Re: Bigsoccer Insanity My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who heard that Freddy passed out drunk at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious.
Re: Bigsoccer Insanity That's why i said PROBABLY. The article mentioned he was seen drinking (I imagine he didn't hold the liquid in his hand.
And I never said he had a cup in the picture. Do I think he was drinking, probably. Do I personally care. No.
Re: Bigsoccer Insanity It does place him at the party. Plus any news story with pictures/video has much more traction. Look at any high profile "tabloid" news story. Would the prison abuse stories got as much attention but for the pictures. Really different analogy but it's usually the case that visual "evidence" brings news stories to a whole other level. They showed the picture on Around the Horn. They put the picture in the newspaper. Probably what made it front page. Sure the picture doesn't prove much but it certainly doesn't help. But again, I'm on the side here that argues this story is of no importance of itself. How it gets covered is of importance to Adu and MLS. I mostly think any attention for MLS is good, hadn't heard it mentioned on Around the Horn in weeks.
Re: Bigsoccer Insanity Do you really think it wasn't? Do you think the newspaper would publish it with that article otherwise. Regardless of any lack of legal proof or 100% scientific proof, the picture will be circulated about unless someone shows its not. It's already aired on ESPN. Where else was this picture taken! At home with Mama Adu behind the camera?
Re: Bigsoccer Insanity You claim the picture places him at the party. I ask what in the picture proves it was taken at the party. You reply by asking if I really think it wasn't. That's not answering my question. As far as I can tell there's nothing in that picture that proves anything except that Adu got his picture taken with those two girls. In itself, big deal ... So ESPN has picked up on this now? Great.
Re: Bigsoccer Insanity There's the Maryland newspaper story with several witness accounts placing him at the party. If the picture isn't from the party and ran with that story (did you read that story?) then that paper is in for one big scandal. Do you think we ought to track down the girls for comment?
Re: Bigsoccer Insanity Well that puts MLS and DC United on one of their non-Soccer Saturday broadcasts for the first time in months, I don't see what the problem is. Maybe this was all a setup by Garber to get the league some publicity during baseball pennent chases and NFL and NCAA football seasons kicking off.
I suppose the caption is "D.C. United s 15-year old star, Freddy Adu, is pictured here with freshman journalism majors Adrienne Morris (left) and Raquel Lugo." So I admit the story doesn't directly say it's from the party (and I guess there is a good chance it isn't). If not someone should call the paper on a misleading story. The issue here is that the picture has a dark background, looks like a party, and was portrayed as such already on ESPN. I doubt there's any going back from that now. But again, the ESPN panel didn't care about it, I don't, and I doubt much will come of this though Freddy risks developing such associations with the public's perception of him as they're just getting to know him. This thread is getting silly (yes a lot due to me) so I'll stop prolonging this discussion.
For everyone claiming the undeniable credibility of the report, I bet you thought Dan Rather always told the truth too, didn't you?
I thought it looked like a picture taken with a flash outside at night. How you get party from that I'm not sure.
Let's hope his other friens doesn't suggest a trip to the hood to get some crack on their next night on the town.
Re: Bigsoccer Insanity The crux of the story isn't whether he was at the party. He has a right to be where he wants. The crux of the story is whether he was drinking at the party. The picture does nothing to support that. Hence, your claim that the picture is crucial to the story not holding water.
Re: Bigsoccer Insanity Or beer in this case. The picture is completely irrelevant. The only thing it proves is that college chicks like having their picture taken with famous athletes. "Hello, sweetheart - Get me rewrite" The "critical" element is the eyewitness who says he saw Freddy drinking and implies that he was inebriated. HE is what makes this story hot. The graphic is because editors like graphics.
I think some folks are in serious denial here. Are you all saying that the entire story was made up ? That he wasn't at the party at all ? That the photo was just some random shot that they inserted into the article to give it credibility ? Do you really believe that the Diamondback would just make up a story like that without any evidence to support it ? Do you apply the same standards of extreme sceptism to every other article you read ? Or is it just when Freddy Adu is concerned ? On the face of it we have an article in a apparently well respected college journal with some eyewitness accounts (with named witnesses) to back it up. Maybe some of the details are embellished, maybe not, maybe Freddy was drinking beer, maybe not, but I see no reason to just simply dismiss the entire article as rumor-mongering without any basis in fact, which some people seem to be doing. Especially in view of the fact that no-one associated with Adu or the league has issued a specific and detailed denial of the main facts alleged in the article. Here is DC United's response to the article (from the Soccertimes article: ""We're disappointed that the Diamondback chose to publish a story based solely on speculation and assumptions and give little credence to the few details reported in the story," Doug Hicks, D.C. United vice president for communications, said in an e-mail to SoccerTimes. "Regardless, we've spoken with Freddy about the importance of whom he associates with, where he spends his free time and to realize that he may often find himself in situations where those around him are not interested in what is best for him. In addition to his exceptional soccer ability, Freddy remains an affable, yet humble young man who was raised very well by his mother. We trust that this experience will serve as a valuable learning experience for Freddy as he continues to grow and mature." You notice the reference to them having spoken to Freddy and the fact that 'this experience' will be a learning experience for him. Which it will be, hopefully. Also this statement picks up on the main issue which many here seem to have missed, which is that Adu needs to avoid putting himself in situations that can generate stories like this in the first place.
Jayson Blair had to learn that from somewhere. I'd say relax before you get up your hackles. This thread is teetering on sarcasm/reality with every post.
No, what I'm saying is that the statements like "This story would only be rumor if there wasn't a picture." are incredibly off-base because if the picture was the crux of the story, why are the two young ladies in the picture never quoted in the story? If the picture is the damning evidence, why isn't there beer in the picture? If things hinge on the picture - like one poster is alleging - why is it up to the judgement of the reader to determine Freddy's state in the photo? The picture is nothing compared to the quotes. That's what I'm saying. The picture is Freddy with two girls. It probably is from the incidents described, but nothing in the picture identifies it as being at a party at the University of Maryland. That's my criticism here. 100 percent on target. In PR, a no comment kills you. A written statement is right behind in the list of non-denial denials. To me, this shows they didn't want to be caught in a situation where they were asked something that might catch them off guard and help confirm something. But, really, they are in a no-win situation. If this was a fabrication - which I am not alleging - they would have gone ballistic. When that didn't happen, they pretty much confirmed the gist of the story was at least correct. But it's not the picture. Take away the picture and the story works without a problem.