My two cents' worth Re: Demjackets being unfairly criticized..
This is just my humble opinion. First, I write to the fonts on this board. Then, I write to DemJackets.
I come on this site from time to time. I have been busy and don't post a lot - so I have not likely seen all of his posts. And, I do seriously question his judgment. But, I guess I generally agree that he is unfairly criticised for his opinion, at least; and, I would tend to take his side at least in a general sense.
I believe DemJackets either really works at the AA or knows someone that does. I also believe that he is a real fan - and his opinion is a valid one.
I happen to believe Coach Gailey is by far our best option for taking our program forward; but, I have no problem with DemJackets or any other font disagreeing with that. As a constituent fan that comes on this board, I don't even mind the way that he seemingly stated his opinion on the internet that Chan is not the guy to improve the program. Again, I just think he is dead wrong.
Some of you know me and perhaps will believe me. That is a choice that any of you may make. But, here are a few things that I do have a lot of reason to believe:
1. DemJackets gets some real information and tells at least some measure of truth here. I verified some of his comments before they were public information. And, whether we agree with him or not, his reports probably have been more good than bad. However, I will also say that some of the things he has suggested also seem untrue to me based on things that I know from the very best sources.
2. I am not sure that DemJackets is always truthful. Either I have misunderstood what he wrote, or at least some of what he said to me is definitely false. DemJackets told me in a private message that he works at a level in the AA where he just does not work (unless he is lying about something else). Again, I am not ready to call him a liar, as he could have mistyped what he wrote to me or I could have misunderstood. But, if those things are not true, then his is a guy that will alter the truth to serve his purposes. He told me that he wants to preserve his anonymity, so perhaps it was just one of those little "white lies" to protect his identity. But, if he will do it there, perhaps he would do it on this board.
And, DemJackets, if you are reading this, I can tell you that I still want to respect your request for privacy. I have tried not to guess any more who you are; but, I guess I have still questioned it a little despite myself. After looking a bit more at some of your posts, I have an idea who you are. I even think I saw you on Wednesday. But, I am far from sure - and I would not betray you, even if I knew with certainty.
3. I really question DemJackets' judgment. The font in this thread that suggested he could get fired is right on. If I worked for a business where I went on the internet - and represented myself as working for that business - and then said comparable things to what DemJackets said - I would expect to get fired. I think it was very poor taste for him to talk about working at the AA and then to release information on student-athletes' health and to comment on things that should remain sensitive and confidential: particularly BECAUSE he indicated he is in the AA.
DemJackets, if you are reading and still want to do your thing here, I think you need to find a new font and say your stuff under that font, recognizing that others may choose whether to believe you or not. If you feel like you need to say that stuff, at least be wise enough not to represent that you are in the AA. Unfortunately, with your information, enough people would presume it, anyway.
I also think that anyone at the AA - whether advocating themselves as such or not - should want to stick to positive comments. But, that is just my opinion. Again, using me at another business as an example - I would never want to go on the public internet and say things about the company or anyone at the company that was not positive. I would keep internal to the organization my negative opinions of people in the company or any beliefs that could possibly in any way be harmful.
At the least, you have been trusted with sensitive information that affects others. Was it prudent or honorable to betray that? If you had not represented yourself as someone internal to the organization in making those claims, I also think it would have been a lot better. At that point, you took your sensitive information from speculative to making them informative within the scope of your credibility, whatever that might be.
And, I think you are also doing yourself a disservice in putting yourself at risk. I know for a fact that some people in the AA read this board. Even in (sort of) trying not to figure out who you are, I have a pretty good idea of your identity (or more unfairly to him, who your source would be). If I have figured it out without trying, you better bet that others there know who you are. If they asked me who you are, I would not tell them. Again, I even think what you said would be okay if you didn't intimate that you worked at the AA.
So, I would put it this way. Your comments were fun for fans to read. Your opinion is valid and reasoned, even though I think you are dead wrong. Outside of indicating your work with the AA, it was even stated in an okay fashion. I just think you have used poor judgment.
If your bosses at the AA knew who you are and asked me whether they should fire you, I would be tempted to say "yes." Again, just my opinion that it was not too smart.
So, if I was you and I wanted to keep saying those things, I would find a new font and try to sound a little less certain of myself. I would also be a little less informative about information about players. People would still speculate that you are DemJackets in a new font; but, that would only be speculation at that point.
Otherwise, I have to admit that I appreciated your comments and discussion.
Again, just my opinion.
