Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
Bronco Mendenhall knew what he was going to say was going to come off creepy and a little mean, so he prefaced an answer to a question about the recruitment of uber-linebacker Manti Te'o like so:
I am going to try to stereotype as best I can, so I protect their family and BYU.
So what follows is not about Manti Te'o, right, it's about a hypothetical Mormon player who didn't show much interest in BYU and eventually decided to go elsewhere, and this just happens to be a statement Mendenhall made after someone asked him about Manti Te'o, but if you were to make any connection between this statement and Manti Te'o, well, that's just speculation on your part. Drum roll, please:
The "private institution" that lives fast and loose without the rules or honor code BYU has? Notre Dame!Usually when a young man who is LDS -- a member of our church -- has things presented as clearly as he had it presented to him and chooses not to come, there usually is a reason they don't want to come.
And it is usually not football-related. And so Manti chose a private institution, with a religious background without truly the same semblance of rules, or an honor code, like BYU has. It would be great if we don't go into specifics, but my guess is there was something that he didn't want about BYU, and chose elsewhere. And that's OK.
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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I’d go PPV money just to see what looks to be a 300 pound Samoan Mormon.
by L'etat, c'est moi on Jul 30, 2009 5:00 PM EDT reply actions
McAlarney, must be Italian.
by CBass3 on Jul 30, 2009 5:23 PM EDT reply actions
Cook,
First of all, I know Notre Dame has a strict honor code, but BYU’s includes no premartial sex, no tobacco or alcohol, regular attendance at 3 hours of church services every Sunday, men being clean shaven, and more. It’s a tough set of standards and BYU isn’t right for every Mormon.
Secondly, if you read the rest of Mendenhall’s response (which I’m sure you have, but declined to mention so you could make fun of BYU), he specifically cites the fact that he encourages LDS football players at BYU to serve 2-year church missions, and that of the 18 LDS recruits that claimed to want to serve a mission that Bronco has recuited who went elsewhere, only 1 has actually served a mission. He also mentions that he told Manti that he would probably not start as a freshman, which could have been a factor.
But it’s more fun to mock Mormon’s based on stereotypes.
by nelsonjoaopessoa on Jul 31, 2009 1:13 AM EDT reply actions
First off, well said nelsonjoaopessoa.
Now, Brian, I am an everyday reader over at mgoblog and generally love your thoughtful posts on college football and all things ‘M’. But I am afraid you are well off base here.
Bronco Mendenhall, as he is prone to do, was just giving an honest, noncoachspeak answer to a prickly question. I think we should commend him for that.
You may not like BYU or Mormons for that matter, you may think their standards or beliefs are old fashioned or just plain weird. Mendenhall is saying more or less the same thing – BYU isn’t for everyone, that’s why they lose recruits, and he’s okay with that. He’s not judging or villifying anyone. He’s just reaffirming that he wants his players to buy into a football program that values much more than just performance on the field with a sideways token nod to the classroom. There’s no other program like BYU in the country.
This is not a sports column. It is a misinformed piece of "journalism" much like the kind you trash mercilessly on mgoblog. Please stick to your knitting….
Eh, sorry, that was an old fashioned idiom you may not understand or have much tolerance for. Rather: please stick to covering M and covering it well.
by ANONYMOUS_ORDER on Jul 31, 2009 12:28 PM EDT reply actions
It’s a blog, lighten up Francis.
by CBass3 on Jul 31, 2009 1:59 PM EDT reply actions
Manti Teo went to ND because he knew he’d get his a$$ handed to him at USC. As far as BYU goes they’re not even top 3 in their own conference. I am from Hawaii and seen Te’o play and I’m telling you right now he is the most overrated player I have ever seen in relation to how high of a recruit he was. No one will even know his name in 4 years other than "what was that guys name from Hawaii again?"
by DickChoke on Jul 31, 2009 6:15 PM EDT reply actions
ND certainly has gotten lost in its own logic when dealing with ResLife and college kids being college kids, but a few minor points: 1) Scholarship athletes spend 3 years on campus, and if they have good enough grades can move off campus for their 4th (and 5th) years. 2) Up until a few years ago, ND’s policies on drinking were far more "progressive" than many people would be led to believe…
That said, the talent show is lame.
by roadtogameday on Aug 3, 2009 3:31 PM EDT reply actions
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