Stu Docu Nebraska Wrestling Scandal PDF

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A detailed description on the Nebraska wrestling scandal with sources....

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Moore 1 Christian Moore Mrs. Levenson Argument and Persuasion 8/12/17

The Nebraska Wrestling Scandal The University of Nebraska has always taken pride in its historic and elite wrestling team, but unfortunately for the Huskers it’s home to one of the biggest wrestling scandals in the nation. Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan were both teammates at the University of NebraskaLincoln for wrestling. Back in 2007, Donahoe had won a National Championship for his weight class at 125 pounds and he had plans to win a second one the next year. However, those plans were cut short when a phone call from a parent tipped off university officials about Donahoe and Jordan appearing on a pornapgraphic website called Fratmen.tv. The website contained nude photos of both Donahoe and Jordan and a very explicit video of Donahoe masturbating on bed sheets facing a patio window. The producers of the website covered up a tattoo of Donahoe’s last name on his torso but failed to cover up a tattoo of Nebraska’s trademark black-and-red “N” on his left thigh. None of it mattered for Nebraska’s head coach Mark Manning because once the images of the boys hit his desk, it was all over for the both of them. Manning had recognized Donahoe and Jordan instantly and in August of 2008, the summer before their senior year, coach Manning kicked both Jordan and his National Champion off the team. Both wrestlers said that a producer from Fratmen.tv contacted them through their Facebook and MySpace accounts asking if they wanted to make some money and score a free Moore 2

trip to Los Angeles by posing for some pictures. Following his dismissal from the team, Donahoe felt as if he did nothing wrong and said that he was actually a victim of a double standard that allows other athletes to get away with worse actions such as drinking or sexual harassment. He soon sent a string of accusations against his teammates, the coaches and the athletic director that had led to an internal investigation. And soon enough it lead to Donahoe’s departure from Lincoln as he left Nebraska the day after being kicked off the team. Arguments and questions can be raised on the outcome of this case and if Donahoe really was part of a double standard. He was right when saying that there were athletes at Nebraska who have done worse than pornagraphic images and some of his own teammates were apart of it. Overall, the issue question that comes from this scandal is should Donahoe and Jordan have been kicked off the team and then dismissed from Nebraska? My claim regarding this decision is that both wrestlers should have indeed been dismissed from the team. When someone puts up something on the internet it’s there forever and available for the entire world to see. And once people find out a school is involved, it reflects badly on the students who attend the university and the whole community. When Paul Donahoe was in the pornagraphic video his tattoo of the Nebraska “N” was still visible portraying that he was just another party loving student. It was even worse for the whole state because Nebraska is one of the nation’s most conservative states in the country and when this showed up, it completely shocked the entire community. Former Nebraska football player and radio show co-host, Jason Peter, stated “When you think of the porn industry they probably think it’s either Los Angeles or Las Vegas. But in your own backyard, I think it shocked people a little bit. I’m sure a lot of people were wondering Moore 3 ‘How did they come to this decision?’”. When people receive word about students involved in

pornagraphic websites it doesn’t just make them look bad but it changes everyone’s perspective about them. This scandal also violated several NCAA rules. According to Nebraska officials it’s against the rules for an athlete to take money to promote his image and can ultimately result in a loss of eligibility. For Donahoe he was able to reinstate his eligibility by paying $3500 which was the value of his earnings and for the trip to L.A. This wasn’t the first time he was in violation of the rules. Donahoe and a few other of his teammates had sold ipods they had received as gifts after a Big 12 tournament. He even admitted to it, stating “I mean I sold an iPod, I had a party at my house and I took naked photos”. Even after that statement he still didn’t believe he did anything wrong. Even if he managed to get away with violating NCAA rules, coach Manning was done with Donahoe anyway. He was in violation of multiple team rules set up by the coaches, NCAA violations that he manage to get away with and the disregard for academic rules and standards set out for the team. This kind of behavior became a really bad influence for the younger wrestlers. After winning a national championship upcoming athletes needed someone to look up to and Donahoe was setting a bad example making it seem like it was okay to act out and misbehave. Donahoe also had quite the rap sheet off the mat. In April of 2008 he was arrested for hosting a house party and, in a separate incident, he was cited by the police for having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle. Donahoe also had two fights with his ex-girlfriend, one of the them resulting in multiple 911 calls from her phone. Coach Manning stated that “After nationals I was Moore 4 hoping he would clean up his act and realize he was a national champ and start living the life that he should. But there wasn’t much of change”. It didn’t matter if it was pornagraphic images,

problems with his academics or a little scuffle with the police. One more screw up was more than enough to dismiss Donahoe from the team. Keep in mind Manning did try to help Paul. For four years the two have had a very good relationship on and off the mat and in that time coach Manning has tried to help Donahoe grow and mature. Manning said “I really care for Paul and some people probably fault me for that. I spent four years trying to help him mature and provide very much of a family atmosphere for him, and I’m sure he’s hurt because of that”. Even with the coach’s support nothing could have helped Donahoe or any of the other wrestlers at the time. My overall claim is that both Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan should be dismissed from the University of Nebraska. Both of them have made some bad decisions during their college careers such as getting trouble with the police, violating NCAA rules and going against everything their wrestling team stood for. Also, being in one of the most conservative states in the nation, the university doesn’t need the type of embarrassment brought on from a scandal like this. Leaving Lincoln would be the best choice for Donahoe and Jordan because this isn’t the first time these boys have acted out. It’s just the first time they got caught.

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Work Cited http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=4242983 http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/samf/genrel/auto_pdf/Media_Internet_Sites.pdf

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college-wrestler-battles-scandal-paul-donahoe-received-asecond-chance/article_8ca2e6c4-fc8b-5226-96c5-1a2c16b2ea16.html...