Tweets to Nolan and other players from Maryland fans

[Lord Ash]

That isn't even the best one... try this one on for size, via Duke Blue Planet....

RT @JDSherman22: @NdotSmitty @sdotcurry @kyrieirving **** you and **** Duke. I hope your bus your gets in an accident and you all get p ...

Stay classy, Terps:)

[DonnyDevil]

We all know Maryland fans and the reputation that comes along with them, but some of the tweets to our players from them are by far the most distasteful and uncalled for remarks I have ever seen. Taunting a player is one thing, but this far from taunting in good spirit of the rivalry (I know they are not our rival).

"@JDSherman22 - @NdotSmitty you are ****** **** and your dad is buring in hell"

from the same person directed at Seth, Kyrie, and Nolan

" **** you and **** duke. I hope your bus get into an accident and you all get p"

This is rediculous and has no place in college sports or anywhere for that matter. I normally just ignore the MD fans and move on, but this is a bit much. I know this is something that the university or ncaa can't control, but as we all have said there have been several instances in which either of the parties could have stepped in in the past.

It obviously struck a nerve with Nolan as responded to the first tweet. I assume several people in college park are happy we won so they did not have to deal with the rioting that would have taken place had they won.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I assume several people in college park are happy we won so they did not have to deal with the rioting that would have taken place had they won.
They usually riot when they lose, too. Guess the weather must have tempered their actions. It certainly wasn't the administration http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/icon_e_sigh.gif

[TampaDukie]

I was sickened last night when I saw those tweets. The same guy, @JDSherman22, also tweeted to John Scheyer that he's a *aggot. Disgusting. I was enraged last night, but then I woke up this morning and saw the tweet to Nolan about his dad, which is beyond the pale. And of course, after Duke fans responded to him last night, he protected his tweets and restricted his followers list. Coward.

I liked it better when Twerps burned their own campus, rather than harassing our players.

[enick66]

I was sickened last night when I saw those tweets. The same guy, @JDSherman22, also tweeted to John Scheyer that he's a *aggot. Disgusting. I was enraged last night, but then I woke up this morning and saw the tweet to Nolan about his dad, which is beyond the pale. And of course, after Duke fans responded to him last night, he protected his tweets and restricted his followers list. Coward.

I liked it better when Twerps burned their own campus, rather than harassing our players.

In fairness to the Maryland community, this guy goes to Salisbury, not UMD. However, his comments are revolting and cowardly regardless.

[KyDevilinIL]

Normally I'd say Nolan shouldn't have responded to that nitwit, but in this case I think Nolan knew what he was doing – by responding, thousands of people saw that guy's nonsense and probably said all the things Nolan wished he could've said back.

I never cease to be amazed by the depravity of a certain segment of Maryland fans. Wild effing animals, those people.

[Channing]

what was Nolan's response

[KyDevilinIL]

what was Nolan's response

"Ay yo u need to watch your mouth slim! Real talk!"

He also retweeted the guy's original foulness.

[mkline09]

It is almost to the point of being funny how pathetically petty and classess some of these fans are. The whole ESPN segment that interviewed different students and asked them why they hate Duke was telling.
I don't believe a single one could really say. One indicated if you were born to like Maryland you were born to hate Duke which makes no sense being that the intenstity between these two teams, while alway strong, has only been this heated since about 1999.
Just admit you hate Duke because more times than not they beat you. But when that happens it surely because the Blue Devils cheated by paying the refs, playing dirty, and the wider conspiracy against Maryland waxes due to the particular lunar phase in which the game was played.

[wsb3]

Brings to mind one of my favorite quotes.

"You can't hide class."

[Matches]

Did he really end the tweet with "and you all get p"?

Maryland never finishes ANYTHING.

[Bluedog]

Did he really end the tweet with "and you all get p"?

Maryland never finishes ANYTHING.

haha, I realize you're joking, but in case you were curious it ended with "paralyzed."

"I hope your bus get into an accident and you all get paralyzed."

very nice of him...I think Nolan re-tweeted it just to use it as extra motivation. But then he took offense to bringing his dad into it later. Probably should ignore it, but also RT is a decent strategy since it brings all the Duke supporters out. Having said all that, while Maryland fans are by and large not so great, there's always outliers that go beyond the pale in any fanbase. I'm sure there are a few Duke fans out there that say crazy stuff on twitter; luckily, it's not widespread. But no fanbase is immune, especially since it's not as if the only fans are those that attended the institution. (That way not meant to bash Duke supporters who didn't attend Duke. They can be just as big of fans. Just saying the Duke fandom spans a wide range of individuals and isn't under the watch of the university.)

[weezie]

The md fans should be caged.

[Danke Shane]

I wasn't sure where else to reply with these thoughts, I thought this was as good a place as any.

But for as much hostility as Maryland students like to dish out claiming Duke people are a bunch of nerds, dorks, whatever... your Terp pep band plays music from "The Legend of Zelda" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"....

