Still Fab, Fifteen Years Later

I saw this billboard when I was scouring the Internet a few weeks ago but I didn't have a reason to post until one intrepid (like a Dodge) reader sent me a link to Jemele Hill's latest offering on Page 2. As a way of background, Jalen Rose paid for this billboard to be posted along a freeway in Detroit last December, and it has stirred a little controversy as of late, apparently because no one saw it until the freeway opened back up again. (Note to those who advertise on closed roads/freeways).

Jemele is from "the D" and from her article, appears to have love for Jalen. But I disagree with a few things she said.

First, she poses the question:

What was Rose thinking with the billboard, which has the five players' jerseys and the word "Timeless" underneath? Did he not get that, while the Fab Five gave college basketball a flair and style that has yet to be duplicated, the colossal damage inflicted by scandal-stained reputations indirectly contributed to Michigan basketball's being irrelevant for nearly a decade?

She is referring to all the hubbub that occurred following an investigation into the alleged money laundering and other illegal activities of one Ed Martin, who was what one calls a "booster" - literally, one who helps boost the team by giving it (and sometimes the players, as it seems) money. The investigation led to the revelation that Martin loaned (to be repaid upon turning pro) over $600,000 to several Michigan basketball players over the course of nearly 10 years, including approximately $280,000 to Chris Webber, who eventually pled guilty to obstruction of justice for lying to the grand jury about his involvement with Martin. The three other players to whom it was shown Martin gave money were Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor, and Louis Bullock. Michigan's Coach Steve Fisher was fired after it was shown that he gave Martin free tickets. Rather than face punishment from the NCAA, Michigan sanctioned itself, including (courtesy of Wikipedia):

• No postseason play in 2002-03, even though the players who took Martin's money were no longer at the school.

• The school forfeited the entire 1992-93 season and every game it played from the 1995-96 season through the 1998-99 season. This included the 1997 National Invitation Tournament title and the 1998 Big Ten Tournament title. It also vacated its two Final Four games in 1992 and its entire NCAA tournament record in 1993, 1996, 1998 and 1999. All told, Michigan forfeited 112 wins.

• Returning $450,000 received from the NCAA for postseason play in 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999.

• Banners commemorating the 1992 and 1993 Final Four runs, the 1997 NIT title and 1998 Big Ten Tournament title would be removed from the rafters at Crisler Arena.

• Two years' probation.

Shortly thereafter, the school deleted all reference to Webber, Taylor, Traylor, and Bullock from Michigan's records.

The NCAA apparently felt that they didn't go far enough, and sanctioned the team for an additional two years, docked it a scholarship from 2004 to 2008, ordered Michigan to keep away from Webber, Traylor, Taylor and Bullock until 2012.


Yep. Long sordid story. Back to Jemele's article.


So given all of this history behind the billboard, Jemele talks to Jalen himself about it. He tells her that he felt that they deserved to be honored and not discarded as if they didn't exist, and that he probably wouldn't have been able to post this billboard in Ann Arbor. They weren't angels, he says, but on the other hand:

What bothers me is that, at the end of the day, the checks that changed hands, from sponsors to everyone else, those were cashed," Rose said. "No checks were returned."

Jemele responds that they were ordered to give back $450,000, but says she understands his point, and that the longer she listens to Jalen explain the hypocrisy of what happened in the Michigan scandal, the more it starts (to her dismay) to make sense.

But does she really understand? She ends the article with the following:

Maybe this billboard isn't the end of the world, as Manny Ramirez would say. I know. I waffled. Don't worry, Rose and I will always disagree on a few things. College athletes do operate in an unfair system that allows them to be exploited, but it's the fairest system we have. It's still not an excuse for players to not follow the rules.

But preserving a memory? I've got no problem with that.

Actually, I think you do have a problem with preserving a memory, Jemele. Your first question and the above statement leads me to believe that you think there is something wrong with Jalen putting up the billboard because the Fab Five (including Jalen, who admitted to taking "pocket money" from Martin) "tarnished" the Michigan name and tainted the hallowed halls of college basketball with their conduct.

First off, Jemele went to Michigan State, so as much as she tried to hide it, I'm sure she never felt much sympathy for the Wolverines.

But the real issue is with the implication that these young college-aged kids are to blame for what happened to them. You take kids, often with little or no money, put them around millionaires (including sponsors, boosters, sports TV execs, other students, etc.) who can't wait to make a buck or a million more off of them, who are willing to give them a taste of the good life in order to make themselves richer in the long run, and then expect them to act like they don't see it. As much as I think I have a lot of integrity, I don't know what I would have done in a similar situation.

And so the University of Michigan and the NCAA would rather sell out its players and act like this is the first time this has ever happened, like this is the worst case of this ever happening, like they really didn't know it was happening, and Michigan happily cuts all ties with those "money-grubbing players"? Give me a break.

Who should be held more responsible: 50 year old men with the money, or 18-year olds with no money?

You all know my feelings on how the NCAA treats its "student athletes." It's all a sham. Whether people want to admit it or not, this exact same Michigan situation is happening all over the country as I type this. The NCAA can try to turn a blind eye to it, but I firmly believe they know what's going on.

Perhaps the Michigan situation is worse only because it actually came to light, which was only because the guy who had the money (Martin) made it illegally. Had he made his money on top of the table, Rose, Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson would likely still have their banners, still have their records, and still have their respect for being arguably the most talented (talent doesn't always win championships), and indisputably the most influential college basketball team in the history of the game.

But instead, Ed Martin was caught, and the Fab Five got caught up with him . . . erased from the history books as if we never saw them play.

Unfortunately for the NCAA, they can never be erased from our memories (or the Internet). And thankfully, 15 years after they first stepped on the scene (man, I am getting old!), Jalen Rose had the awesome audacity to make sure that that memory stays alive in the place where people admired them the most: home.

Because home understands. Home understands where these kids came from. Home understands what they went through when they were thrown in an environment with kids who were driving nice cars and wearing designer clothes. Home understands that, whether you're rich or whether you're poor, money is hard to ignore when it's thrown in your face. Home understands that the people who made the most money off of these kids never shoulder any responsibility whatsoever for any NCAA violations, and, as Jalen pointed out, never gave a dime of it back. Home understands that the people who end up taking the blame are not always the ones to blame.

Jemele may be from the same neighborhood as Jalen, may even return to Michigan to live when she retires, but until she fully acknowledges the utter hypocrisy and intense pressure faced by many of the top-recruited college athletes to bend the rules, she'll always be far away from home.