Pack93z
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16 years ago
Albeit a different sport and a much younger player.. but it stops and makes you think for a second... what if Daryn Colledge read me scorching him for his lack of focus.. or Hawk for me calling him a pansy ass..

I think I may start to follow this story.. just to see how it plays out.. feel bad for a 16 year old kid though.

Source... 

Sticks and stones will break your bones but words will never hurt you.

Unless, of course, you're Vander Blue.

In that case, the words hurt.

And it was only a matter of time before we got here, wasn't it?

"These so-called Wisconsin fans, what they had to say on those [message boards], it really made me second-guess: Do people really want me here?" Blue told Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "Because I know if I was a fan and I heard about a recruit [who might be struggling academically], I'd be more like: 'What can we do to help him?' And not, 'Let's make him feel like the worst person in Madison right now.'"

Vander Blue decommitted from Wisconsin earlier this week.

It was not national news.

He is not John Wall.

But what made it a national story -- and perhaps a lesson for the uncivilized world of message boards, if we're lucky -- is that the decommitment was prefaced by a story about the Madison native's alleged academic woes, which led to some Wisconsin fans spending their days publicly bashing the Class of 2010 standout on the Internet. They questioned his attitude, character and intelligence. And guess what? Vander Blue read it and it bothered him.

He is 16 years old, by the way.

"I felt like I was in a corner, trapped and I couldn't get out," Blue told the Milwaukee paper. "I just felt like it was so unnecessary. I don't think I'm that worse of a guy. Sometimes I might be tired and have a little attitude, [but] I don't think I'm a horrible person.

"Forty year-old adults talking about somebody who don't got their license yet; I just felt it was so unnecessary," Blue added. "Picture yourself in my position. Rumors going around, you're just keeping quiet. And you read the article and 1,000 people [are] throwing you under the bus."

It would be easy to spend the next 250 words killing Wisconsin fans.

It would also miss the larger point.

Because this is not a story about Blue and Wisconsin as much as it's a story about message boards, and how total anonymity allows people to attack and attack and attack with little regard for the folks they are attacking. On a personal level, I can't tell you how many wild (and anonymous) words are written about me each month either on message boards or via e-mail; words that question my integrity, background, education, sexuality, hairstyle (that one's open for criticism, I suppose) and anything else you can imagine. Every once in a while, I actually take the time to respond in the most reasonable way I know. And more times than not, I get a response within hours from somebody apologizing and explaining how they would've never been so rude or brash or ignorant if they really believed I would read it.

Well, I got news for you: I read it.

As does Vander Blue.

And though I'm an adult with a high-profile job who is by definition fair game, Vander Blue is -- as he put it -- "somebody who don't got their license yet." He has not graced magazine covers, played on national television, appeared in police blotters or done anything to make himself a target. The only notable things about him are that he's pretty good at basketball, and that he has committed to and decommitted from Bo Ryan's Wisconsin program. That's it. And yet dozens if not hundreds if not thousands of people -- some of whom are most certainly adults with children of their own -- have spent this week trashing Blue and everything about him to the point where it's reasonable to presume they've hurt the future recruitment of the prospect they once believed would lead the Badgers to Big Ten titles.

That's the kicker, you see.

Though Blue decommitted from Wisconsin, he never eliminated Wisconsin from his list of potential destinations. Rather, he just said he wanted to take another look around and make sure everything was a right fit because he committed when he was only 15. Makes sense to me. It probably makes sense to most people. But his wavering didn't make sense to some Wisconsin fans, and they responded with personal attacks that led to a good old-fashioned your-school-sucks/no-your-school-sucks war on a message board with Marquette fans. Poor Vander Blue just caught in the middle, young Vander Blue now scarred by the wrath of the same people he thought loved him just weeks ago.

He said it all made him feel like the "worst person in Madison."

But I suspect some anonymous posters have a better hold on that label.


