Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
For years, University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne had a reputation as one of coaching's "good guys" that didn't recruit players of questionable character in order to gain a chance to win. The mythical NCAA "championship" -- Division 1-A college football is the ONLY sports championship decided by a vote and not by a playoff -- eluded Osborne year after year despite one of the highest winning percentages in the history of the game.
When the news came out that he is running for a Congressional seat in Nebraska, some cheered the news. I, among others, did not. This is what I said.
I got this testy response from someone calling himself "Digger" (I presume it's not Digger Phelps):
"It's obvious that you have not followed Coach Osborne as I have. I was born 16 miles from him, I have numerous friends that are associated with him daily. You impression of him is totally false. Do some research on this man's lifetime accomplishments , in & out of football, and get rid of your anal-cranial inversion problem. (From an ex-nebraskan & lifelong cornhusker)."
You wanted research, Digger? You've got it.
Avid followers of the college game remember what happened in 1995, when star tailback Lawrence Phillips scaled a dorm wall to brutally batter Nebraska basketball player and former girlfriend Katherine McEwen. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the incident, here is a story about the incident's aftermath. See what a hard-liner Osborne was (NOT!):
Osborne makes suspension of Phillips indefinite
(c) 1995 Copyright The News and Observer Publishing Co.
(c) 1995 Associated PressLINCOLN, Neb. (Sep 13, 1995 - 17:18 EDT) -- Nebraska coach Tom Osborne said he changed the dismissal of Lawrence Phillips to an indefinite suspension because he was worried what his star running back might do to himself.
"Frankly, on Sunday, I thought I would never see him again," Osborne said. "I was afraid of what he might do to himself because I knew he thought he'd blown it. I was relieved when I finally heard from him."
Phillips, a Heisman Trophy contender, pleaded innocent Tuesday to misdemeanor charges of assault, trespassing and destruction of property. He is accused of assaulting an ex-girlfriend, Katherine McEwen, a 20-year-old Nebraska basketball player. Police said McEwen is out of state for her protection.
Osborne announced within two hours of Phillips' arrest Sunday night that the junior from West Covina, Calif., was dismissed from the defending national champions.
On Monday and Tuesday, however, he said Phillips may play again this season, provided he makes certain, undisclosed, amends. Phillips faces a Nov. 17 trial.
A consistent pattern emerged as the coach discussed Phillips and other Nebraska players who have had encounters with the law: Osborne talks to the player and others involved and makes his own decision on eligibility.
For example:
-- Backup receiver Riley Washington is charged with attempted murder following an Aug. 2 shooting. Osborne visits Washington in jail, talks with other witnesses, including former Huskers receiver and current coaches' aide Abdul Muhammad, and allows Washington to practice. He says he believes Washington is innocent and should be able to practice at least until his trial. Lancaster County District Judge Donald Endacott today set trial for the October 23rd jury term.
-- No. 2 tailback Damon Benning is arrested Saturday on suspicion of misdemeanor assault. Police say he allegedly attacked a 19-year-old former girlfriend at his apartment. Benning says the woman arrived demanding photos and threatening to damage his car. Benning says any contact he had with her was to keep her away from him. Osborne talks with Benning and witnesses and says he believes Benning was defending himself. He declares the player eligible.
The pattern holds for Phillips. Osborne said he talked with Phillips and McEwen and her family and agreed there had been an assault.
Osborne says it would be best for Phillips -- and McEwen -- if Phillips remains a football player.
"I think if you remove the possibility that he can ever rejoin the football team, than you might really damage the possibility of Lawrence being all he can be," Osborne said. "I'm not sure that (kicking him off permanently) would enhance the young lady's situation.
"If Lawrence is around the program and I'm dealing with him, and he's getting counseling, it makes her situation better than if he's detached from the program."
No. 2 Nebraska (2-0) is at home Saturday against Arizona State (1-1).
Left unsaid here is the fact that the victim, Kate McEwen, had her scholarship for basketball yanked by the U of N for a month, when they apparently thought better of it.