Verrrrry cool guys, keep it up. Not dorky at all.

[gewwang]

If they're that mad at Nolan, I can't imagine what kind of tweets/twits/twots Kyle received.

[wandalee]

One of their fans had a poster last night praising Neal for his damaging screen on Nolan a few years ago. I know the screen was legal, but how can you glorify another player getting hurt?

[BD80]

The md fans should be caged.

neutered

[SMO]

This is rediculous and has no place in college sports or anywhere for that matter. I normally just ignore the MD fans and move on, but this is a bit much. I know this is something that the university or ncaa can't control, but as we all have said there have been several instances in which either of the parties could have stepped in in the past.

It obviously struck a nerve with Nolan as responded to the first tweet. I assume several people in college park are happy we won so they did not have to deal with the rioting that would have taken place had they won.

The sad thing is, those tweets from that kid could live on forever on the internet, exposing his idiocy eternally. You really need to be careful what you put out there, but I doubt he realizes what repurcussions his tweets might have. Pathetic.

[DevilBen02]

But for as much hostility as Maryland students like to dish out claiming Duke people are a bunch of nerds, dorks, whatever... your Terp pep band plays music from "The Legend of Zelda" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"....

Verrrrry cool guys, keep it up. Not dorky at all.

I'm actually a little jealous. Why can't Duke embrace its dorkiness like this. I guess the Mortal Kombat theme gets close, but playing the Zelda theme is pretty badass (in a supremely nerdy kind of way).

[jlear]

In fairness to the Maryland community, this guy goes to Salisbury, not UMD. However, his comments are revolting and cowardly regardless.

If he still attends Salisbury they have a code of conduct that he is violating. Perhaps someone is an alum and can bring it to the schools attention.

[CDu]

It is almost to the point of being funny how pathetically petty and classess some of these fans are. The whole ESPN segment that interviewed different students and asked them why they hate Duke was telling.
I don't believe a single one could really say. One indicated if you were born to like Maryland you were born to hate Duke which makes no sense being that the intenstity between these two teams, while alway strong, has only been this heated since about 1999.
Just admit you hate Duke because more times than not they beat you. But when that happens it surely because the Blue Devils cheated by paying the refs, playing dirty, and the wider conspiracy against Maryland waxes due to the particular lunar phase in which the game was played.

If you're a freshman (and thus about 18), then you were about 7 in 2000, when Maryland actually starting beating Duke again after a couple of years of beatdowns (we ran them out of the gym by about 30 in both games in 1998 and by 18 in both games in 1999). So, for such a kid, it's probably true that as long as he can remember Maryland fans have hated Duke fans.

[moonpie23]

i just spoke with LACY, who is Dean Cowell's admin assistant and apparently, i'm the first to call with any kind of complaint about JDSherman22....

she was very nice. she was also SHOCKED at what was tweeted.

you may call Dean Cowell at (410) 543-6100)


i told her that i was posting the number and she said "please do, Dean Cowell would want to know about this"......

fire em up....

[billy]

If he still attends Salisbury they have a code of conduct that he is violating. Perhaps someone is an alum and can bring it to the schools attention.

There's a local case of cyber-bullying going on in the triangle right now, based on a 2009 NC state law. Haven't looked enough to see if this would qualify, and didn't see that the person tweeted that he himself was going to try to physically harm anyone, but would this qualify, and, if so, does it only apply to underage persons? Lastly, what about it being a NC state law and the kid living in Maryland?

[Devilsfan]

Md. doesn't deserve to be in the same conference with Duke let alone the same arena.
Maybe a write in campaign to get them out of the ACC is in order.

[mkline09]

If you're a freshman (and thus about 18), then you were about 7 in 2000, when Maryland actually starting beating Duke again after a couple of years of beatdowns (we ran them out of the gym by about 30 in both games in 1998 and by 18 in both games in 1999). So, for such a kid, it's probably true that as long as he can remember Maryland fans have hated Duke fans.

But even then your parents or someone would have to be die hard Maryland fans to have that level of hate. I just don't buy that born to hate Duke argument.

[moonpie23]

Actually just got a call back from the dean of student affairs at salisbury and he told me that the kid @JDSherman22 was being called into the office for a meeting immediately.

i asked him if there was a code of conduct for students and he assured me that there was. I suggested that these tweets went over the line and he agreed with me...

looks like the cats at SU are handling their biz....


on the low-low.....i'm thinking this dean has heard the terms "twitter" and "tweet" maybe 20 times........19 of them from me.......today...

[miramar]

It is almost to the point of being funny how pathetically petty and classess some of these fans are. The whole ESPN segment that interviewed different students and asked them why they hate Duke was telling.
I don't believe a single one could really say. One indicated if you were born to like Maryland you were born to hate Duke which makes no sense being that the intenstity between these two teams, while alway strong, has only been this heated since about 1999.
Just admit you hate Duke because more times than not they beat you. But when that happens it surely because the Blue Devils cheated by paying the refs, playing dirty, and the wider conspiracy against Maryland waxes due to the particular lunar phase in which the game was played.