"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"
RaiderPride
16 years ago
Vander Blue should grow up, study, and stop wasting his time on sports forurms.

What a loser.
""People Will Probably Never Remember What You Said, And May Never Remember What You Did. However, People Will Always Remember How You Made Them Feel."
Cheesey
16 years ago
"Who don't got thier license yet"
I hope his english teacher did better with her other students.
UserPostedImage
Trippster
16 years ago
I think Raider was being sarcastic and joking.

I hope Cheesey is joking too.

Otherwise, they missed the whole point of the article and how closely it relates to this very forum.

Post what you would say to some one's face.

Make your comments in a manner that you could accept being said to you.

Comments on these forums can and do hurt peoples feelings and can be damaging to a person's self image. In extreme cases it has been a large influence on a recipient's decision to commit suicide.

One of the best things of this Forum is for the most part, we respect each other. However we must remember that regardless of who we are posting about, whether it be a nother member, a troll, or even an athlete, it is very possible that that athlete might be reading our post.

As a parent, I have learned probably the most important rule in raising my son (and I think Cheesey can attest that he turned out pretty well). Everytime you act, react, or say something to your child, you are influencing their behavior or self image. you are the 24 hour teacher. Every act teaches them something be it good or bad. I don't think it is any different here. Every post influences someone one way or another.

Question I pose to everyone in this Forum; How do you want to influence those that read your post, positively or negatively.

Do you get more joy from helping someone or destroying them? :-k

<<<steps down from soap box>>>
"Let Your Light Shine!"
Formo
16 years ago
I hope young Mr. Blue goes on to play at another Big 10 (or Marquette) school, and rips up the conference.

Although, I will say, the Wisconsin fans ripping into him, does not surprise me. In my personal experience, Wisconsin fans have always been the most class and tasteless fans I've met. (So far, no one here is in that category, but that could still be up in the air.. lol)

And RP, I know you are king of the sarcasm 'round deese parts.. so I hope your post was in that same tone. I'd hate to think you were just ripping into a 16 year old basketball player.
UserPostedImage
Thanks to TheViking88 for the sig!!
Cheesey
16 years ago
Yes Trippmeister, i be joking!
UserPostedImage
djcubez
16 years ago
Too bad I already wrote my cyberethics paper because this is perfect subject matter.

I wrote a lot of responses in my class, most of which centered around my opinion that conflicts arise on the internet because the complete anonymity it grants it's users. However, the interesting part is how willing people are to compromise their privacy to social networking sites like facebook and myspace. Did you know that when you join a place like facebook you agree to terms that bind you to the legality of all your photos, yet at the same time you're trading in your rights to those photos to facebook? Essentially, if you upload a photo that's illicit, you take the fall, but if you upload a truly fascinating picture, they can claim the rights away from you. The internet is full of fallacies like this so I warn you all to be careful.

Hopefully Zero hasn't writting in any binding terms in his "I agree" conditions 😉
4PackGirl
16 years ago
trippy - most excellent post. one thing to remember is that perfection in parenting will NEVER happen & mistakes are made - the true test is how you handle the mistakes & how much effort you put into NOT making the same ones again.

ex: one of my twins is playing pinto league baseball this season. every practice i've been so proud of him - simply paying attention to the coach & hustling are total awesomeness when you're 6! however, his last practice he was neither attentive nor hustling & it was driving me NUTS! finally, i yelled at him to "RUN!!!!" which nearly dissolved him to tears. i vowed from that moment on to never...EVER holler at him during practice or games again. i don't want to one of "those" mommies. he's got a coach to guide him so i'm shuttin the truck up! 😃
alharrisdude31
16 years ago

Vander Blue should grow up, study, and stop wasting his time on sports forurms.

What a loser.

"RaiderPride" wrote:

exactly
vegOmatic
16 years ago
Only losers post in internet forums but they're better than the ultimate losers who actually care what is posted. 😛
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