Now, get what he says after a tough question on the eve of the Fiesta Bowl, in which a Nebraska pyrrhic victory gave the Huskers the "national title":
(c) 1995 Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. (Jan 1, 1995 - 19:23 EST) -- The seemingly endless season for Nebraska coach Tom Osborne is almost over.
What a handful of his players did off the field turned Osborne's drive for a second straight national title into a defense of his character. The issue lingered on the eve of the Fiesta Bowl game against Florida.
"I read something a few days ago about a guy who said he couldn't cheer for the Huskers because -- he listed a whole bunch of reasons, and one of them was me," Osborne said Monday. "He didn't like me and also he thought there were a whole bunch of players that nothing had ever been done to."
"In no case have we ever winked at anything," he said, using the same phrase twice in a span of two minutes.
Osborne hates this sort of thing, the image of his program as one filled with outlaws. But there was a hint of urgency in his voice as he once again defended Nebraska football; Osborne seems to know he will not convince everyone that what he's done this season was right.
It started last year with an NCAA investigation into tailback Lawrence Phillips' meal with the employee of a sports agent. The NCAA found nothing improper and cleared Phillips to play.
Then reserve receiver Riley Washington was charged with attempted murder before the season. Osborne said he believes Washington is innocent and allowed him to play in the final eight games.
Then came Phillips' attack on a former girlfriend before the third game. Osborne was heavily criticized for allowing Phillips to rejoin the team after a six-game suspension.
"My philosophy is that if I feel a player has redeeming qualities and he can make something of his life, I'm going to try and work with him and give him a chance," Osborne said. "If he doesn't follow through on that chance then he'll be gone."
Osborne seemed more dismayed than annoyed at the scrutiny. Only once did he hurry through a news conference, in midseason after he was asked if he would have reinstated Phillips had the Heisman Trophy contender beat up Osborne's daughter.
"I kind of resent that question," Osborne said with a frown. He later answered 'yes,' but that was as heated as Osborne was all year.
His faith, his family and the enjoyment of interacting with his players -- Osborne said all help him get through every season.
"Coach Osborne hasn't changed at all this year," center Aaron Graham said. "Everybody kind of thinks he did and maybe once in a while he might feel the pressure, but his character is consistency. That's the program."
Outwardly, Osborne changed nothing during the tough times. He still jogged by himself around the Memorial Stadium turf after each practice, and canceled none of his public appearances, including a booster club speech right after suspending Phillips.
Osborne is the first coach to win 230 games within 23 years and his 230-47-3 record (.827) makes him the winningest active Division I coach. This year's criticism did not stop his team from routing all 11 opponents.
"I guess I've been very gratified with the way the players have handled the scrutiny," he said. "They've worked very hard through it, they haven't allowed themselves to get beaten down."
Nor has Osborne.
"Oh, the season has been a little longer than I expected for a variety of reasons," he said. "But a lot of this comes with being the defending national champion. It wasn't unexpected. Just a little disappointing."
So, did Osborne's coddling of Phillips have as good an effect on Phillips as it did on Osborne's chances to win a national championship? Let's look Phillips' NFL career in retrospect, as does this CNN/SI story about my San Francisco 49ers' grabbing him in desperation after star Garrison Hearst's playoff game injury didn't heal properly during the offseason:
By Paul Crane, CNN/SIHow did the new, improved Phillips do with the 49ers?STOCKTON, Calif. -- It was a familiar scene, running back Lawrence Phillips suiting up for a new team. The San Francisco 49ers are Phillips' fourth team in less than two years.
On Monday, at a press conference in which the 49ers introduced their new signee to the media, Phillips said all he wanted was a chance to make good.
"I'm just looking for an opportunity," he said. "The 49ers have given me a great opportunity and I intend to take full advantage of it."
"If Lawrence is unable to cope, well, then I don't think we've made a error," says team vice-president and general manager Bill Walsh, who sat next to Phillips. "We've just made a calculated risk and it hasn't turned out in our best interest."
But most of the questions the 49ers had to answer were not about what their new running back had to offer on the field, because Phillips' football skills have been largely overshadowed by his transgressions off it.