As Coach K told the undergraduates a couple of years ago or so, "People hate you because they can't be like you."

FC Barcelona fans say that Pep Guardiola (their coach) is always right. I think he has that in common with Coach K.

[hudlow]

looks like the cats at SU are handling their biz....




Too bad Maryland can't...

[MCFinARL]

Md. doesn't deserve to be in the same conference with Duke let alone the same arena.
Maybe a write in campaign to get them out of the ACC is in order.

Well, this seems a little extreme, don't you think? Especially in response to some tweets that, no matter how offensive, weren't actually tweeted by anyone connected to the University. While it's a problem that the University hasn't always done what it could to manage its own student fans, they are at least trying now--and the basketball team itself seems pretty unobjectionable from a character point of view, at least as far as I know.

[YourLandlord]

The sad thing is, those tweets from that kid could live on forever on the internet, exposing his idiocy eternally. You really need to be careful what you put out there, but I doubt he realizes what repurcussions his tweets might have. Pathetic.

Ah, I'll bet any amount of money that this kid is never going to be successful or important enough that anyone will ever care about something he said.

[gewwang]

Now that the VA Tech players have had issues with the Maryland fans as well, I think it's totally appropriate to bring it to the attention of the ACC since Maryland has done nothing (or at least very little) to correct it.

[Channing]

For another example about how what you say online can haunt you forever, google "biggest d-bag (spelled out) in Atlanta".

He and I have some mutual acquaintances, and his life has been severely impacted (from what I have heard).

[epoulsen]

Md. doesn't deserve to be in the same conference with Duke let alone the same arena.
Maybe a write in campaign to get them out of the ACC is in order.

It's funny you say that. Last year I was at the ACC Championship game, and right before the trophy ceremony I realized I was standing next to John Swofford so I jokingly asked him if he would remove UMd from the ACC and the Knicks could substitute for them while he looked for a replacement. His response was something along the lines of "Maryland is a valued member of the ACC.... compliment our commitment to sportsmanship and competition.... model school for success". I just remembered thinking to myself "has this guy ever even watched one of their games? How is throwing hot pennies a compliment to the ACC's commitment to sportsmanship?"

[diveonthefloor]

Actually just got a call back from the dean of student affairs at salisbury and he told me that the kid @JDSherman22 was being called into the office for a meeting immediately.

i asked him if there was a code of conduct for students and he assured me that there was. I suggested that these tweets went over the line and he agreed with me...

looks like the cats at SU are handling their biz....


on the low-low.....i'm thinking this dean has heard the terms "twitter" and "tweet" maybe 20 times........19 of them from me.......today...

Holy crap! This is classic! Great job!

[dukeimac]

You guys have to keep things in perspective.

As with anything like hating Duke, it is because they are jealous. I have a couple of UNC friends, U of Pitt and U of Miami that I go drinking with. They have all but given up on giving any crap about Duke because I always smile back at them and say "it makes me feel better about being a Duke fan the more people hate on them." They hate that but they give me no crap. They will give each other crap to no end about their dislikes for each others team but that is because they firer back at each other, I just smile.

Also, if this guy is not from UM then don't beat up on UM over what he said. UM fans have been distasteful in the past but this guy is not one of them and so you can't hold it against UM for what he said.

Remember, just smile and tell them it makes it even better that they hate on Duke. And I smile for a while after the have given up; makes it even more tougher on them.

[davekay1971]

Actually just got a call back from the dean of student affairs at salisbury and he told me that the kid @JDSherman22 was being called into the office for a meeting immediately.

i asked him if there was a code of conduct for students and he assured me that there was. I suggested that these tweets went over the line and he agreed with me...

looks like the cats at SU are handling their biz....


on the low-low.....i'm thinking this dean has heard the terms "twitter" and "tweet" maybe 20 times........19 of them from me.......today...

You should never again want for pitchforks after this. Huge, huge props to you.

[dukefanSD]

I tried to give you a positive comment, Moonpie, but they said I needed to spread the love, so I'll just have to say "Well done.":o

[Duke4Ever32]

You rock, MoonPie!! Love it...nicely done!!

[OldPhiKap]

I tried to give you a positive comment, Moonpie, but they said I needed to spread the love, so I'll just have to say "Well done.":o

Ditto. Mad Props.

[CDu]

But even then your parents or someone would have to be die hard Maryland fans to have that level of hate. I just don't buy that born to hate Duke argument.

Well, firstly, nobody is born to love/hate anything. It's not nature, it's nurture.

Beyond that, if they grew up as Maryland fans then those 2000-2001-2002 years were the formative years of their fanhood. And the formative years were the years that they and their parents would have REALLY been fired up about Duke. Duke was in the height of their return to prominence, and Duke had some devastating wins. Doesn't matter what their parents felt. My parents had no interest whatsoever in sports, yet I developed a passion for sports (and extreme dislike of the rival team at that time) without any guidance from my parents.

