Cheat To Win

Like you thought I was going to let this story go…

The University of North Carolina’s academic fraud scandal has deepened and widened, and local officials have done the sensible thing in locating a fall guy. A brief refresher on why they need one: In December, an investigation officially found what had seemed probable from Julis Peppers’unintentionally public transcript: That many students, but particularly student-athletes, had received GPA-boosting grades in essentially bogus classes. They were passing despite being dramatically beneath the academic standards (as in, suffering from“serious literacy deficits”) that ostensibly prevail at UNC. Former North Carolina Governor Jim Martin led an investigation into UNC that turned up a lone solid mitigating factor for UNC’s administration and athletic department: some “athletic officials and academic support officials” had “raised questions with the Faculty Committee on Athletics” about these easy-A classes in the past. Earlier this month, Martin and his team of investigators retracted that finding.

Gawker Media on Monday named new editors for two of its most prominent sites, the flagship Gawker and the sports and men’s lifestyle site Deadspin.

Remy Stern, the editor of Gawker for nearly two years, will be replaced by A. J. Daulerio, who has edited Deadspin for the last three and a half years. Mr. Daulerio, in turn, will be replaced by the senior editor of Deadspin, Tommy Craggs. The moves will take effect on Jan. 1.

Look, I love AJ Daulerio and everything, but I’m fairly certain there is nothing he can do that will make me want to read Gawker again.  Unless he fires Brian Moylan and Zack Rosen and stops publishing such inflammatory, offensive, unfounded “articles.”

I know. Fat chance.  It is Gawker Media after all.

Source: NY Times

It’s been pointed out that this clip, taken from the 2009 Doha Championship in Qatar, would have been played under the International Tennis Federation (ITF) rules, and that last night’s ruling—made by the same chair umpire, Eva Asderakia—was in accordance with the Women’s Tennis Association’s (WTA) guidelines. We presume that the two organizations treat these situations differently. Still, it’s fascinating to see how the situation was treated then, as it might help us better understand Williams’s confusion and frustration with the call: Asderakia immediately called a hindrance, and then allowed for a replay of the same point, and everyone laughed good-naturedly like they were old buddies who would now share an inside joke.

Last night, Aserakia [sic] called the hindrance on what appeared to be a forehand winner for Williams, and which would have set the score at deuce in the first game of the second set—but there was no replay, and there were no LOLs. Sam Stosur was given the point, the game, and she’d go on to take the match. Williams, meanwhile, may face a fine or suspension for calling Aserakia a “hater.”

Again, I want to simply bring up the point here that Serena was legitimately confused about why she had been called the fault.  This post on Deadspin helps to clarify why it was that she reacted so obstinately.

I don’t find her reaction to be appropriate, but I think the righteous indignation in the press and pop culture (I saw one commenter call her a “classless thug”) has certainly been related to her gender and, to a certain extent, her race.

Well done, Deadspin. AJ Daulerio continues to inspire.