"There is a judgment factor in these kinds of things," Walsh acknowledged. "When you sign an aging player or a player with a history of social problems." But he added, "With any player there's a risk."
In 1995 while a college star at Nebraska, Phillips was charged with trespassing and assault for a brutal attack on his ex-girlfriend .
Despite that, the St. Louis Rams made Phillips the sixth pick in the April 1996 NFL Draft. Two months later Phillips was charged with driving under the influence. The events of that spring established the pattern of Phillips' career.
A golden opportunity squandered by his inability to stay out of trouble.
Following a mediocre rookie season, Phillips was first charged with property damage and leaving the scene of an accident in St. Louis. Then was arrested for disorderly conduct in Omaha. That March, Phillips served 23 days in jail, because his earlier drunken driving charge was determined to have violated the probation he received for the assault in Nebraska.
Yet he was not out of chances. Upon his release, Phillips was greeted by Rams head coach Dick Vermeil.
In an effort to provide guidance for the wayward Phillips, the Rams signed then 9-year veteran Craig "Ironhead" Heyward. Heyward had turned into a model citizen, following his own battles with alcohol.
"You're bringing in somebody you don't know," Heyward said, "Towards the end, we'd gotten close, but by that time, he'd taken off. He was just a little bit bitter. DickVermeil had questioned his work habits." Phillips played most of the 1997 season in St. Louis, but the Rams finally ran out of patience. They cut him loose in November, citing absences from team meetings, drinking and mediocre performances .
"I made the decision that was best for the Ram organization," Vermiel said at the time. "And really it was best for him. He needs a fresh start."
It didn't take long for Phillips to get another chance.
Two weeks later, the Miami Dolphins took their shot at trying to harness the running back's talent. But during the off-season, Miami came to understand why St. Louis had dumped Phillips.
On the field, he could not hold onto the football. But, worse, was an incident in which a woman accused him of punching her in the face. He pleaded no contest, and the Dolphins sent Phillips packing, for what looked to be the end of his NFL career.
"No one incident played a part in this decision," Miami coach Jimmy Johnson said after Phillips was let go. "I think when you look at the entire picture and how he fit here with the Dolphns, that's why we made the release."
At 23, and facing a future without football, Phillips was once again rescued. The Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe picked him in the tenth round of their 1999 draft.
His coach, Jack Bicknell, says the stint overseas opened Phillips eyes to what could have been. And even more importantly, what could still be.
"Well, Lawrence Phillips made a decision to join NFL Europe all by himself. Going over to Europe, living for four straight months in a hotel with all the other players, it's not the NFL. There's nothing plush. I think he realized he had to prove to people that he had changed."
Perhaps responding to his self-imposed pressure, Phillips finally made headlines for his accomplishments, becoming the first runner in league history to rush for 1,000 yards.
But more important, Phillips stayed out of trouble.
"If you wanted to drink," says Bicknell, the temptations were all around his prized runner. "I mean in Spain, they don't even go to bed until four in the morning. He could have been out all night, every night. I didn't have curfews on him or chase him around.
"He would go out for a half hour with the other guys and he would come back to the hotel. Whatever was going through his head, he knew to stay away from certain things and he did a great job of it."
So now Phillips returns to the NFL, determined to fulfill his expectations. And since he grew up in California, playing for the 49ers may prove to be another incentive. At 210 pounds he is more fit than ever. The question is whether anything else about him has truly changed.
"Our hope and our expectation is that his deep troubles are behind him," Walsh said. "And there have been many, many cases where people have been able to mature through those kinds of things and change their behavior pattern. It appears that he has."
And if he hasn't?
"If he hasn't, well then, we'll have another session like this," he said referring to the fact that the team would hold another press conference to announce that their experiment had failed.
One thing is crystal clear.
For Lawrence Phillips, this is his last run at the NFL.
