At 01:32 AM 11/30/97 -0500, Dave Wollstadt wrote:
>First, it would appear that he has finally conceded, at least as a
>possibility, what the NCAA concluded many moons ago after a lengthy
>investigation--that most of the violations committed by Shawn Walsh and
>others at the University of Maine were unintentional. Greg doesn't actually
>say this, but for purposes of argument, he speaks of violations "whether
>intentional or unintentional." The NCAA, on the other hand, was quite
>specific in its report on the investigation, which Greg obviously hasn't
>read, saying (a) that most of the violations at UMaine were unintentional,
>(b) that most were self-reported, and (c) that the university cooperated
>fully with the investigation. The NCAA investigators specifically asked
>whether Shawn Walsh was guilty of unethical conduct, and concluded that he
>was not.
 
Wow.  What a great post Dave... you hit many points right on the head!
 
The last sentence of the above paragraph is key.  The NCAA initially
accused Walsh of unethical conduct and tried to find evidence to support
that, but in the end they could not.  Had they found that the NCAA may have
demanded his terminiation.
 
>So, I truly hope that Greg's post represents his "final words" on this
>subject, because his conclusion--that the University of Maine cares more
>about winning hockey games than it does about maintaining ethical
>standards--is slanderous and not in keeping with the facts.
 
This is what bothers me.  This is a very passionate issue for many of
Maine's opponents, but unless you know the facts all you are really
commenting on is heresay.  I've read the self-report and I was listening to
the NCAA press conference on the radio like many of you were.  The problem
is for a few years before this all "went down" a lot of rumors circulated
the country about UMaine hockey and about Walsh alledgely circumventing
some rules.  Once there was a self-report and postseason bans many people
immediately assume the rumors as being true.
 
Dave's post may be the best summation I've seen of the situation.  It
doesn't downplay the severity, but it also stresses the facts that are
often missed by fans who make serious charges.
 
---
Deron Treadwell ([log in to unmask])