So while they weren't literally "born" to hate Duke, their fanhood was borne in a time at which Duke hate was materializing.

[Son of Mojo]

Let me join in with the backpats, MoonPie. Good work done. I had been complaining all day about hearing of these classes tweets that were sent out. There's a point when one might say something that's over the line in the heat of the moment but to say the things that this kid did is so above and beyond what is decent. Here's to hoping his dean will hand down a suitable punishment.

[Greg_Newton]

Wait, so is Justin Sherman a UMD student or not?

I see that he's changed his facebook settings since this morning (from the front page link)... but I remember seeing earlier that 2 of his 3 "heroes" were Ray Lewis and the actor that plays the serial killer on Dexter. I forgot the third, but I assume it was OJ Simpson, John Wayne Gacy, or something of the like...

[Rudy]

Actually just got a call back from the dean of student affairs at salisbury and he told me that the kid @JDSherman22 was being called into the office for a meeting immediately.

i asked him if there was a code of conduct for students and he assured me that there was. I suggested that these tweets went over the line and he agreed with me...

looks like the cats at SU are handling their biz....


on the low-low.....i'm thinking this dean has heard the terms "twitter" and "tweet" maybe 20 times........19 of them from me.......today...

My first reaction was this was great that this kid might be getting some comeuppance for a hateful message. But the more I thought about today I wondered if it were a bad deal for a student to get in trouble at his college for something he did which had nothing to do with the college, wasn't using college property and had no visible connection to his college. As miserable as his conduct was, how does his college have a right to control his purely private conduct?

Is no one bothered by this?

[wilson]

As miserable as his conduct was, how does his college have a right to control his purely private conduct?

Is no one bothered by this?The problem with this is that his conduct wasn't "purely private." In fact, he sent his messages to a very public figure, Nolan, with the specific knowledge that his comments could/would be visible to anyone who cared to see them. I'd even go further, to say that he actively wanted them to be read, just so everyone would know how much he and others hate Duke. His connection with his college is also pretty public, as evidenced by the relative ease with which we all figured out where he's enrolled. This is very clearly a black eye on the institution where he is currently enrolled, and absolutely a reasonable basis for punishment on the grounds that it's entirely unbecoming of any citizen of any institution of higher learning, or for that matter, any reasonable society.

[Dev11]

But even then your parents or someone would have to be die hard Maryland fans to have that level of hate. I just don't buy that born to hate Duke argument.

I am from a suburb in Montgomery County and I was in sixth grade in 2001. Middle school is the time when childhood excitement about sports can turn into fanatical obsession. Every boy at my middle school was totally in love with Maryland and totally hated Duke (except for me, of course). I don't think everybody's parents went to Maryland, and I don't think that stopped many of them from being in that fanatical majority.

If you can't be born to hate Duke, the closest thing is to have been born in Montgomery County from 1986-1990 and to have attended public school. Luckily, my father stamped any pro-Maryland sentiment out of me at an early age.

[Lord Ash]

I believe that all of the code of conduct talk is about the code of conduct of his own school. Sending messages like that to someone is generally not really conducting yourself by any sort of code:)

[coldriver10]

Ah, I'll bet any amount of money that this kid is never going to be successful or important enough that anyone will ever care about something he said.
And thus is the basis of my avatar (jokingly with UNC flare).

http://www.showbits.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/potential2.jpg

[moonpie23]

sorry, ....i thought the fact that he was a SALISBURY UNIVERSITY student was already established, hence i neglected to include that in my posts..

the school officials i spoke with were at SU, not MD.....and his posts WERE of public nature, just as spray painting them on the overpass of a bridge.....

and thank all of you for your comments......nothing ever gets done until someone does something......

i encourage all of you to call tomorrow to inquire about the outcome of his meeting with school officials...

[PSurprise]

Keep us updated if you hear of anything...I would like to know what, if anything comes from this. I think that kid definitely crossed NUMEROUS lines with his hateful post.

[burns15]

I am from a suburb in Montgomery County and I was in sixth grade in 2001. Middle school is the time when childhood excitement about sports can turn into fanatical obsession. Every boy at my middle school was totally in love with Maryland and totally hated Duke (except for me, of course). I don't think everybody's parents went to Maryland, and I don't think that stopped many of them from being in that fanatical majority.

If you can't be born to hate Duke, the closest thing is to have been born in Montgomery County from 1986-1990 and to have attended public school. Luckily, my father stamped any pro-Maryland sentiment out of me at an early age.

same thing happened to me. I also live in a suburb in Montgomery County, MD and was in sixth grade in 2002, the year Maryland won it all. Nothing was harder than going to school every day as a Duke fan.