49ers waive troubled running back Phillips
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Lawrence Phillips' stormy tenure with the San Francisco 49ers ended Tuesday when the team waived him. Phillips was still serving a three-game suspension for defying the coaching staff at the time of his release.Team officials said soon after imposing the suspension on Nov. 12 that Phillips, who has struck out with three NFL teams because of a string of personality clashes and run-ins with the law, would not play again for the 49ers.
Meanwhile, Phillips' agent said earlier Tuesday a grievance has been filed seeking to overturn the suspension. After Phillips was waived, agent Mitch Frankel did not respond to messages left on his pager.
"The suspension was clearly excessive," said Frankel. "They didn't have the right to suspend and therefore they don't have the right not to pay him."
John McVay, the 49ers director of football operations, disagreed.
"We have decided to waive Lawrence Phillips because it allows us to clear the decks and move on. We did not reach an agreement with Mitch Frankel, but we did listen to what he had to say," said McVay.
The team has 10 days to respond to Phillips' grievance, filed last week with the league through the National Football League Players Association.
Union spokesman Carl Francis said Phillips' case will be heard by an arbitrator within 45 days, standard procedure under the collective bargaining agreement with the league.
Phillips was suspended for three games without pay when he refused to practice and ignored or mocked coaching directives at the team's practice Nov. 12. The next day, general manager Bill Walsh said he could envision no circumstance under which Phillips would play again for the 49ers. Three days later, coach Steve Mariucci declared the team and Phillips were parting ways.
The breakup with the 49ers represents the latest NFL washout for Phillips, who lost jobs with the St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins because of run-ins with the law and disciplinary problems.
In a statement released through his agent a week ago, Phillips' only public comment on the case, the running back denied refusing to practice and said he hoped he could rejoin the team. Mariucci reiterated that Phillips had played his last game for the 49ers.
Phillips was losing $19,000 a week in wages during the three-week suspension.
The 49ers have also said they don't want to pay Phillips the $280,000 they owe him as part of a deferred signing bonus, claiming breach of contract. Frankel said the next installment is due at the end of this month and he'll file another grievance on that issue if the 49ers don't pay up. McVay said Tuesday the 49ers would file a grievance for recovery of a portion of Phillips' signing bonus.
Well, Phillips certainly has become "all that he can be" -- a minor league quality football player with a major league attitude problem.
Think Osborne hasn't caught on that he may have goofed? Surprisingly, he has.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Tom Osborne writes in his latest book that he may have made a mistake in his handling of troubled running back Lawrence Phillips in 1995.
"Even today, I'm not sure I made the right decision in regard to Lawrence Phillips," the former Nebraska football coach says in "Faith In The Game." "He has done nothing to this point to indicate that he is willing to make changes after having been given another chance."
Osborne, who retired in 1998 after 25 years as the Huskers' head coach, says in the book's introduction that writing it "provides a formal sense of closure to my experience as a football coach at the University of Nebraska."
Osborne was in Oklahoma at a speaking engagement Monday and was unavailable for comment.
In the book, published by New York-based Broadway Books, Osborne touches on some of the troubled players and difficult times he encountered during his tenure.
Osborne, who retired as the nation's winningest active coach, experienced his share of turbulence at Nebraska, the Phillips case being among the most notorious.
Osborne suspended Phillips for six weeks of the 1995 season after Phillips was arrested for assaulting his former girlfriend.
Phillips pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and trespassing.
Phillips, whose college and NFL careers have been marred by frequent run-ins with the law, is currently making an impressive comeback bid in NFL Europe.
Osborne said drug use among his players was rare overall, but marijuana and alcohol use had to be dealt with more frequently.
"I was proud we never had a player arrested for selling or using drugs," he writes. "We avoided any major drug scandal."
Osborne also speaks of former Nebraska defensive lineman Christian Peter -- now a backup defensive tackle for the New York Giants.
Peter is a recovering alcoholic who had run-ins with the law while at Nebraska. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL draft but was cut within days when the team took flak because of his off-the field problems.
"He has been the object of more accusations and negative press than almost anyone I've known," Osborne writes. "He has refused to go public with his side of the story. I hope with time and effort, his reputation can be restored."
