• March 28, 2024

Calhoun & Ramirez Are Both Caught Cheating, But Why Are They Treated Differently

Isn’t amazing how Major League Baseball can celebrate a suspended cheater like UConn head coach Jim Calhoun and let him throw out the first ball before a New York Yankees versus Boston Red Sox baseball game? It’s a paradox.

I was listening to ESPN this morning and they were talking to college basketball analyst Dick Vitale about former Red Sox and Dodgers’ outfielder Manny Ramirez and the way his career-ended. They asked Vitale if he thought Rimirez deserved to be a Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Immediately Vitale started ripping into Ramirez and the fact that he didn’t belong in the MLB Hall of Fame because he was a cheater. He talked about how disgusted he was that this outfielder would cheat the game of baseball. Vitale attacked his lack of character and the fact that he had failed the league’s substance abuse rules.

I’ve heard this same Dick Vitale have no problem praising the likes of UConn head coach Jim Calhoun, who recently won his third National Championship, but got caught cheating this past off season. Notice that he’s able to coach the meaningful games of the NCAA tournament even though they had caught him cheating.

Vitale starts rolling off superlatives at the mention of Calhoun’s name. You would think that this man had descended from heaven once Vitale starts talking about him.

Calhoun has to sit out the first eight games of the start of the 2011-12 college basketball season because he was caught breaking the rules and corrupting a young man who was considering attending UConn and playing basketball. There’s another young recruit who claims Calhoun was offering him goodies to attend UConn.

Isn’t cheating in basketball equal to cheating in baseball? Is it wrong to cheat in baseball but not as wrong to cheat in basketball?

Why does one person get a pass, while another person gets treated like they’re a piece of garbage? Aren’t both of them just as wrong for cheating? Should one be allowed in the Hall of Fame, but the other not allowed?

Don’t tell me that one of them is a role model but the other isn’t. Didn’t both of them set bad examples for the youngsters of our country? Why do we treat them differently?

I guarantee you that Calhoun and Ramirez both knew that what they were doing was wrong. I don’t know either one of them and haven’t met either one of them.

I’m not saying that Jim Calhoun is a bad person or that Manny Ramirez is a good person, but I do know that both of them got caught cheating, but one is being treated like a hero and the other is being treated like a leper.

How is it right to celebrate one of them and condemn the other?

What do you think?

GCOBB

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reed_richards
reed_richards
April 12, 2011 9:25 am

G,

If you gotta ask, then you already know. the “good old boys” look out for each other….

stopgoat
stopgoat
April 12, 2011 9:44 am

They are treated differently because one coaches the game, and one plays the game using performance enhancing drugs. Don’t you think is Calhoun was providing PEDs to college players they would treat him differently. Everyone knows these kids get a bunch of underhanded crap from everywhere. I know some OSU football players, and players on the team get a 200 dollar allowance a week. Somehow, that doesnt seem right, yet it goes on everywhere. Get over the college game G. Its corrupt, and there is nothing we can do about it. Manny cheated the game, his teamates and himself. His ridiculous arrogance lead to 2 failed drug tests, the ONLY person in the history of the sport to test positive twice. Calhoun may cheat, but he isnt buling up kemba with PEDs so he drops 50 a game. Ramirez stained the game. Baseball is busy trying to repair its image, and in one swoop, manny has set them back a few years because that doubt is back. IE Jose Batista

Rasheed1
Rasheed1
April 12, 2011 10:14 am

I understand exactly what you are saying Garry and much respect to you for saying it…

it doesnt matter if one cheater is a coach and the other is a player… Personally I think is the biggest joke of a sport around today, but thats just me… I respect nothing they do… hope the phillies win and all that but baseball is the sport of clowns…. NCAA bball is not much better…

schiller
schiller
April 12, 2011 10:24 am

For Manny, it’s his 3rd major offense, and nobody is beating the guy up – he’s making a spectacle because of how he’s handling it. And the Rays didn’t just win the series. Quite different.