[Rudy]

I believe that all of the code of conduct talk is about the code of conduct of his own school. Sending messages like that to someone is generally not really conducting yourself by any sort of code:)

I'm not excusing the conduct, but conceptually I have a problem with a college trying to control conduct of a student which does not occur on campus, doesn't use college resources, and does not involve another member of that college community.

In the wake of the Yardley Lovely murder and the discovery that her accused killer had a drunk and disorderly arrest in another city, U.Va now has a rule that all students report any arrest or conviction for any offense other than minor traffic offenses. Of course, with U.Va's single sanction honor code any failure to report would result in expulsion. To me that is excessive involvement and control by the college.

[DevilHorns]

My first reaction was this was great that this kid might be getting some comeuppance for a hateful message. But the more I thought about today I wondered if it were a bad deal for a student to get in trouble at his college for something he did which had nothing to do with the college, wasn't using college property and had no visible connection to his college. As miserable as his conduct was, how does his college have a right to control his purely private conduct?

Is no one bothered by this?

I hope he gets in ''trouble''..

but I don't wish him to be expelled. I personally think the one string of calls from Moonpie is enough. I don't think we should be calling for this kid's seat at the university. Let him get a ''warning''... perhaps a suspension... but nothing on his official record unless he is a repeat offender already or has any other red flags.

He's still a kid folks. Let's not try and ruin his future. My .02 cents.

[allenmurray]

I'm not excusing the conduct, but conceptually I have a problem with a college trying to control conduct of a student which does not occur on campus, doesn't use college resources, and does not involve another member of that college community.

In the wake of the Yardley Lovely murder and the discovery that her accused killer had a drunk and disorderly arrest in another city, U.Va now has a rule that all students report any arrest or conviction for any offense other than minor traffic offenses. Of course, with U.Va's single sanction honor code any failure to report would result in expulsion. To me that is excessive involvement and control by the college.

Universities have a responsibility to all their students. Asking students to self-report criminal convictions (something that is already a matter of public record) seems reasonable and prudent to me.

[SupaDave]

Hopefully the kid becomes a lot more cognizant of the karma he puts out into the atmosphere. I think it's something we all should take note of...

Supa "still learning to think before I speak my doggone self" Dave...

[moonpie23]

look...i didn't call for the kid's suspension, expulsion, or paddling.....all i did was call the school he goes to and "tattle" on his extremely poor taste in making a public display of gratuitous hatred.....

I asked the Dean if the school had a "code of conduct". He replied "yes, of course".
I suggested that his vitriol was basically hate speech and that it could possibly reflect poorly on the student's university, and he said, "yes, i agree".

Twitter is the equivalent of a digital version the "free expression" areas. I think it IS within the university's right to be concerned with and act upon.

for me, (a social activist from the 60's) it's difficult to stand around and say, "wow....totally uncool my man" and let him off scott free. The only way to DO something about it was to....well DO something about it.. I certainly don't expect anything to happen to the kid more than being chastised.


on the low-low....i once picketed a car dealership for a week....

[biscuit30]

It is almost to the point of being funny how pathetically petty and classess some of these fans are. The whole ESPN segment that interviewed different students and asked them why they hate Duke was telling.
I don't believe a single one could really say. One indicated if you were born to like Maryland you were born to hate Duke which makes no sense being that the intenstity between these two teams, while alway strong, has only been this heated since about 1999.
Just admit you hate Duke because more times than not they beat you. But when that happens it surely because the Blue Devils cheated by paying the refs, playing dirty, and the wider conspiracy against Maryland waxes due to the particular lunar phase in which the game was played.

Would be nice for ESPN to have a segment on why we like Duke.

[dukelilsis]

Moonpie, I think you definitely did the right thing. Sometimes being called on the carpet and having to answer for your actions is one of the best life lessons you can have. I work with kids and everyday I am surprised by the fact that they don't realize that what they post on Twitter and Facebook is lasting. Even if they have everything set on private, there are ways for future employers to access it (depending on who the employer is). What he said to Nolan is horrible. I have a soft spot for Nolan. As much as I love to watch him play, I have even more respect and admiration for all that he does off of the court. He is an amazing young man and I hope he realizes just how much the Duke faithful care about him.

As for being born to hate a team, I would argue that I was, in fact, born hating Carolina and loving Duke. Afterall, my mom's last trip before being put on bed rest during her pregnancy was to a Duke football game. I did not have to wait until I was a middle schooler to develop an obsession. The first two phrases I learned to say were "Go Duke" and "Boo Carnina" (I couldn't speak plainly--I was a toddler). OK, sure, there was a bit of endoctrination I suppose but, for as long as I can remember (and I have a pretty good memory since I very clearly remember a trip to the Duke campus when I was 3) I have loved Duke and hated Carolina. Still, the hate is a sport in and of itself and not a wish for physical harm. I'll leave that to the classless twerp fans.

[mkline09]

I am from a suburb in Montgomery County and I was in sixth grade in 2001. Middle school is the time when childhood excitement about sports can turn into fanatical obsession. Every boy at my middle school was totally in love with Maryland and totally hated Duke (except for me, of course). I don't think everybody's parents went to Maryland, and I don't think that stopped many of them from being in that fanatical majority.