Hey, Digger -- I don't care where you grew up, who you know who knows him or any of that. I don't need to know him to know that his history of bad judgment is so thorough that it should make people examine his character very closely. When I do that, I don't see anything less appalling than the most nausea-inducing liberal do-gooders who will excuse wanton wrongdoing because of the perpetrator's color, ethnic background, sexual practices or talent.
That's not what I think a Congressman should be about, and I don't have to live in Nebraska or lived there in the past, or know the Osborne family personally to have that opinion.
I'm not from Nebraska, but you need therapy, pal. Have you ever made a mistake? Well, Tom Osborne has, too. He even admits it. The difference between you and Osborne is that just about everything he does is reported in the pages of numerous newspapers. How about you? didn't think so. If you think that Osborne needed Phillips to win that second championship, you must not be a student of the game. They rolled all season, and beat the #2 Florida Gators 62-24, for one of the most lopsided scores in college bowls or their faux championship games. To say that Osborne needed Phillips to win that championship is lucicrious. He was trying to help out a young man, who turned out to be a real moron. I readily admit that Phillips is an idiot who wasted 3 chances at the golden ring in the NFL. But it doesn't make Osborne disqualified for anything because he tried to keep the kid in school. Osborne gave him a second chance. have you ever needed a second chance? Sure, Osborne made a mistake with Phillips. But one very public mistake doesn't disqualify him from anything.
Some time ago Twin Falls, Idaho had a news reporter that went to school in Neb I think she was a beauty queen with a spotless record, she was attacked by a Neb football player while in school when she pressed charges they tried the "Nuts & Sluts" smeer on her but it backfired.
Later she did a 20/20 kind of show about what football players get away with at Neb I remember her showing the bank of Post Office Boxes that Lawrence shoved and banged his ex into, you couldn't have done a better job with a hammer.
I like to call Neb "Mid-west Felony U"
You are pretty certain with your judgement, of Osborne. In case you can't recall, the pattern for second chances was set, before this. Steve Howe, brilliant relief pitcher, couldn't seem to keep the white stuff out of his nose. He was given several second chances. Sports is like life. It isn't a perfect script.
We have seen quite a few subsequent, similar examples. Tyson comes to mind. Most of these fellows are THUGS, nothing more. God gifted them with athletic talents, but they have chosen to not learn civil behaviour, despite the money.
To ridicule Tom Osborne as you chose, tells me about you, too. I'll reserve judgement, about what kind of elected official Mr. Osborne might be. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, until he falters.
I say lock the thugs up, first time. Then it isn't a coaches dilemna; it is a legal system problem. You should bitch about THAT, not Osborne. BTW his coaching record speaks to his excellence in that profession, in spite of the thugs this society put on the roster. He has said he made a mistake. That's enough for me.
Hey bucky, what in hell's name is your problem? Did the Husker's beat the crap out of your old alma mater too often?Go back to bed and amuse yourself.
I had a junior high basketball coach once who said to me I ought to try out for the football team.
A few days later I came to basketball practice with two fresh black eyes.
He looked at me and said, you know, it'd be better for you to play football to keep off the streets, then he had me run laps the entire practice for being late.
He was right, and so was Osborne.
Unfortunately, my folks would never sign the waiver; fortunately for me, my scrapes never amounted to anything.
O yeah, and the kid who gave me the black eyes: he wound up doing ten years for armed robbery.
I'm not from Nebraska, but you need therapy, pal. Have you ever made a mistake? Well, Tom Osborne has, too. He even admits it. The difference between you and Osborne is that just about everything he does is reported in the pages of numerous newspapers. How about you? didn't think so.
I am not the football coach in a state where college football is the number one cultural activity, and where self-esteem is measured by whether or not the local boys have lost on the plastic turf to adjacent states' local boys.
Osborne was one of the most powerful persons in the state, and he knows it. That's why he acted as a de facto public defender and let Phillips, Washington, Benning, and later Peter continue practice with the team despite their arrest for violent crimes. As such a central figure of great influence, Osborne had a responsibility to ALL the students of the U of Nebraska, not just the ones that wear shoulder pads. That was NOT reflected in the act of reinstating Phillips.
