All things FSU: Haters Gonna Hate, Hate, Hate, Hate

Promise you if the SEC were in a position where their TV Network (ESPN) was going after a school relentlessly that the conference commish would be fighting for the conference.

John Swofford? Nowhere to be found. But hey, this is the same conference that added ON to a Clemson NCAA penalty years ago and did no such thing to UNC.

This is one of many reasons I hope FSU winds up in another conference someday.

Haters Gonna Hate, Hate, Hate, Hate

"If you’ve tuned into ESPN at all this football season, you know how much heat the defending BCS National Champion Seminoles have taken, particularly surrounding their Heisman Trophy winning quaterback, Jameis Winston. Every week a new story emerges defaming the star player, the team, the coach, and the university. Even the New York Times chimed in, giving its two-cents about the state of affairs at FSU, exposing what they deemed as a corrupt system for its privileged athletes. But why all the hate? If you take a deeper look it comes down to, as most things do—MONEY.
Let’s look at the numbers. Since 2003 the SEC has appeared in ten BCS Championship games, winning eight. Keep in mind, ESPN broadcasts 34 Bowl games and in 2011 aired the National Championship for the first time, earning a 16.1 rating and setting the record for the highest overnight viewership in cable television history. In that game, Heisman Trophy winner Cam Netwon led the Auburn Tigers to a last-second field goal victory over the Oregon Ducks. The following two years set similar records and garnered over 100,000,000 million viewers in total. The “BCS Megacast” airs on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN Radio, ESPN 3, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Goaline, and ESPN International simultaneously, and with the inclusion of WatchESPN’s viewership (growing by 50% annually), you can imagine the amount of cash the game generates for the network. This year ESPN out bid Fox Sports for the exclusive rights to the first ever College Football Playoff. They will pay an outrageous $500 Million+ for each year of the contract. To say ESPN has a stake in the quality of the BCS Championship game (and the ratings that come with it) is a serious understatement.
The SEC brings in an average of 3.8 million viewers per game. That’s almost as much as the second (Big 10) and third (ACC) highest rated conferences combined. It also dominates the number of nationally televised games by a similar ratio. These numbers surely played a role in ESPN’s most recent business venture – The SEC Network, of which it holds a controlling interest of 80%. Granted, it’s not the first channel dedicated to a single conference. The Big 10 Network and Pac-12 Network also exist, though both are owned solely or in part by the conferences themselves. ESPN’s contract extends through 2034.
What does this have to do with Florida State University, you ask? The Seminole’s pending dynasty exists as the single biggest threat to the SEC’s domination of the FBS, and thus the biggest threat to ESPN’s bottom line for the next twenty years. It’s no secret that media speculation influences College Football’s Top-25 rankings and when the world’s largest sporting news network has a vested interest in the success of a specific conference, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why it hates Florida State. Why else would the undefeated defending national champions fall second in the rankings to the SEC’s Mississippi State Bulldogs, who were unranked at the beginning of the season? The only explanation is MONEY, and it’s created a huge conflict of interest.
When ESPN’s financial interests hinge largely on the success of the SEC, of course they’re going to do as much as they can to undermine and tarnish any opposition that poses even the slightest of threats to its piggy bank. So, it spends weeks trashing the 19-year old Jameis Winston for making a vulgar comment on campus. It hammers on his reputation, calling him immature and a thug in a desperate attempt to rattle him mentally prior to huge games, or worse get him suspended. It’s true, Winston hasn’t done much to the contrary to help his case with the alleged sexual assault accusations, the crab legs shoplifting incident, and the most recent autograph controversy, but to FSU’s credit when hard evidence was presented implicating Winston (as was the case with the shoplifting), they took swift action and suspended him for three baseball games. Regardless if you think he’s guilty or innocent, it cannot be denied that the media has pounced on and criticized every little mistake that they can find surrounding the Noles because it’s the only way they can prevent FSU from emerging as the dynasty it’s seemingly destined to become and preserve the lucrative financial relationship they’ve built with the South Eastern Conference. It’s their way of whispering into the selection committee’s ear, “Don’t let them in!”
This is just the tip of the iceberg though because not only is ESPN actively attempting to sabotage the Noles’ Unconquered efforts, it also seems to actively ignore any and all negativity surrounding the SEC teams. Lloyd Tubman of the 5-2 Kentucky Wildcats was arrested earlier this month on charges of first-degree rape, and four more players, RB Stanley Williams, WR Dorian Baker, QB Drew Baker, and DE Tymere Dubose were all involved in a BB-gun incident that resulted in the entire university being locked down. This month, University of Georgia DB Shaq Jones was also arrested for shoplifting $43 worth of merchandise from a Walmart in Athens. Imagine for a second, if Jameis Winston (or any other FSU player for that matter) had been involved in a BB-gun incident that resulted in a school-wide lock down. ESPN would’ve crucified him and taken his reputation and any hopes he has of playing in the NFL out to pasture. When hundreds of hours of coverage are spent scrutinizing a vulgar statement made by Winston, yet not one of hour is spent on any of these SEC-related incidents, you start to realize how deep the impartiality really runs in Bristol, Connecticut. Is this because Florida State is a dirty, corrupt university or is it the fact that they have a giant target on their backs because they pose a direct threat to the hundreds of millions of dollars ESPN has at stake? You make the call.
The real bottom line is that the Seminoles continue to succeed in spite of all the efforts to knock them off course. Haters gonna hate, but players are gonna play.

By Mitchell Wesley

[Sources include Forbes Magazine, TV By the Numbers, and Arrest Nation.]"

Stories ESPN has ignored

Just thought I'd put them all in one place.

Ole Miss 'aware' of alleged Robert Nkemdiche

A Tennessee fan apparently tried to get the Rebels' star DE suspended.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/10/13/6970231/robert-nkemdiche-bong-photo-hugh-freeze-ole-miss

Stephen Garcia says he saw players being paid

Former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia saw college players being paid for autographs “all day every day,” he told a Charlotte radio station on Thursday.
http://www.gogamecocks.com/2014/10/16/629973_stephen-garcia-says-he-saw-players.html?rh=1

FSU Star Jameis Winston -- My Rape Accuser Tr

http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/24/fsu-jameis-winston-rape-accuser-extortion-7-million/
http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/24/fsu-jameis-winston-rape-accuser-extortion-7-million/

Police report: Student said Treon Harris igno

The University of Florida student who accused quarterback Treon Harris of rape told investigators she warded off his advances but still decided to spend the night in his room, according to a police report released Wednesday.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20141022/ARTICLES/141029908/-1/sports06?Title=Police-report-Student-said-Treon-Harris-ignored-pleas-to-get-off-her