Former Gopher A.J. Barker arrested UPDATED 5/9: Sid says AJ wants back on team

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wait!what? said:
time and truth walk hand in hand. looks like JK will be allowed to coach as he sees fit without the kids walking out.

I'll say this tho- this is a perfect parenting opportunity to forgive and move on. the kind of lesson a kid recalls as the moment he/she grew up. some of you hardliners are either young or lived perfect lives.
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Some of us hardliners are far from perfect, made mistakes, had to pay the piper, and learned our lesson the hard way. Someone said that the job is not the perfect analogy because this is amateur sports. Well, fine, but I have trouble imagining any organization, be it work, a recreational softball team, a charitable organization, or a book club where I would invite someone back if I were in charge, and someone quit, wrote a 4,000 word manifesto and released it publicly, and then took to the airwaves to ridicule me.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
+10000

AJ Barker's letter was one of the most selfish and asanine things that I've ever read. I would have had much more respect for the kid if he waited for the season to end before releasing a statement. He could easily have just said that he's done for the season because of injury and then released this letter after the regular season. But nope, a couple days before his teammates were set on to play MSU, they had to answer for him.

Obviously the content of his letter were the ramblings of someone who wasn't of clear thought. I am not talking about him writing it in text talk or whatever, I'm talking about the actual content of the letter (mom's friend, not icing, etc.). But even that, it could have been excusable and forgiveable had AJ showed even the slightest amount of respect for his teammates and the program. I disagree with the style and substance of everything that AJ said, but the style/manner of his letter was the end of the kid at the U.

The media saw a chance to bash the U and they ran with it. Some of the sports guys around town just made fun of AJ Barker, but for the casual sports fan around the Twin Cities last year for the Gophers will be remembered by the UNC cancellation and AJ Barker. Mind you, AJ Barker is now begging to come back to the team because there isn't another program that wants him and the same casual fans complaining about the UNC game couldn't list the BCS nonconference games we've played over the last few years (USC, Syracuse, Cal, etc.). I get it when an actual Gopher fan is upset about the UNC thing, but some of the casual fans outrage about this is hilarious. It'd be like us complaining about the Swarm firing their coach.
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Not only that, but it was also the last home game the seniors ever had.
 

wait!what? said:
time and truth walk hand in hand. looks like JK will be allowed to coach as he sees fit without the kids walking out.

I'll say this tho- this is a perfect parenting opportunity to forgive and move on. the kind of lesson a kid recalls as the moment he/she grew up. some of you hardliners are either young or lived perfect lives.
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Forgiving and moving on doesn't automatically have to mean things go back to how they were before all this happened. There is still a lot to learn from this situation regardless if Barker is let back on the team or not.

A potential lesson also here is that if you mess up big time, you pay the consequences regardless of how sorry you are.
 

highwayman said:
Just as bad as hyperbole is ludicrous understatement. He was not "disappointed," he was livid. He did not "act inappropriately," he acted like a total assh*le. He didn't make "a string of ridiculous decisions," he was wrong, then wrong, then wrong. The reason people do what he did was is that we accept such things as acceptable under circumstance. What he did was wrong.
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I don't disagree with you. I just think calling him a "cancer" is about as ridiculous as his 99,000 word screed. The kid screwed up. He's off the team. He won't come back. End of story.
 




GophersInIowa said:
Forgiving and moving on doesn't automatically have to mean things go back to how they were before all this happened. There is still a lot to learn from this situation regardless if Barker is let back on the team or not.

A potential lesson also here is that if you mess up big time, you pay the consequences regardless of how sorry you are.
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Well put. We could use him, but damage done. I'm sure this is a life lesson for Barker as he moves on.
 

Glad he is gone, wasn't that great of a blocker which wouldn't fit well with the Maryland I scheme ;)
 





Barker is a real solid receiver, but under no circumstances should the U think about taking this kid back. He just got kicked off the Houston program, and seems to be causing trouble everywhere he goes. Now he's just turning on his word and wanted to forget what he ever did? Forget it.
 

GameDay said:
Barker is a real solid receiver, but under no circumstances should the U think about taking this kid back. He just got kicked off the Houston program, and seems to be causing trouble everywhere he goes. Now he's just turning on his word and wanted to forget what he ever did? Forget it.
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He was never on the Houston team. He remained enrolled at the U the whole time.
 




GoAUpher said:
He was never on the Houston team. He remained enrolled at the U the whole time.
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Well he was arrested in Houston, so I would imagine he was at least promised a roster spot down there.

Letting him back on the team would send a bad message to his teammates.
 

Sometimes we pay a heavy price for the mistakes we make when we are younger. I wish him the best.
 




I am guessing he hasn't landed anywhere...... Camps start in a few weeks. Thought at least a D-2 school would've offered.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
+10000

AJ Barker's letter was one of the most selfish and asanine things that I've ever read. I would have had much more respect for the kid if he waited for the season to end before releasing a statement. He could easily have just said that he's done for the season because of injury and then released this letter after the regular season. But nope, a couple days before his teammates were set on to play MSU, they had to answer for him.

Obviously the content of his letter were the ramblings of someone who wasn't of clear thought. I am not talking about him writing it in text talk or whatever, I'm talking about the actual content of the letter (mom's friend, not icing, etc.). But even that, it could have been excusable and forgiveable had AJ showed even the slightest amount of respect for his teammates and the program. I disagree with the style and substance of everything that AJ said, but the style/manner of his letter was the end of the kid at the U.

The media saw a chance to bash the U and they ran with it. Some of the sports guys around town just made fun of AJ Barker, but for the casual sports fan around the Twin Cities last year for the Gophers will be remembered by the UNC cancellation and AJ Barker. Mind you, AJ Barker is now begging to come back to the team because there isn't another program that wants him and the same casual fans complaining about the UNC game couldn't list the BCS nonconference games we've played over the last few years (USC, Syracuse, Cal, etc.). I get it when an actual Gopher fan is upset about the UNC thing, but some of the casual fans outrage about this is hilarious. It'd be like us complaining about the Swarm firing their coach.
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Wait.. Didn't this happen before the Nebraska game? I distinctly remember being in Lincoln and wondering how the team could be focused with his departure?
 



gophmeister said:
Well he was arrested in Houston, so I would imagine he was at least promised a roster spot down there.
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Houston coaches said he hadn't been offered anything when asked after the incident, for whatever that is worth.
 


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