If you can't be born to hate Duke, the closest thing is to have been born in Montgomery County from 1986-1990 and to have attended public school. Luckily, my father stamped any pro-Maryland sentiment out of me at an early age.

I guess I just don't understand the nature of it. I've been a Duke fan since I was 7 a little bit before these classic Duke/Maryland days when Bob Wade was the coach. I never gave Maryland a second thought. Ever. I never saw Marland as a rival. It was NC State and UNC.
If their justifiation for hating Duke is based on the pastings they've gotten then I guess that is a bit understandable, but to me it seems as if they should hate UNC just as bad and I don't get that sense at all. I just look at a lot of the incidents of violence and just plain stupidity as examples of irrational hate based on some other reason than getting beat regularly by a nationally prominent program like Duke. I can deal with someone saying they hate Duke, growing up in North Carolina you get kind of use to it, but even some of the most rabbid UNC fans don't act like some of the Maryland fans. I could be wrong, I am often wrong or so my wife likes to tell me. Perhaps it is just one of those things were you have to be there or grow up with it. I just got the sense from some of the kids interviewed that they themselves didn't really know why they hated Duke, they just did.

[mkline09]

Would be nice for ESPN to have a segment on why we like Duke.

That would just go toward showing how bias they are toward Duke. :rolleyes: ESPN would rather just irritate one fan base than seemingly the rest of them.

[Papa John]

My first reaction was this was great that this kid might be getting some comeuppance for a hateful message. But the more I thought about today I wondered if it were a bad deal for a student to get in trouble at his college for something he did which had nothing to do with the college, wasn't using college property and had no visible connection to his college. As miserable as his conduct was, how does his college have a right to control his purely private conduct?

Is no one bothered by this?

No.

It's a private institution, and they are more than welcome to enforce their code of conduct. Furthermore, Maryland actually has a cyberbullying law in place. So given that it could be argued that the kid violated said law, I think the university is acting appropriately.

[cf-62]

My first reaction was this was great that this kid might be getting some comeuppance for a hateful message. But the more I thought about today I wondered if it were a bad deal for a student to get in trouble at his college for something he did which had nothing to do with the college, wasn't using college property and had no visible connection to his college. As miserable as his conduct was, how does his college have a right to control his purely private conduct?

Is no one bothered by this?

This is a verrry interesting test case of twitter. Twitter is NOT anonymous (well, it can be, but JD Sherman chooses not to make it anonymous).

The whole world knows that a SU student has tweeted a hateful message to somebody he doesn't even know.

An administrator at the school MUST take this seriously as a sign that, at the very least, this individual has issues - and issues can lead to bigger problems.

What if this kid assaults a classmate for wearing a Pittsburgh jersey next week? What if he's playing pick-up hockey this weekend and puts an opponent in the hospital with facial injuries.

Given that the school has every indication that this individual has severe anger, discipline, and maturity issues, they MUST take action.

On the bigger issue of his tweets being free speech, there are several - um - barriers. First, of course, is the fact that he has tweeted something that borders on hate speech (on an interesting side note, it's fascinating that tiwtter doesn't ban hate tweets).

Second is the fact that, as a SU student visible to the world, he tweeted something that doesn't fit a "code of conduct," thus reflects poorly on the university, thus technically violates his code of conduct.

[Reilly]

I have no problem with a college trying to help form its students into model citizens. Seems appropriate. Seems the dean may have gone to too far in saying the kid is being called into his office. If I were the dean, I'd say: "this is distressing; my job is to look into this stuff; I'm going to do my job; thanks for the tip." I *wouldn't* say "yes, this kid goes here and yes, I'm calling *this* kid into my office." UNC has trotted out the federal education privacy laws in its football scandal defense; they do exist.

[MIKESJ73]

I sent his mom and grandmother messages via facebook. I only said that Justin sent some pretty hateful tweets and linked this site. Hopefully, they can set the kid straight.

I do think that the school should have some control over twitter. I know absolutely nothing about Salisbury University except that they have a student that sends out hateful messages.

In this day and age it is very stupid to openly send out stuff like that, it doesn't take much to look up where a person lives and works and where their friends and family live and work.

I hated Juan Dixon as much as the next guy, but never wished him harm much less let him know about it.

[moonpie23]

I have no problem with a college trying to help form its students into model citizens. Seems appropriate. Seems the dean may have gone to too far in saying the kid is being called into his office. If I were the dean, I'd say: "this is distressing; my job is to look into this stuff; I'm going to do my job; thanks for the tip." I *wouldn't* say "yes, this kid goes here and yes, I'm calling *this* kid into my office." UNC has trotted out the federal education privacy laws in its football scandal defense; they do exist.

point taken, however i WOULD call the kid in.....and have a talk with him about how his actions reflect on the university.......

now, that being said, if i were the kid (god forbid) i'd tell the dean that what i say on twitter was my responsibilty........and my right....

i guess i'm saying that we're not to the point of calling out the lawyers, but i can sure see it from here...