If you think that Osborne needed Phillips to win that second championship, you must not be a student of the game. They rolled all season, and beat the #2 Florida Gators 62-24, for one of the most lopsided scores in college bowls or their faux championship games. To say that Osborne needed Phillips to win that championship is lucicrious.
Hindsight is 20-20 vision. The future was unknown when some players' personal lives melted down before the country's eyes. Upsets and injuries happen, and with this bogus ballot system of determining who is champion (as any fan of Miami (Fla) or Notre Dame or Colorado or Ohio State will tell you) sometimes ONE loss -- no matter how close -- makes all the difference.
The team was 2-0 when Phillips did his caveman act, but there are at least 11 regular season games for any major college. Osborne changed his mind about suspending him within two days of the incident. There is no way that Osborne could have said, "We can win the title without him, cut him loose."
Dick Vermeil could have said "We don't need an Arena Leaguer eating up a quarter-mil against our cap -- cut Kurt Warner loose", thinking that the Rams would have a shot a division title without him. If Vermeil had done that, he most likely would have been watching the Super Bowl this Sunday instead of coaching it.
He was trying to help out a young man, who turned out to be a real moron. I readily admit that Phillips is an idiot who wasted 3 chances at the golden ring in the NFL. But it doesn't make Osborne disqualified for anything because he tried to keep the kid in school.
He didn't try to keep the kid in school. He tried to keep the kid on the football team. Big difference.
As far as 'keeping kids in school' is concerned, how busted up did he seem to be about Katherine McEwen? What kind of nonsense is it to suggest that while she was recovering from a battery out of the state in fear for her safety, Husker demigod Osborne was pontificating that Phillips being booted from the team "wouldn't enhance the young lady's situation?"
Osborne gave him a second chance. have you ever needed a second chance?
Oh, yes, I have needed a second chance, but not after dragging a woman down the stairs. In addition to Biblical principles, I have approached my life with the truism that there are some mistakes too monumental to make once. Beating up a woman is among those mistakes. If she tells the authorities and you are guilty, that's a scar that lasts till you die as far as the law is concerned, and you must always worry about that fact emerging if you ever accomplish anything that would cause others to be interested in your background.
Sure, Osborne made a mistake with Phillips. But one very public mistake doesn't disqualify him from anything.
If I lived in Nebraska, it would sure disqualify him from my vote. How sad it will be to see Representative Osborne argue against some wrong-headed, wasteful, ineffective get-tough-on-crime boondoggle and have it thrown in his face again and again that this is the guy that let criminals play on his football team.
Can't Nebraska do better than that?
Hey bucky, what in hell's name is your problem?
If you could read, you would know by now.
You are pretty certain with your judgement, of Osborne.
I haven't "judged" anybody. Someone suggested it's great that Osborne wants to be a Congressman, and I maintain that Osborne is a disgrace based on the indisputable facts of the Phillips case and other incidents on the 1995 Huskers team.
In case you can't recall, the pattern for second chances was set, before this. Steve Howe, brilliant relief pitcher, couldn't seem to keep the white stuff out of his nose. He was given several second chances. Sports is like life. It isn't a perfect script.
You don't have to tell me about that. I am a fan of the San Francisco Giants, and ex-Giants Vida Blue and Jeffrey Leonard both were disciplined by Major League Baseball for their admission in court that they used cocaine in violation of MLB drug policies.
To ridicule Tom Osborne as you chose, tells me about you, too. I'll reserve judgement, about what kind of elected official Mr. Osborne might be. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, until he falters...I say lock the thugs up, first time. Then it isn't a coaches dilemna; it is a legal system problem. You should bitch about THAT, not Osborne.
IMHO, he has "faltered" already. Osborne had his opportunity to demonstrate his fitness to be a legislator when his athletes put him in those situations, and he came up snake eyes.
BTW his coaching record speaks to his excellence in that profession, in spite of the thugs this society put on the roster.