Point was worth bringing up. But this is not about race, double standards or anything. It’s apples and oranges.

Erock
Erock
April 12, 2011 10:29 am

Calhoun is a scumbag because he risked a young mans future for his own selfish reasons. Its against the rules and is cheating and the fact he is suspended next season and still gets viewed on Knight or Coach K’s level is a joke. So what your friends get a couple bucks a week…they deserve it or dont ..who cares. The bottomline is they’re getting a free education. Thats why i dont see paying any of these dudes. They get stypins…free education!!!FREE!!!College isnt free to anyone in this country…at least not as cheap as it should be if we’re ever gonna fix out educational standards. And then some of these a$$holes leave college and do nothing. Mannys an idiot anyway…dude quit on 3 teams and did the same thing and got caught twice!!!

You sound like a parent who comes to the school and his kids in trouble and your saying…well at least he’s not doing what THAT little kid did.It’s cheating…its worng and no matter the level your still a cheater.

Erock
Erock
April 12, 2011 10:47 am

You have to be on something to rock that dew like that.Dude looks like a rastafar.

pheags88
pheags88
April 12, 2011 11:19 am

G, Here you go again. Who is treating Calhoun like a hero? Because he threw out the first pitch in baseball game? Give me a break. What you failed to mention is that the school has been put on probation for two years, scholarships were reduced, along with the Calhoun suspension. You act as if they gave Calhoun the Nobel Peace Prize and gave Ramirez life in prison without parole.

Manny Ramirez is a complete ass who’s own personal actions and poor conduct has given people reason to view him the way they do from his past. He quit on his former teammates and has already been caught cheating in the past. Calhoun is a cancer survivor who would come out of the hospital to coach his team when they needed him. Who do you think is going to be favored better in the media?

And if you think this is about race then your a idiot. Mark Miguire has never even tested positive but will never get into the HOF. Ramirez has actually tested positive how many times now? Manny has no chance. Or even Pete Rose who is completey baned from the game for doing something in my opnion that is nowhere near as bad as sticking drugs into your body to completely cheat the game and catch HR records.

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
April 12, 2011 12:14 pm

Calhoun never cheated AT the game, he just cheated other teams from having the same chances of acquiring the talent he acquired. There’s a difference.

Using PED’s and buying players to come to your school are two completely different scenarios and it’s utterly ridiculous that this is being used as a comparison.

jakedog
jakedog
April 12, 2011 12:50 pm

Calhoun has pretty good mechanics for an old dude, good pitching form, thanks for sharing

Erock
Erock
April 12, 2011 1:14 pm

It’s cheating Birdo…it damages the integrity of the sport.

Cause he never cheated AT the game? Ok dude…that my make sense to you and i respect your opinion but he did something that was against the rules. So did Manny.So there cheaters…scumbags and whatever else you wanna call em. Manny is a punk who shows some of the attitude that some players have nowadays…ALL ME.Catered to and surrounded by a$$kisses.And Calhoun talking to or paying players shows his program is dirty so in the end he’s hurting his own image.

Erock
Erock
April 12, 2011 1:18 pm

Your using ped’s to enhance your performance …hence improving your chances to win and help your squad. Your not giving other teams the same chance to have the kid come and play for there school. In the end it effects wins and losses.

He’s not comparing the offenses…he’s comparing the way the media chooses to rip Manny up for his attitude and his actions and let Calhoun slide cause he apologized and won a title.

Gotta Luv It
Gotta Luv It
April 12, 2011 1:22 pm

Like Elizabeth Taylor said ” There is no deodorant like success.”

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
April 12, 2011 1:40 pm

It’s comparing apples and oranges. Ok, so they both “cheated”. If I killed a man and you went 10 years with unpaid parking tickets, that makes us both criminals in a sense — should we be treated the same?