[CharlestonDevil]

This is a verrry interesting test case of twitter. Twitter is NOT anonymous (well, it can be, but JD Sherman chooses not to make it anonymous).

The whole world knows that a SU student has tweeted a hateful message to somebody he doesn't even know.

An administrator at the school MUST take this seriously as a sign that, at the very least, this individual has issues - and issues can lead to bigger problems.

What if this kid assaults a classmate for wearing a Pittsburgh jersey next week? What if he's playing pick-up hockey this weekend and puts an opponent in the hospital with facial injuries.

Given that the school has every indication that this individual has severe anger, discipline, and maturity issues, they MUST take action.

On the bigger issue of his tweets being free speech, there are several - um - barriers. First, of course, is the fact that he has tweeted something that borders on hate speech (on an interesting side note, it's fascinating that tiwtter doesn't ban hate tweets).

Second is the fact that, as a SU student visible to the world, he tweeted something that doesn't fit a "code of conduct," thus reflects poorly on the university, thus technically violates his code of conduct.

While every school should be concerned about the conduct of their students and their personal habits/mental well being (think VA Tech), the main reason for SU to take action is that regardless of how or where the hateful message was spread, people everywhere are connecting that university with what the kid said. Free speech and individual liberty are great and all, right up to the point where they are exercised publicly (see Tiger Woods, Ben Roethisberger).

The university can and will do whatever it wants to save its own image.

[PADukeMom]

To those who don't think this is an issue; have you forgotten Virginia Tech already? Sorry but your posts & tweets live forever on the internet.

[Duke4Ever32]

While every school should be concerned about the conduct of their students and their personal habits/mental well being (think VA Tech), the main reason for SU to take action is that regardless of how or where the hateful message was spread, people everywhere are connecting that university with what the kid said. Free speech and individual liberty are great and all, right up to the point where they are exercised publicly (see Tiger Woods, Ben Roethisberger).

The university can and will do whatever it wants to save its own image.

Thank you for stating this. I had never heard of Salisbury U. before this week, but I know for a fact that for the rest of my life, this incident with JD Sherman is going to be the first thing I think of anytime I come across it in the future. Not a good connotation and something that a Dean of a university should be concerned about, IMO.

[Reilly]

point taken, however i WOULD call the kid in.....and have a talk with him about how his actions reflect on the university.......

now, that being said, if i were the kid (god forbid) i'd tell the dean that what i say on twitter was my responsibilty........and my right....

i guess i'm saying that we're not to the point of calling out the lawyers, but i can sure see it from here...

I agree with you. Call the kid in. Just don't go telling somebody named moonpie what student disciplinary actions you have on your "to do" list today, is all.

The kid certainly has a right to say to the dean "it's my right to say x, y, z." And the dean's response should be: "Yes, you have that right; and my right and duty are to enforce the code of student conduct, and give you every due process you deserve while I take all appropriate actions against you for your betterment and the school's betterment, so you exercise your right to speak as you wish, and I'll exercise my right, as well."

Code:

http://www.salisbury.edu/judicialaffairs/docs/codeofconduct/10-11/SUStudentHandbook10_11_Draft.pdf

[Rudy]

I don't have any wish to turn this into a political board, so after this comment I'll back off.


While every school should be concerned about the conduct of their students and their personal habits/mental well being (think VA Tech), the main reason for SU to take action is that regardless of how or where the hateful message was spread, people everywhere are connecting that university with what the kid said. Free speech and individual liberty are great and all, right up to the point where they are exercised publicly (see Tiger Woods, Ben Roethisberger).
Wow, so as long as my sharp criticisms of any government leader are made in the privacy of my own home I should be happy to have my liberty in public curtailed? I don't think any less of the PGA or of Stanford because of what Tiger did. Ben is a very public member of a team and has an extra responsibility to his team, IMO. I don't judge Salisbury any worse because of this incident, nor do I see this kid as emblematic of the school. I thought he didn't make the connection known and someone had to do a little research to see where he went. Tiger reaped his punishment from public revilement and consequent loss of endorsements and personal image and from his humiliated wife divorcing him. I would not have favored the PGA taking its own disciplinary action.


The university can and will do whatever it wants to save its own image. Oh yes, anyone connected with Duke since the Lax Hoax knows this very well. Doesn't make it right or desirable. Duke and any other private university can put in whatever speech and conduct code restrictions they want, since they are not governed by the 1st Amendment. However, it would be ironic if Duke was less open to free speech or conduct than UNC could be.

They say that bad cases make bad law. IMO that's what we have in the U.Va. example. But you know what the say about opinions and Stetson hats--every _______ has them.

