i went on twitter and literally went WHO ARE THESE DUDES and then like two minutes later mike was like "it's me. i'm that dude"

its not exactly woodward and bernstein but, well...

it's surprisingly easier to copy and paste responses from twitter than from a phone conversation

*Cardale

it is probably the worst cover of a good song that i have ever heard in my life

no no no, tell them sparty is now THEIR rival for the same reasons. i PROMISE you that will make them way more annoyed

I think this is a valid point, although I don't necessarily agree. ultimately you're right: it's a thin line and if people disagree with the content of a post, they should be able to say so (within reason). we try and navigate that line as best we can. where I disagree (somewhat) is about content. one of the things that always comes to my mind when something like this pops up is the interview tressel gave to an LBGTQ publication several years ago, the first (and as of now, one of the only) coaches to do so. while that story has obvious political and social meaning, it was also a hugely significant news story. if urban did the same thing, we'd be insane not to report on it, and yet there are tons of people who would say we shouldn't. ultimately we're a news organization, and tyreke smiths actions are newsworthy. we will report on stories like this ten times out of ten. I appreciate commenters putting us in check if we editorialize too much, but we also can't allow people who don't like the news content to use the comments as a platform for bigotry. knowing the line between that and honest dissent is tricky, and I again appreciate thoughtful commenters like yourself for helping us do better.

to your point, this is probably the only thing of value I've written for this site: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-state-athletics/2014/04/34905/sad-strange-tale-jesse-owens

just because you don't agree with the message or how its presented doesn't change the fact that it is indeed activism. no one cares about your truck, but this conversation (and your participation in it) shows that people certainly care about his comments. i know admitting that would make it harder to dismiss his points without engaging with them, but that you seem to be struggling so much with his message tells me that it's being directed exactly to where it needs to go.

wearing a t shirt, giving interviews about it on websites that reach thousands, and explaining your point of view about social issues to a large audience absolutely is activism.

it is very easy to say that when doing the right thing is encouraged and expected. it is very easy to say that when cultures, structures, and institutions aren't all telling you from birth that you're a potential criminal. that's a hard thing to escape from when you carry it with you your whole life, and when you see black men being killed by police despite showing no threat and breaking no laws, and you watch as the officer who did it faces no repercussions? when you see one group of americans consuming illegal drugs at the same rate your community is, and yet you and your friends are incarcerated at nine times the rate others are? i had a student tell me once that in a few hours of walking around clintonville on a saturday afternoon, alone, he was stopped four times by police and asked to explain what he was doing. in 32 years, that's never happened to me once. i don't know how I'd feel about the police or myself if I had to put up with that on a regular basis. all I'm asking is that you try to put yourself in his shoes.

that's my bad, i accidentally DVed when I meant to UV. and while I think I agree with his point (assuming 2 is what he believes to be the valid view), being less obtuse when discussing a serious issue is probably the better move