What a cop-out. Society didn't recruit those guys, and once they proved what big thugs they were, society didn't keep them on the team. And besides, last time I checked, and being a statesman has little to do with coaching twentysomethings. Jesse Ventura coaches a Pop Warner team. Anybody care? I sure don't.
He has said he made a mistake. That's enough for me.
Whoa...deja vu. Where have I heard THAT one before? Oh, yeah...millions of Democrats have said that same thing.
Have you ever made a mistake? Well, Tom Osborne has, too. He even admits it. The difference between you and Osborne is that just about everything he does is reported in the pages of numerous newspapers.
I think it's funny that you don't understand what a mistake is. He did nothing in error. He made conscious decisions to protect Phillips and Christian Peter and who knows how many others that did not get reported. He is true scum but now you call it making mistakes. How would you feel if one of the assaulted girls was your daughter? Still just mistakes?
Tom Osborne made a mistake? He made a conscious decision to employ a criminal to help his cause. Who wants this kind of person to represent them? Of course this could qualify him to coach almost any professional team.
you should be equally hard on that evil law-breaker linda tripp too.
When somebody asks me what the Huskers' record is, I answer "Seventeen arrests and three convictions."
Tom Osborne is a pawn of moneyed interests who cash in big on the blind devotion of many Nebraskans to the Cornhuskers. Money comes first, then football, then, if there's anything left over, integrity. While Osborne's mistakes are -- as one poster rightfully pointed out -- splashed over the sports page of every newspaper in the country, those mistakes are real. That alone doesn't DISqualify him for the Congress, but neither does his stature as a figurehead for a successful football team QUALIFY him.
I only hope that Nebraskans who vote for Tom Osborne do so because they think he'll make a great Republican congressman, not because he made a great athletic coach.
you should be equally hard on that evil law-breaker linda tripp too.
There's nothing evil about proving the President is a crook.
Shut up.
Osborne as coach isn't the biggest problem.
Osborne's abortion position as posted on DNET is that being pro-life means opposition to the death penalty. Interestingly, he never talks about partial-birth abortion, including fetal tissue research being conducted on fifth-month babies at his own University. That kind of life isn't sacred enough to mention.
This is all part of Osborne's RINO facade. Here in Nebraska, we have Ernie Chambers to block legislation, former Democrat governor Ben Nelson's wholly-appointed Supreme Court to overturn death penalty sentences that have been appealed for 20 years and now are sent back for resentencing. And now we have Osborne with this weirdo Hindu all-life-is-sacred vegetarian nonsense carpetbagging his way to the Third District to tell us how the death penalty is too expensive and might lead to the execution of an innocent person...blah-blah-blah-ACLU-blah-leftie-rhetoric...
This isn't Osborne's first alliance with liberal Nelson forces. He worked with them in 1990 when the Libertarians and other conservatives had proposed a constitutional amendment that imposed a permanent 2.5% annual lid on all tax increases. Osborne made a television commercial where he waved a deflated football at the voters and said the measure would hurt the schools blah-blah-blah. The amendment was defeated. A few legislative sessions later, the Unicameral effectively slammed the door shut on citizen-initiated amendments. During the next six years after Osborne helped defeat the measure, state spending increased by 600%!! Thanks, Tom.
He's a gungrabber too despite his denials with his initial list including automatics, assault weapons and Saturday Night Specials (this is how he is campaigning in a very pro-gun district). Quoted by the Omaha Weekly newspaper. And that mentoring program he wants to federalize for the nation's benefit is a social engineering program if I ever saw one. This is real it-takes-a-village policy. Currently, no kid with two functioning parents has any need of it. It's surrogate parenting. It'll evolve though. Soon, it'll be primarily aimed at re-educating those unfortunate children who were born into conservative Christian families who uphold the Second Amendment and other subversive ideas.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
[
Top
|
Latest Posts
|
Latest Articles
|
Self Search
|
Add Bookmark
|
Post
|
Abuse
|
Help!
]
FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794 Forum Version 2.0a Copyright © 1999 Free Republic, LLC |