with Will Lyles. His research into the Seastrunk/Lyles mentor relationship is just one piece (though a very big piece) of the larger puzzle that makes up this whole investigation. Hopefully what will result from this, purely from the standpoint of how the NCAA ultimately determines Oregon's fate, is this information will aid in a part of the process that the NCAA uses. A big part of any investigation that they conduct is INTERVIEWING people and gleaning information from them that they end up using to form a big part of their eventual decisions. They also, though I'm sure they don't like to admit it, use & benefit from investigative work uncovered by the MEDIA. Scott's work has every right to be included in the pool of information that the NCAA uses in this case to aid in their investigative process. The infractions committee members simply don't have the time & overall resources to do all the leg work required to do a complete and thorough job. Using the results of others' hard work likely helps them in forming their final conclusions. It would be shortsighted if the NCAA didn't fully digest & implement what Scott has uncovered. I am confident it will be included.
4. DEGREE OF EXONERATION FOR LACHE, HIS FAMILY & FRIENDS:
Final part, and this is the most beneficial one. My bet is when Scott Read set out on this adventure to try and make more sense of the Lyles/Seastrunk relationship, he probably had no idea that what he would uncover, though some out there haven't & won't give it it's due, is that a particular young man named Lache Seastrunk, and those closely associated with him, can and should feel a sense of exoneration.
As Scott has pointed out, many have come to the erroneous conclusion that Lache Seastrunk and his family allowed Mr. Willie Lyles to come into their lives at some early point and completely take over the process. Extrapolating from that erroneous starting point they further conclude that Lyles likely had a romantic relationship with Lache's mom and probably used that to further ingratiate himself in their lives. Couple that with an extremely incomplete version of how Lache's grandmother came to be the signatory on his LOI; little to no mention of the significant and primary mentoring relationship that Scott & Deanna Carter and others had with Lache. Finally, the additional information uncovered regarding the fact that Evelyn Seastrunk, Lache's mother, though she certainly had mixed feelings about Lache's choice to attend the University of Oregon, has been unfairly portrayed, inaccurately to a large extent by Lyles, as against her son's choice to attend Oregon and that Willie himself now feels a sense of guilt that he played such a significant & possibly unethical role, along with Oregon's compliance dept & coaches, in the manner in which he signed with the Ducks. On the contrary, Lache's mom, though not without certain issues she is dealing with, is revealed to be in basic support of her son's choice. The prevailing picture painted by the media, via Willie Lyles, is that she was mad at Oregon and unhappy he chose to go there. Furthermore, it's strongly implied by the media that her angst re his choice was due in part to a nefarious relationship that existed between Lyles & Oregon to get her son to attend there. It's true she had some issues with his choice, but the evidence revealed via Scott's interviews paints a different picture of what many want us to believe.
Ultimately this 4th part of what Scott's work has accomplished is by far the most important. In the long run, what happens to real people and how they are perceived is most important. The Seastrunk family and those close to Lache have always known what really occurred with his recruitment, but the fact that they have in some circles been portrayed as dupes; viewed as disloyal by some local Texans; and finally, possibly even party to illegal activity according to NCAA rules, is highly regrettable. The damage to their family name and reputation may never be completely renewed. However, Scott's work can & will go a long ways towards setting the record straight. A sense of exoneration for Lache & his entire family could be by far the best result of Scott's work even if it's only the Duck community that accepts what he's help uncover.
FINALLY: A picture is STILL worth a thousand words:
To this question: There was a flurry of communication between Kelly and Lyles just before Seastrunk orchestrated this LOI maneuver ... and no doubt it was about some other player entirely, right?
ReplyDeleteA simple answer... Lyles was also attempting to discover everything he needed to do to properly have his new business meet NCAA guidelines. We do not know what was said on those conversations, so your assumption that it was somehow nefarious is JUST as disingenuous!