[Dev11]

Oh yes, anyone connected with Duke since the Lax Hoax knows this very well. Doesn't make it right or desirable. Duke and any other private university can put in whatever speech and conduct code restrictions they want, since they are not governed by the 1st Amendment.

Salisbury is a Maryland public school, within the same system (I believe) as College Park.

[PADukeMom]

Whoa...wait a second...yes you do have freedom of speech however you don't have the right to yell "fire" in a crowded theater either.
If he were my kid & I was paying for that cell phone...well...that cell phone would be gone.

[moonpie23]

I agree with you. Call the kid in. Just don't go telling somebody named moonpie what student disciplinary actions you have on your "to do" list today, is all.



whoa..the guy didn't break out the paddle with the holes in it and tell me how many licks the kid was gonna get......he basically just assured me that he was gonna meet with the kid, and that HE thought the posts WERE reflecting on the school and outside the "code of conduct"....

he was responding to my complaint.....i thought it was pretty cool...

[rasputin]

I have no problem with a college trying to help form its students into model citizens. Seems appropriate. Seems the dean may have gone to too far in saying the kid is being called into his office. If I were the dean, I'd say: "this is distressing; my job is to look into this stuff; I'm going to do my job; thanks for the tip." I *wouldn't* say "yes, this kid goes here and yes, I'm calling *this* kid into my office." UNC has trotted out the federal education privacy laws in its football scandal defense; they do exist.

The statute is the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. §1232g. The regulations, which are much easier to understand, are found at 34 CFR Part 99. One of the main requirements of the statute and regulations is that, with certain (myriad) exceptions, students' education records, including discipline records, are to be kept confidential.

[sagegrouse]

We have a student enrolled at Salisbury U. (formerly Salisbury State University), who has sent electronic messages that have been preserved that are "truly hateful and unfortunate" (my attempt at a neutral characterization).

Any deans out there in DBR land?

Anyway, the dean will summon him for a meeting because (a) that's what deans always do when they suspect a student has erred, (b) the evidence suggests a violation of the code of student conduct at Salisbury, (c) the evidence suggests that a Maryland law on "hate speech" may have been violated, or (d) the dean counsels the student on his behavior and the implications of doing something so stupid in a public forum where it will live forever. Or, probably, all of the above.

This is a student discipline issue and not a free speech or other issue of basic rights. Presumably, Maryland has very helpful state laws enabling state colleges and universities to dismiss students at their discretion "for the good of the university" or some such reason. (I suspect the student would not be dismissed if his academic and discipline record were otherwise clear, but who knows...?)

My two cents -- change freely given.

sagegrouse

[Reilly]

whoa..the guy didn't break out the paddle with the holes in it and tell me how many licks the kid was gonna get......he basically just assured me that he was gonna meet with the kid, and that HE thought the posts WERE reflecting on the school and outside the "code of conduct"....

he was responding to my complaint.....i thought it was pretty cool...

It's cool you stuck up for Nolan and possibly helped this kid to get on a good/better path. It's cool the dean listened to you. One small sliver of the whole tale is potentially problematic: disclosing information (even info as innocent as 'yes, X is a student here' might be an issue [not positive, haven't read the regs]). That's all. I'm glad the dean is doing his job and taking it seriously. Just pointing out the possibly troublesome disclosure aspect.

[rasputin]

It's cool you stuck up for Nolan and possibly helped this kid to get on a good/better path. It's cool the dean listened to you. One small sliver of the whole tale is potentially problematic: disclosing information (even info as innocent as 'yes, X is a student here' might be an issue [not positive, haven't read the regs]). That's all. I'm glad the dean is doing his job and taking it seriously. Just pointing out the possibly troublesome disclosure aspect.

A student's enrollment status is considered "directory information" which can generally be disclosed to the outside world provided that the school has previously put the student/parent on notice of the possible disclosure, and provided that the student/parent did not previously object to the possible disclosure.

[Reilly]

Thanks, Rasputin. Maybe the directory disclosure OK, but something like I'm calling him into my office is not, as least not without permission? The regs:
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=afb9e3b2d8771e42f1d008b70a5edd27&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title34/34cfr99_main_02.tpl

[CharlestonDevil]

Wow, so as long as my sharp criticisms of any government leader are made in the privacy of my own home I should be happy to have my liberty in public curtailed?

No, but the fact of the matter is there is no privacy in today's world thanks to Facebook and Twitter. My emphasis here wasn't on the personal freedom issue, it was merely an observation that you can't say or do anything you want because A) someone else is going to know and B) your actions affect more than just yourself, which bring about repercussions.



I don't think any less of the PGA or of Stanford because of what Tiger did.

No, but his sponsors certainly did. And just as Tiger lost millions (maybe billions) in sponsorships, this kid should have to deal with any punishment Salisbury deems necessary to save their reputation. If this was the only thing I ever knew about the university what kind of opinion would I have? (perfect Duke Lax example, except they weren't guilty)

[-jk]

I think we can let the school handle this now.

-jk