Erock
Erock
April 12, 2011 4:11 pm

That comparison is just garbage. Nuff said.

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
April 12, 2011 4:16 pm

Thats what I say when I get owned too.

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
April 12, 2011 4:17 pm

And yes, that comparison is garbage…..just like comparing a coach who “illegally” woo’ed some players to his team (which doesn’t gauruntee success) to a guy that took steroids (which directly contributed to his success) and actually PLAYED the game.

Erock
Erock
April 12, 2011 5:34 pm

They both cheated..you cant argue that.

Getting owned? Wtf are you a jarhead or fresh outta h.s.? You owned me?You took ownership of this argument?HAHAHAHAHAHA.

I own tools and know one when I see one.

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
April 12, 2011 5:54 pm

Actually yes, you are correct — I am a jarhead.

And you have been owned.

Godson
Godson
April 12, 2011 9:43 pm

I see where G is headed with this…… We are talking about 2 different sports. Ramirez gets treated like every other MLB player who cheats. Its like saying why does Cam Newton get treated any different than Ramirez.

slice3186
slice3186
April 12, 2011 10:48 pm

You really do not see a difference here?

Manny was caught using PEDs THREE times!. Calhoun was cited for improper contact and not creating an atmosphere of compliance. Calhoun was talking to a kid that had already verbally committed more often than was allowed. The only reason the kid came forward with this information was because he was kicked off the team for several offences (unwanted sexual advanced and posession of marajuanna). I happen to know an ex-duke basketball player who received several emails a day from coach K prior to his senior season in HS.

I am not condoning what happens in college sports, but the illegal activity is rampant. Also, for as much of a jerk as calhoun comes off as, he is a cancer survivor several times over and a humanitarian (he has some sort of cancer research fund). This also comes into play when you speak to public perception. Yes they both broke rules, but you are comparing two very different crimes here. Yes, I am a Uconn grad, but there is a glaring hole between these two offences and these two as people.

FanSince1960
FanSince1960
April 13, 2011 1:21 am

Both are cheaters. Both suck.

paulman
paulman
April 13, 2011 10:15 am

Talk about Double Standard, former LB Lawrence Taylor gets “Lowest Level”
category as a Sex Offense (Level I), because of his name and fame and the fact that he still able to generate $$ and can afford a good lawyer ..
What a scumbag .. .Our Judiciary system is not about Black,White, Hispanic,Red or any other ethnic Origins.. It’s about the color “Green” and who can afford good lawyers..
It..

jakedog
jakedog
April 13, 2011 11:20 am

absolutely correct paulman, see also OJ Simpson

RonGlover
April 13, 2011 11:39 am

Only the NCAA has as many hypocrisies in it’s history as MLB.

Gotta Luv It
Gotta Luv It
April 13, 2011 11:52 am

Paulman is INCORRECT no double standard he was givin the Level 1 status because
Judge William Kelly heard arguments from the district attorney’s office, which requested Level 2 status, and Taylor’s attorney Arthur Aidala, who argued for Level 1, the lowest level.

After listening to both sides, Kelly said the main consideration was the likelihood that Taylor was a threat to public safety and would repeat his crime.

“I frankly don’t think that is likely,” Kelly said, ruling from the bench.

Godson
Godson
April 13, 2011 12:57 pm

Why does Jalen Rose get treated different than Rush Limbaugh? Is it because certain people are really sensitive? Why does Rose still have a job?

schiller
schiller
April 13, 2011 1:13 pm

Rose doesn’t still have a job, and he gets treated differently because Rose said 1 thing about class/race, once. Whereas Limbaugh has made a career of preaching racism, classim, hate, prejudice, intolerance etc…. accross all aspects of population.

Godson, seriously!?

Godson
Godson
April 13, 2011 1:31 pm

Im just throwing some things out there like G did with Comparing Calhoun and Ramirez. That is my point that some things you cannot compare.